Detailed Information

The ‘ESTEFANOS STUDIOS’ presents

INTENSIVE SCRIPT AND FILM ANALYSIS WORKSHOP

by Gabriele C. Sindler & Donat F. Keusch
dfk*films & script*service

Cairo |
dd/mm/yyyy (to be announced)

AT “NEW FALAKI THEATER – AUC”

The 4th edition of this impressive professional 12-days workshop “Script and Film Analysis as the Basic for Creative Writing” will return to Cairo/Egypt in its most sophistic form.
The workshop is targeted to Scriptwriters, Film Directors, Producers and Film Editors in Egyptian film industry and the Arab world.
The professional preparation for this workshop means to read 7-9 scripts of all the films presented in advance.
The workshop needs approx. 10 hours work per day!
For a successful further training for film makers time and practical exercises are inevitable.
We would be happy to have a substantial number of female filmmakers, scriptwriters, film editors, producers… in the workshop.
Participants with own films (shorts or feature length) are invited to attend the workshop with their projects. We will select 1 to 3 submitted films and add them to the program.

At the end of the workshop the participants will know how a professional analysis of a screenplay for a low budget or a very big budget or a high concept or an art-house or any other kind of film should be elaborated.

  • How should a serious analysis look like?
  • Which elements are important for the estimation of the market potential?
  • What are the basic structural elements of a dramatic story and how could a dynamic structure be worked out?
  • How to get three dimensional characters? Etc.
  • Furthermore, they will know what a “cinema audience” could be and to which important story and screenplay elements a wider success is related to.
  • And they will know forever the only real and important question of script and film analysis.
  • Last but not least they will get “in touch” with writers, producers, directors, actors like Milos Forman, Billy Wilder, Ridley Scott, Sylvester Stallone, Gérard Brach, Bo Goldman, Callie Khouri, James Cameron, and many others.

The Content of the Workshop

  1. Reading of 7-9 film scripts and analyzing them.
  2. Screening of films and re-screening of the same films with V/O (analysis) by the tutors.
  3. Lectures on the most important elements of the analysis and writing of screenplays.
  4. Tasks to establish by groups of participants overnight.
  5. Big task (a full script analysis) to establish by groups of participants on days 7 & 8.
  6. Discussion of hand-outs on story and script analysis, writing, shooting of films, releasing.
  7. Writing of an own story on one page by each participant.
  8. Presentation (DVD) of a master scriptwriter and filmmaker, discussion of his work.
  9. Presentation (DVD) of the most chaotic creation of the most successful film ever.
  10. Discussion of specific questions about films and the making of art – and more.

The To-Dos and the Trained Basics

Usually, film professionals know one or more of the recipe books like the ones of Syd Field or Linda Seger. In fact it would be very helpful if they would know David Howard’s “The Tools of Screenwriting” as well and if they would have studied all the script/film analysis there.

For this workshop it is useful to know the basic dramatic rules and the recipes. But you will learn that the rules are right and wrong, and that the art begins in breaking the rules in the appropriate way offered by the story. At this workshop the main goal is the research for the story “behind”, between the lines, the essence and effect of the cinematic and artistic story telling.

Reading and explaining as well as reading and analyzing of hand-outs and scripts, doing homework every day, watching movies and at the same time analyzing their scripts… are the main parts of this workshop. The following elements and expressions used in analyzing or writing scripts are treated during this workshop:

  • Idea, story, sub-story, plot, subplot, synopsis, characters, topics, subject, archetypes, set design…
  • story-step-outline, originality, credibility, theme, genre, protagonist, antagonist, dialogue, irony…
  • master scene script, structure, premise, acts, sequence, scene, shot, adaptation, planting, pay-off, predicament, aftermath, climax or culmination, empathy…
  • The parts of producer’s, writer’s, director’s, distributors, sales’ agents, audience, investors, film markets and festivals, the awards…

Some of the Tools

Hand-outs with the definition of the terms used for the script analysis. Scripts like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest”, “Some Like It Hot”, “Rocky”, “Avatar”, “Green Book”, “Thelma & Louise”, “The Insult” and projects from the home territory. Examples of synopsis, analysis, story-step-outlines, treatments… as well as hand-outs with short explanations of some terms by masters like František “Frank” Daniel.

The Teaching Method

As much theory as necessary for a workshop about basics. The most important thing is the teaching by screening films on big screens. Even that the analysis of scripts is the topic of this workshop the films on screen and the commentary, the explanations above as well as the interruptions and replays and the discussions will help to achieve the biggest learning effect. The participants will learn to read scripts on paper and on the big screen. They will learn and feel that a film is much more than its plot. The scripts to analyze will be distributed in advance. There will be tasks (exercises) every day. Working in groups is great and will redouble the learning effect.

Participants who have a script in English and its film (shorts and feature lengths) with English subtitles should send it (pdf-file) in order to get a constructive discussion during the workshop. Such screenplays and the online screeners should be sent to info@estefanos-studios.com & estefanos.studios@gmail.com. Deadline will be announced. From the participants work there will be selected for the program 2 to 3 scripts and their films already released in theaters or on TV.

The scripts and films of the workshop will be classics and new ones, even one which isn’t shot as a film yet. “Estefanos Studios” will distribute the scripts [by e-mail] in advance to the participants. Participants should read the scripts and screen the films to analyze before we start with the workshop. The films screened at the workshop have been chosen very carefully to create variety program: Classics & New, Artistic & Commercials, Americans & European, Shorts & Features, Comedy & Tragedy, Narratives & Documentary, and Making Of…

Duration and Warning

The 12 days of this workshop are intense. There will be no time left for other activities. It starts on Saturday #1 morning and ends on Wednesday #12 evening.

During the weekend (days #7 and #8) a story-step-outline and a detailed analysis of a new screenplay must be worked out by groups of 2 to 4 participants in about 20 hours of full commitment. The analysis must be based on the story-step-outline of the script.

For this intense workshop more scripts, from “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” to “Green Book” and finally to “Avatar”, are to study and some of the most important elements are to analyze. At the end of the workshop the participants will be able to read, to feel, to understand and to see much more in projects and films. There will be more pleasure to watch good films – masterpieces even several times which is the best way to learn something.

Contact | Application | Further Information

This intensive workshop is organized by “Estefanos Studios”, a film production co. located in Cairo/Egypt and founded by Egyptian Filmmaker & Scriptwriter “Sameh Estefanos”.

Once or more times per year “Estefanos Studios” will organize workshops with international film experts alongside with the 3 sectors of the “Estefanos Studios”: Feature narratives, documentaries and TV programs.

E-mail: info@estefanos-studios.com

Website: www.estefanos-studios.com

Mobile#: +20 120 312 7050