Literary and Cinematic Storytelling

REVISED

Fall 2011 and Winter 2012 quarters

Faculty

Eddy Brown creative writing, literature , Marilyn Freeman media arts, film and television, creative writing

Fields of Study

cultural studies, literature, media arts, moving image, visual arts and writing

Preparatory for studies or careers in

literature, film, writing, and visual arts.

Description

How do you distill the essence of a great story? How do you convey that essence across media boundaries? Is an adaptation a process of translation or creative destruction? How is a work rendered with an audience in mind?

This two-quarter program will explore these questions by using 'adaptation' as a portal into creative writing, and literary and film analyses. Students will examine, analyze and critique a range of written works, both fiction and nonfiction, that have been adapted for the screen. We will study a variety of literary genres and art forms including: the short story, novel, biography, memoir, essay, screenplay, and film. We will follow each selected literary work from original text through screen adaptation in order to decipher and appreciate its singularity as a work of art and as a representative of its respective genre, its transformation into a cinematic production, and its relatedness to other narrations of the human experience. We will study the genesis, creative process, and presentation of each story on both the page and screen, including the consideration of its hypothetical, intended, and ideal audiences, and socio-cultural representations.

In fall quarter, students will be introduced to fundamental aspects of narrative, to the principles of classical story design, and to exemplars of narrative adaptations across media. Skills will be developed in literary and film analyses through lectures, readings, screenings, seminars and critical writing assignments. Students will begin to build creative writing skills through a sequence of short-form assignments in fiction, creative nonfiction, and screenwriting, and through the practice of critiques and peer reviews. The quarter will conclude with collaborative student presentations of critiques of literary texts and their corresponding adapted films.

In winter quarter studies will deepen in literary and film art and analyses in order to more fully understand the process of adapting the screenplay and the role of the screenwriter. Students will originate their own short-format projects in literary fiction or nonfiction, and develop adaptations through a series of progressive story design and writing assignments: controlling ideas, character bios, primary outlines, treatments, step-outlines, preliminary screenplays, revisions, synopses, loglines, and story reports. Students will conclude the program with staged readings of screenplay adaptations.

This program is focused on literature, film, and creative writing. Students may be required to attend off-campus film screenings. Students are expected to participate fully in all program activities, and to work about 40 hours per week including class time.

Advertised Schedule

Location

Olympia

Online Learning

Enhanced Online Learning

Books

Greener Store

Schedule Details

Required Fees

$70 per quarter for script copies and tickets to film screenings.

Offered During

Day

Program Revisions