FAVz110 Contemporary Screenwriting Studies

Faculty of Arts
Autumn 2024
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: zk (examination).
Teacher(s)
Claus Tieber (lecturer)
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D. (alternate examiner)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D.
Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Film Studies and Audiovisual Culture – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Mon 25. 11. 16:00–19:40 C33, Tue 26. 11. 12:00–13:40 C33, 16:00–17:40 C33, Thu 28. 11. 10:00–13:40 C33, Fri 29. 11. 9:00–13:40 N41
Prerequisites
There are none.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 10 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
Screenwriting Studies are a relatively young field within and beyond film and media studies. It combines approaches and methods from literary studies, adaptation studies, creativity studies, production studies, etc.

The course will sketch out the short history, the subdivisions and their representative works. It will therefore give an introduction into the manifold aspects of screenwriting studies.
Learning outcomes
After completing the course, students will:
- have a better understanding of screenwriting studies
- be provided first guidance in analyzing screenwriting and script development processes
- have a better knowledge of the history of the field, as well understanding current trends and issues
Syllabus
  • 1. Introduction, Screenwriting History, Film studies History
  • Why Screenwriting Studies? What can be found in a screenplay? What are screenwriting studies? And why do they matter? Narratological approaches and production studies.
  • Early approaches in film studies. Interdisciplinarity. Short history of the screenplay from the silent days to the present. Female screenwriters
  • 2. What’s in a script? Elements and analysis of screenplays
  • The elements of a screenplay, the numerous versions of screenplays, development, literary and filmic/audio-visual analysis. Authorship, Screen Idea Work Group
  • 3. Literary writing, music, sound and rhythm, camera and editing
  • Beyond narration, what does “literary” writing in screenplays mean? The transformation from text to film, from one structure into another.
  • 4. Narration, Narratology, manual, doxa
  • Basics of narration in film, classical Hollywood paradigm, screenwriting manuals, the “doxa” of screenwriting, models of narrative structure. 3 act structure, protagonist etc.
  • 5. Ideology of classical narration, gender
  • Criticism of classical narration, question of universality in narration and screenwriting, alternatives in history and culture, examples of non-western screenplays
  • 6. Post-classical narration
  • Is there a new way of storytelling since the 1980s/90s? post-classical or just “intensified”? non-chronology, closure, act structure, serial storytelling, etc. final discussion and recommendations for further research
Literature
    required literature
  • Tieber, Claus, Aristotle did not make it to India, in: Khatib, Lina (ed.): Storytelling in World Cinema. London: Wallflower 2012, pp. 11- 24
  • Macdonald, Ian, “So it’s not surprising, I’m neurotic.” The Screenwriter and the Screen Idea Work Group, in: Journal of Screenwriting 1.1. (2010), pp. 45-58
  • Sternberg, Claudia: Written for the Screen: The American Motion Picture Screenplay As Text. Tübingen 1997.
  • Paletz, Gabriel: Writing Sound in the Screenplay. Traditions and Innovations, in: The Soundtrack 15.1. (2023), pp. 61-75
  • Davies, Rosamund; Russo, Paolo; Tieber, Claus (eds.). The Palgrave Handbook of Screenwriting Studies. Cham: Palgrave Macmillan 2023
  • Thanouli, Eleftheria, Post-Classical Narration, in: Thanouli: A Guide to Post-Classical Narration. The Future of Film Story Telling New York: Bloomsbury 2023, pp. 185 – 216
Teaching methods
The course consists of six lectures, accompanied by screenings of short films (The Kleptomaniac, USA 1905; A Corner in Wheat, USA 1909) as well as feature films (Devdas, India 1955; Adaptation, USA 2022). The course itself consists of lectures, discussions in diverse settings (could include role playing), Q&A, screenings of excerpts of documentaries as well as fictional films.

Student attendance is obligatory on all lectures and will be regularly checked. Combined students may skip two sessions.

Students are required to read all the items from the obligatory reading list and watch the films in preparation for the course. All of the required materials will be provided.
Assessment methods
A couple of questions to be answered in short essays (about 300 words), active participation on discussions within a special setting (which includes preparation) can substitute one questions.

Unit 2 of the course will include a panel discussion in which students will take over the roles of the screenwriters, producer and director of Casablanca. Students have to prepare to be able to discuss the contributions of these people while acting as them. The number of participants is limited to the actual crew of the film (max. 5)
To prepare for this task, read the related chapter of Harmetz, Aljean: Round up the usual suspects: the making of Casablanca ; Bogart, Bergman, and World War II. New York, NY: Hyperion 1992.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught only once.
Teacher's information
Dr. Claus Tieber is a Principal Investigator at MUK, Music and Arts University of the City of Vienna. Born in 1966 in Hall in Tirol. PhD in 2001, Habilitation (venia docendis) in 2008. Teaches film studies at University of Vienna, Christian Albrechts Universität zu Kiel, Universidad Salamanca and Masaryk University Brno.
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