Writing Features -- An Introduction
Sept 20 -- Nov 08 2008, Saturdays 12:00-4:00 pm Vancouver
$400 +GST Non-Members (includes Praxis Membership)/$350 Praxis Members +GST
In this eight week workshop, we will explore the basics of screenwriting as you work ahead on your own feature project. The course will begin with examinations of idea development, research, genres, creation of character, arcs, outlining and treatments, scene structure, evocative writing, and the importance of visual style in your screenplay. Exemplary film excerpts will be screened to support and illustrate, and participants will be encouraged to pitch their story ideas and begin work towards completion of a first draft. Opening sequences (15 pp) of participantsíscreenplays will be workshopped in class with special focus on the creation of an engaging protagonist and the delineation of dramatic conflict. By the end of the course, participants will have achieved a deeper understanding of screenwriting practice and be on their way to completing a feature script.
Read more details and register online...
Special Event: THE STATE OF THE ART OF DOCUMENTARY
Join us for an intimate and invigorating conversation about the art of the documentary with two of North America’s most accomplished documentary filmmakers, Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes) and Connie Field (The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter). What makes a documentary film great? What raises a film from the ordinary to the extraordinary? In a time of overwhelming media saturation, what does it mean to make moving images and sounds charged with poetry and passionate rage? How does one begin, and how does one remain open to the potential that is always present?
Canadian Jennifer Baichwal is best known for her 2006 Genie-winning Manufactured Landscapes. This and her other feature-length documentaries, Let It Come Down:The life of Paul Bowles; and The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia, explore the work of artists encountering alien social landscapes.
San Francisco-based Connie Field gained international attention with The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, which documents the changing roles of women during WWII. Freedom on My Mind, her film on the civil rights movement, was nominated for an Academy Award in 1995. Her latest project, Have You Heard from Johannesburg?, is a ten-part series on the struggle to end apartheid.
Rudy Buttignol is President and CEO of BC’s Knowledge Network. Before arriving in Vancouver he was creative head of programming at TVOntario for 13 years, working with many of Canada’s most distinguished filmmakers.
Baichwal and Field are in Vancouver as mentors for the 2008 Art of the Documentary workshop, an intensive development session for twelve filmmakers from across Canada. This will be their only public appearance together.
8 pm Sunday 25 May
Vancity Theatre 1181 Seymour St.
Reception to follow.
Tickets $10 general; $7 students/seniors.
Cash only.
To reserve, email praxis@sfu.ca, subject: “DOC ART”
SELECTED CANDIDATES ANNOUNCED!
The Art of Documentary
An Intensive Workshop for Canadian FilmmakersWith Jennifer Baichwal and Connie Field23-26 May 2008
The National Film Board of Canada and Praxis Centre for Screenwriters proudly announce The Art of Documentary, an intensive four-day workshop for mid-career filmmakers dedicated to exploring and expanding the aesthetic potential of the documentary.
We will invite up to twelve filmmakers from across Canada to bring their projects at any stage from development through fine cut for four days of focused workshops with mentors Jennifer Baichwal (Manufactured Landscapes; Let It All Come Down: The Life of Paul Bowles) and Connie Field (Have You Heard from Johannesburg; The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter), noted producer, researcher and copyright expert Elizabeth Klinck, and specialists in editing, producing and sound design. Each project will receive individual attention as well as participation in small groups. The workshop will include film screenings, master classes and a public dialogue devoted to the art of documentary.
Read about the winners and find out more about The Art of Documentary...
The Story Editor Internship 2008 is now accepting applications. Deadline for applications is Tuesday, May 20th.
This internship program is generously supported by Astral Media's Harold Greenberg Fund.
The opportunities for our Interns to observe and work with senior professionals are invaluable for developing the complex skills required - not only the ability to analyze story, character, genre and theme, but also the interpersonal skills required in the delicate task of guiding creative work and mediating between writer and producer.
To find out more and apply, click here.
Fall 2008 Competition
Submission Date - June 27, 2008. For more details click here...
AND THE WINNERS ARE... Spring 2008 Competition
After much deliberation, the jury has chosen its writers and projects for our upcoming Spring 2008 Workshops to be held in Vancouver in February.
Read on for details...
How to Break a TV Series - SOLD OUT
Fri. Feb 15, 7-9:30 pm Sat. Feb 16, 9:30 am-12:00 pm /1-4pm Sun. Feb 17, 9:30-12:00pm/1-4 pm Vancouver
Fee $250/renewed 07/08 Praxis Members $225
A chance to sharpen your skills at creating a pitch document that will bring your dramatic TV series to life. In a weekend of roundtable discussions, we’ll shape a dramatic series premise, then workshop characters, a setting, and a pilot episode. Come with a few ideas you’re willing to share — and a premise of your own to hone.
Sponsored by Telefilm CanadaDue to high demand, this class is now sold out.
Read more details...
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