Contemporary Screenwriting Studies
Mgr. Šárka Jelínek Gmiterková, Ph.D.
Contemporary Screenwriting Studies

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.

"Screenwriting studies" will be taught by Dr. Claus Tieber, 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.

There are 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. 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.

Combined students are welcomed to this course, since they can attend individual lectures online as well, through MS Teams. For those students, who are not able to attend the lectures, recordings will be provided in the IS system. The final test is an open book test, consisting of three questions they can answer at their convenience and upload the final document into the homework vault on the due date.  

After completing the course Screenwriting Studies, 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

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

Teacher recommends to study from 21/10/2024 to 27/10/2024.

The elements of a screenplay, the numerous versions of screenplays, development, literary and filmic/audio-visual analysis. Authorship, Screen Idea Work Group

Chapter contains:
1
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Teacher recommends to study from 28/10/2024 to 3/11/2024.

Beyond narration, what does “literary” writing in screenplays mean? The transformation from text to film, from one structure into another.

Teacher recommends to study from 4/11/2024 to 10/11/2024.

Basics of narration in film, classical Hollywood paradigm, screenwriting manuals, the “doxa” of screenwriting, models of narrative structure. 3 act structure, protagonist etc.

Chapter contains:
1
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Teacher recommends to study from 11/11/2024 to 17/11/2024.

Criticism of classical narration, question of universality in narration and screenwriting, alternatives in history and culture, examples of non-western screenplays.

Chapter contains:
1
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Teacher recommends to study from 18/11/2024 to 24/11/2024.

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.

Chapter contains:
1
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Teacher recommends to study from 25/11/2024 to 1/12/2024.
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