Overview:
SOCAPA offers both two and three week intensives in screenwriting at our campuses in New York and Los Angeles. Students will have the option of developing two short screenplays (4-8 pages each), one longer screenplay (10-12 pages), or the first act of a feature-length screenplay. The course is designed to serve as a precursor to our filmmaking workshops with the idea that students will go on to produce and direct the screenplays that they write in this course during a SOCAPA filmmaking session later in the summer or the following year.

Schedule:
In the mornings, students have their main writing theory class. Through a close analysis of award-winning shorts and clips from feature films, students break down the key ingredients of a successful screenplay. A strong emphasis is placed on the classic Hollywood three-act structure and the rules of visual storytelling which, once mastered, are of course meant to be broken. Topics include idea and theme generation, character development/analysis, producibility, proper formatting, screenwriting software, genre study and marketing strategies.

After lunch, students have supervised writing lab time and one-on-one writing advisements. Successful screenwriting is rewriting and writing lab is when SOCAPA screenwriting students buckle down and make their ideas come to life on the page. At the end of each lab, students come together again for their “writers colony workshop.” They pitch their ideas, do script readings, critique each other’s work and solve narrative problems with the help of their instructor and their classmates. This creative workshop is invaluable in that students learn from one another’s successes and failures, and form a community of young artists who continue to support each other and nurturing collaborative friendships long after the summer comes to an end.



SHORT VERSUS FEATURE-LENGTH SCREENPLAYS:
There is a tendency among many of our students to want to write a feature-length script right out of the gate. This is only natural because feature-length films are what they know. Movie theaters and film channels show feature-length movies (generally considered any film over eighty minutes in length) almost exclusively. But in the film industry, the short film remains an essential career-building tool. Short films serve as calling cards, showcasing the talent of their writer/directors and garnering them the attention necessary to break into the business. Feature films cost, on average, in the multi-millions to make, whereas a short film can be done on a shoestring budget.

SOCAPA encourages our screenwriting students to set realistic goals by not putting the cart in front of the horse. All the great novelists and feature film directors started out by working in the short story format. SOCAPA strongly believes that our students should first experiment with and master the short film before moving on to feature-length screenplays. That said, if a student is dead set on developing an idea for a feature, the course will help them develop a full-length story treatment and the first act of a screenplay.

Master Classes:
At least once per session, SOCAPA invites a top young industry professional from the New York or Hollywood film or performing arts scene to come to campus and lead a master class for all students, regardless of focus. Some past guests included actor Brendan Sexton III (Empire Records, Welcome to the Dollhouse, Hurricane Streets), actor Dwight Ewell (Chasing Amy, Dogma, Flirt), filmmaker Peter Sollett (Raising Victor Vargas, Five Feet High and Rising), actor Sarah Clarke (TV show "24," Thirteen) screenwriter Andrew Marlowe (Air Force One, End of Days, Hollow Man), director Morgan J. Freeman (Hurricane Streets, American Psycho II, Desert Blue, Just Like the Son), and comedian Matt Walsh ("The Daily Show," Bad Santa, Upright Citizens Brigade).

Extra-Curricular:
We at SOCAPA believe that you should work hard and play hard. Discipline and drive are two of the most important attributes of all successful artists, but hey, what's a summer without the beach? Every evening, Monday through Friday, we plan an activity for the students, whether it be a barbecue on campus, a dinner in the city, a cool-off swim, a theater/musical performance, or a film screening. On the Saturday afternoons that are not devoted to shooting and performing, we organize a group excursion. This could include a trip to a museum, the beach or a Broadway show. Past evening and Saturday excursions have included trips to Coney Island Amusement Park, live tapings of MTVs "TRL," Shakespeare in the Park, shopping in SoHo, Unity Sessions Hip-Hop Concert in Prospect Park, Universal Studios, Pilobolus Dance Group at the Joyce Theater, Jones Beach, Off-Broadway Shows De La Guarda, Stomp and Rent, Six Flags Amusement Park, Fourth of July Fireworks, and Bryant Park Film Screenings, to name a few.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. -Jack Nicholson, "The Shining"