3 Online Classes for Screenwriters to Check out During Quarantine
Dārta Smaine
These are hard times for all of us. For some people it is harder to stay at home, for some, it feels normal like nothing has changed. But however the situation is for each of us, we need to find something to occupy us and our minds. I believe that it is the one thing that can help us stay healthy and sane. I've been in this "Stay at home" routine before the Quarantine and one day I realised that I need to find something useful to do. That's when I found online courses.
Since the Quarantine started, I've noticed that many sites are offering free online courses during Quarantine time. I have compiled 3 free online courses that I am personally very interested in and would like to share with others. :)
YOUNG SCREENWRITERS
NYU Tisch School of the Arts Film and Television Program's screenwriting professor John Warren has created free online course on how to write your short film's screenplay. The course is 5 weeks long (you can go over 1 week's materials in one sitting, but the homework takes longer depending on how you work and that's why it is weeks, not days).
"Over the next five weeks, I'm going to invite you into my office in New York City (please excuse the bustle of students...) to teach you everything you need to know to write a professional, shootable, structurally-sound short screenplay." / John Warren
This course will educate you on how to know where is a story, how to write your idea, protagonist, antagonist, obstacles, your pitch, and much more.
I have just started week 2 and I am very happy about this online course so far. It is easy to access, it is very interesting and educational. It may seem like "Screenwriting? Well isn't it easy? You just sit down and write until you’re done!", but actually there is much more into it than I thought. John also talks about his experiences and examples, which are always very helpful to hear and learn from.
This course would be good not just for filmmakers and young screenwriters, but also for anyone who wants to get creative, or any other profession that needs a skill of creativity and/or storytelling.
https://youngscreenwriters.com/
SUNDANCE CO//AB MASTER CLASSES FOR CREATORS
Sundance Co//ab is an online platform for creators and storytellers in the filmmaking community around the globe offering online education - courses, Master Classes, Film Festivals, etc. It is a platform where people alike can communicate, share their work with each other, learn, and improve their skills.
Due to the Covid-19 crisis they are allowing the enthusiasts and filmmakers around the globe to be able to use Member Q&As and attend/watch their offered Master Classes. There are 18 Master Classes available: Creating branded content, From Short to Feature film, Comedy Writing for Features, Documentary Filmmaking, and more.
NIKON SCHOOL: PHOTOGRAPHY
Nowadays when taking photos is something we all do - either it is just with our phones, cameras, just as a side hobby or professionally, we all want the result to look pretty. I for sure couldn’t imagine my life without taking photos that I, later on, edit so I could post it on my social media or just leave in my personal albums. I have gotten better, but I still look at some pictures (for me it’s mostly streets, buildings, and landscapes) that I see on my feed and wonder “How did they made it so pretty?”, or I inspect on how the composition is done, are there any angles and where the photographer is standing. And yet somehow, when I try - I fail. And I don’t think I’m the only one. But do I give up? - “Nope!!”
That is why I was happy to see that Nikon School is providing free online courses that you can stream until the end of April. There are 10 online video lectures on topics like Landscape photography, Macro photography, Music video making, Fundamentals of Photography, and others.
https://www.nikonevents.com/us/live/nikon-school-online/
I am sure there are more opportunities for education online found in not just filmmaking and photography, but these are definitely the ones I am going to use. I couldn’t be happier that I’ve found these. Hopefully, there is someone who got interested in at least one of these sites and we can be both learn happily. Overall - let’s all stay sane, smart, occupied, and at home!