Exam details:
This course includes 8 written assessments that you complete as part of your course work and then forward to your tutor. This course has been divided into 2 learning periods

Once your tutor has marked and graded your work they will send it back to you with their comments.

Completion of your course:
Upon completion of this course you will be awarded a Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Education Direct) Professional Script writing Certificate.

Additional Resources

Professional Script Writing

The Australian College of Journalism and Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Education Direct) Professional Script Writing course has been designed to provide you with the essential skills required to succeed as a professional scriptwriter.

This distance learning course offers you the unique opportunity to develop a full-time or part-time career writing professional scripts or Hollywood screenplays for film, television and video.

You'll be taken through the important business aspects of finding an agent and selling your finished material, that is, writing scripts for profit. Each week, hundreds of scripts are purchased from scriptwriters to satisfy the insatiable demand for film, television and video makers.

Recently merged, these companies are now able to provide you with greater training opportunities. The Australian College of Journalism has provided specialist courses for over 20 years, and over that time have become a well known and respected distance education provider. And Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Education Direct) is the world's leading provider of consumer-based distance education.

Pay only: $1,199 $899

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A definition: script writing

Script may mean:

Script, the dialog and instructions for a play.

Screenplay or teleplay, containing the dialog and instructions for a movie or TV show.

Script (comic), the dialog for a comic book or comic strip.

Dance script, the instructions for dance movements, as in line dancing.

Writing system, such as an alphabet.

A style of handwriting or calligraphy, such as Fraktur.

Cursive style of handwriting.

Manuscript, a handwritten document.

Draft document for a book (Source: Script: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

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Key areas of learning - Professional Script Writing

Introduction to Script writing How to develop a screenplay The professional script - your first steps The real thing: It's time to write your own screenplay!	Agents - 'Call my agent' Breaking scenes and dividing dialogue The wonderful world of documentaries Screenplays today - industry feedback
click here for the full subject descriptions

The benefits

If you are ready to learn new skills, improve existing skills, make more money, get a better job, launch or advance in a career or start your own business, Thomson Education Direct can help you, as it does thousands of people, year after year.

Study at your own place. In the comfort of your own home, while traveling to or from work, or even while you're on holidays. It's up to you.
At your own pace. As there are no classes, you work at a pace that suits you, making learning easier.
In your own time. You choose when you want to study. Anytime!
With qualified tutors. Tutors are qualified in their field with many years of experience. Many are industry leaders, there to provide advice, assess your work and answer your questions.
And learning materials are included. Everything you need to successfully complete your course is included, saving you money.
At a price you can afford. Courses are competitively priced, allowing you to afford the course you want.
With an experienced organisation. Since 1921, Thomson Education Direct has provided quality home training for over 600,000 people.
Nationally accredited. Many courses are nationally accredited by ANTA (Australian National Training Authority) and by VETAB (Vocational Education and Training Accreditation Board), which means that your course has been prepared to standards accepted by industry and government.
Recognition of Prior Learning. Formal recognition for your existing knowledge and skills, so you don't have to spend time having to re learn what you already know, or demonstrate skills you can already perform.
Code of Conduct. There is a strict code of conduct and ethics in place to protect you.

Study at home to get the training you need and the job you want, without leaving your front door. Today, distance learning is recognised as one of the most convenient methods of education.

Extra learning materials included in the Professional Script Writing course

Video
Script Template
Frequently Asked Question Booklets x 2
Media Directory

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subjects covered

Introduction to Script writing

Your study video - a collector's item!
Crafting your own script
Lucrative, imaginative realms of film and TV
The nature of movie making
Writers can look to the future
The screenplay
Script collaboration - pros and cons
The adaptation rules
'Would you like to help me write Mad Max?'
The nine stages of writing a screenplay
Big bucks from movie tie-ins
Style and format; why you must get it right!
Coming attractions

Agents - "Call my agent"

"The Reckoning" ... Is your best script in?
Where to find Hollywood agents
Wanted... an agent to handle the flak
Left off the world premiere list
The golden rule; don't submit unfinished work
Call my agent!
Where the agents are
Writing for stunts, SPFX
The art of writing telephone conversations
Widening use of split-screen technique

How to develop a screenplay

Getting it down right; format, style & short cuts to success
Basic steps of mastering the screenplay
The story behind the 'Brothers' script
Wearing three hats - as producer, director and writer
Script page samples; Australian and American
A gross & grisly serve for $US4 million screenplay writer
Screenplay lottery; if you win, what do you do for an encore?

Breaking scenes and dividing dialogue

Breaking scenes and dividing dialogue
Screen direction cuts
Inserts; putting them in place
More terminology
Analysing your screenplay
Financing your script
Funding from around the country
Subsidising low budgets
Funding help - where to go
Film funding bodies

The professional script - your first steps

Getting your foot in the door
Essential Hollywood
Genres and origins
Fly (or title) page layout
The rainbow connection
Mail box - your word
Target the family and kids and don't forget the animals
Romance - who can fill this void in cinema?
Those tabloid headlines and public domain megabucks
Settling the James Clavell argument
Script pages in colour

The wonderful world of documentaries

Hollywood essentials
Welcome to the wild, wacky, wonderful world of "the doco"
The documentary as propaganda
New breed filmmakers hit the front
Ask the Leyland Brothers
"Documentary-ising" the 60's to the present
How to do a doco - by those who have
Dick's flight into doco history
Getting your feet wet as a documentary scriptwriter
Finding documentary ideas
How to sell a documentary script
Your most important contact list
Getting your work on television
Be competitive in the marketplace
Radio documentaries

The real thing: It's time to write your own screenplay!

Beginning your script
How to give your idea the treatment
Hollywood essentials
The big picture
Character summaries
The 'characterisation' procedure in Hollywood
How to change your thriller to entice Tom Cruise
Brothers; defining the main characters
Script covers - one for Oz, one for the US
One success story after another
John Grisham; What's the lowdown on his new book?

Screenplays today - industry feedback

Make 'em laugh
Top producers tell us how it is!
Following the footprints to screenplay success
What top scriptwriters say about working methods
Writers' habits of success
Script writing software - boon or barrier?
Your script - what happens to it when it leaves you?
How to protect your work
A sample movie budget
Industry feedback
When established writers can ask for more ... and get it!

Enrol before 31st May

Enjoy studying at home, at a time that suits you. Maximise your potential now by taking the next step and furthering your education with distance learning!

Enrol and pay in full now to receive a 10% discount.

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All payments are made directly to Cengage Learning (formerly Thomson Education Direct)

Pay only: $1,199 $899

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