Screenwriting
Course Dates: 11, 18 & 25 May and 1 June 2010, 7pm - 10pm
Tutor: Neil McCarthy
Location: Parkview, Johannesburg
Cost: R2, 700 (10% discount on payments made before 30 April)

Do you have an idea that would make a great screenplay, but don’t know how to get started? Have you ever watched a local drama or film and thought ‘I could do better than that!’ Then this intensive four week interactive course is for you. Designed to give you a comprehensive overview of the world of screenwriting, it will help you to write your screenplay or to polish an existing draft.

Screenwriting will be led by the award-winning South African scriptwriter, Neil McCarthy. Although mainly focused on writing for television, as this is where most professional opportunities lie in South Africa, lessons learned will also apply to writing for feature film. The course is also ideal for script editors or those employed in a production or commissioning environment, who may not write but who need a thorough understanding of the process involved in producing a workable script. Numbers are limited, to ensure individual attention.

Neil McCarthy

Neil McCarthy has worked extensively in the broadcasting industry as a scriptwriter, director, producer, actor and presenter. He is currently Head Writer on Rhythm City, a new daily drama for eTV broadcasting since July 2007. Prior to that, he was Resident Creative for television production company Ochre Moving Pictures and Creative Director with Endemol South Africa. He is a regular guest lecturer at the UCT Graduate School of Film and New Media and at The Actor’s Centre in Johannesburg. He will spend the second half of 2010 working as Senior Vice President Editorial, Worldwide Drama, for the international production company Freemantle Media, based in London.

His extensive screenwriting credits include; Head Writer on Mzansi 2 (26 part drama series, SABC1, 2005); Script Editor on Forgiveness (feature film, 2003); Head Writer on Gaz’lam (13 part drama series, SABC1, 2002); Head Writer on Zero Tolerance (13 part police drama, SABC2, 2003); Key Creator and Executive Head Writer on Isidingo (daily soap, SABC3, 1995 – 98), during which time the series won an Avante Award for Best Writing Team; Co-Writer on Kululeka (13 part sit-com, SABC, 1993 – 95); Co-Writer with Richard Beynon on Going Up! (sit-com, SABC2 1994 – 96 & 2005) and four episodes of the SABC2 drama series Sokhulu and Partners, which won the Best Writing Team award at the 2010 SAFTAS. He produced the first series of Mzansi, which won Best Programme on TV at the 2005 Duka Duka Awards and has also written the pilot for a four-part mini-series, Bush Babylon, currently under option by Danny Glover’s production company l’Ouverture.

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