Screenwriters Workshop: The Mystery Genre in Stories & Film

This writing class familiarizes students with the mystery genre with an eye toward developing screenwriting techniques through various stages from treatment to scene to full script. Students will read classic mystery stories and study clips from a variety of films, including film noir from the 1940’s and 50’s such as The Big Sleep, Strangers on a Train, The Third Man, and Shadow of a Doubt. By examining literary techniques such as characterization and plot, as well as film techniques such as camera angles and lighting, students analyze the ways writers and directors manipulate these key elements to build suspense and heighten tension on the page and the screen – and learn how to apply these skills in their own writing.

JY15-D5