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Low Budget Screenwriting with Phil Parker – 25th February 2006 Click here for other Masterclasses & booking info. A session with one of Europe’s leading screenplay consultants and lecturers. The UK film industry has a history of producing successful low budget films ranging from ‘Shallow Grave’ and ‘Bend It Like Beckham’ to ‘Dog Soldiers’. With over 50 low budget projects currently being developed with UK Film Council and C4 support plus micro-budget schemes and the inevitable DIY output, low budget film-making is currently the most active part of the UK film industry. However, there have been over 200 low budget films made recently in the UK and most have sunk without trace. How can you ensure your low budget project does not join them? So what makes a successful low budget film and what does a screenplay need to be successful? In this intensive practice-based session I will use elements of the ‘Creative Matrix’ and apply them in a low budget setting, using successful contemporary examples. With the severe limitation on locations, action, and cast imposed by limited budgets, being an inventive and imaginative storyteller becomes a key element in creating a successful film. Critical to this approach is not just finding the genre you are working with but also characterisation, tone, plot and of course subject. The aims of the session are to: I. Identify what genres work well in a low budget setting. II. Review the importance of characterisation and dialogue. III. Develop an awareness of the latest approaches to plotting. IV. Demonstrate how tone and in particular, comedy can be applied to a subject to reach a broader audience. V. Identify audiences and subjects that work in low budget films. The art of screenwriting is more than just having a story to tell, or even finding an interesting way to tell it. It is also about surprising audiences, writing distinctive characters and using visual style and tone in a cinematic way to create an original narrative. The low budget arena exposes writers’ abilities to tackle these issues with minimal resources, and therefore requires an extra effort to ensure your screenplay does not become one of the hundreds which disappear without a trace. Biography Phil is a leading freelance screenplay consultant whose clients include Aardman Animation, UK Film Council, Berlin Brandenburg Medienboard, Mob films, Northern Film & Media and numerous independent writers, directors and producers. He is currently Skillset’s consultant on development and screenwriters training. He is also the author of ‘The Art & Science of Screenwriting’ and has lectured around the world. The Founder and Course Director of the MA Screenwriting course at the London College of Communication, where graduates have won the Palm D’or, BAFTAs, been Oscar nominated and have hundreds of television credits to their names. Feedback from Phil's Masterclass Are You Tone Deaf? – 7th May 2005
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