On the Move: 2006 May Term Stories

June 19, 2006

The Third in a Series of Stories on the May Term Experience

Writing for the Big Screen

Story by Jan Dehner

Ever walk out of a movie theater and remark, “I could have written that!”? That’s the question—and eventual challenge—Dr. Sean Meehan, pictured to the right, posed to 12 students in his May Term “Film Writing Workshop.”

Meehan wanted the students, both writers and non-writers alike, to experience an intensive writing workshop, one where they could explore the creative process of developing a film story. Each student was asked to produce a film treatment, or outline, for an entire film and write a lengthy section of the actual script. During the final class, students "pitched" their film idea to the rest of the class, much as they would do if they were trying to sell a script.

“Film writing is more popular and more lucrative than academic writing,” said Meehan. “I wanted to give the students a chance to do something that they’ve never done before.”

Taking the standard story structure of screenwriting, which includes a protagonist who is faced with a problem, their actions, and subsequent resolution, the class viewed several different films in a variety of genres and compared their individual treatments. From the more traditional three-act format of Thelma and Louise to Pulp Fiction, which has several different story lines going on at the same time, and to the extensive use of flashbacks evidenced in the film The Usual Suspects, the students were able to identify the basic screenwriting structure.

“Dr. Meehan was awesome. He did great research and the structure of film writing was outlined very clearly,” said David Streeby, a senior from Sioux City, Iowa, who is majoring in music. Streeby, pictured to the right, soon discovered, however, that screenwriting was a challenging task.

“I found there is a need to have constant visual accountability, to be aware of how things will transfer to the screen,” he said.

Just as his students may have discovered a new creative outlet or learned a greater appreciation for how films are created, Meehan himself also grew from the experience.

“Film writing is more formulaic, and I wanted to learn that, too,” he said. “I’m looking at the potential of adapting a classic novel into a film script.”