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Impressive Guest Speakers Announced for Screenwriting & Development Labs Announced

10-12 September 2012 in Cardiff at the ATRiuM with Sally El Hosaini, Alison Sterling & Michael Walker
18-20 September 2012 in Liverpool at FACT with Frank Cottrell Boyce and Martin Wallace

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 28 August 2012

First Light and The Script Factory, the UK’s leading script development company, have teamed up to offer two further Second Light Screenwriting and Development Labs.

Supported by the Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund, the Labs have been specially designed to support emerging writers, producers and directors about the craft of screenwriting in the context of the UK film industry.

A host of great screenwriters, directors and producers including Frank Cottrell Boyce (who wrote the script for the Olympics Opening Ceremony) and multi-award winning Sally El Hosaini will speak at our forthcoming Labs. They will be joined by Michael Walker who has won many awards for his short films and BAFTA nominated Nick Whitfield.

Thanks for the last three days, The Script Lab was fantastic, wish I could do it all over again!

Script Lab came to a close today – really fantastic experience all round. Great talks from Robyn Slovo & Gurinder Chadha today. Inspiring!

Taught by screenwriting and script development experts, the three-day workshops in Cardiff and Liverpool, will introduce the key concepts in building a story for film, with informal lecture sessions, film clips, and lots of practical exercises. They will also offer sessions with current industry practitioners with a focus on short films and low budget features; agents, producers and a working screenwriter as well as a guest from the world of commissioning TV drama.

The Labs will:

• Examine the role of screenwriters and developers
• Discuss the principles of structuring a screen story
• Look at the premise and the structure of the story
• Consider how the screenwriter uses setting, visual motifs and symbolism to tell the story
• Offer a chance for participants to pitch their projects with guidance and feedback from the trainers

Suitable for writers, producers and directors and those keen to work in film production as a script reader or developer, the labs are open to anyone aged 18-25 but, we are particularly interested in hearing from applicants currently under-represented in the industry: women, young people from BME backgrounds and those with disabilities.

Bursaries

Applicants requiring financial assistance are eligible to apply for travel and childcare bursaries, and those travelling from further afield are eligible for financial support for accommodation.

The Cardiff Lab will take place:

Monday 10 – Wednesday 12 September 2012
ATRiuM
The Cardiff School of Creative and Cultural Industries
University of Glamorgan
Pontypridd
CF37 1DL

The Liverpool Lab will take place:

Tuesday 18 – Thursday 20 September 2012
FACT
88 Wood Street
Liverpool
L1 4DQ

Applicants must attend all three days. The lab will cost £30 and a sandwich lunch, fruit, chocolate and water will be provided each day.

The deadline for applications is 5pm on 28 August 2012

Applicants for the Cardiff Lab will be informed if they are successful by Monday 3rd September, and Liverpool applicants by Wednesday 5th September.

Please send your completed application form (available to download on the right hand side) along with your CV and film idea, to SL@firstlightonline.co.uk. Please also read the tips we have provided on the right hand side for filling out your application form.

If you have any queries about the Lab, please email sl@firstlightonline.co.uk.

The training opportunities above have been funded by the Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund as part of ‘A Bigger Future 2’, the UK film skills strategy. The Creative Skillset Film Skills Fund is supported by the National Lottery through the BFI and the film industry through the Skills Investment Fund.

You can find out what others thought about the first Screenwriting Lab on the Second Light Blog

To make sure that you find out about other similar opportunities, sign up to the Light Lounge via the First Light homepage.