Visual Fiction, Organization & Visualization of Screenplay

Visual Storytelling, Screenplay Composition & Visualization  aims at students who are oriented towards a career in the field of applied audiovisual narration. The course focuses on teaching principles of writing and visualizing of a script. During the course, the theoretical approaches of drama are developed alongside the narrative and structural possibilities of the moving image. There is extensive reference to issues relating to the creation of a visual story, such as visual space, movement, narrative rhythm and the relationship of script and visual structure.

The main objective of this course is to familiarize students with the  theoretical and practical tools used for developing  a screenplay into a visual structured medium. Specifically, during the course students are trained to apply aesthetic and composition principles, which are taught during the Comic Illustration course, exclusively for the  creation of  visual narratives (video, cinema, 3d animations). The ability of students to transcribe their ideas into a distinctive visual form is cultivated through a series of lectures and exercises.

1^st Week:

- Definitions

- Screenplay format

- Types of Narratives

- Fundamentals of Story Structure

                  -

- Basic Structural elements of a Visual Story

- Composition: Unity and Contrast

- Optical Structure

2^nd Week:

- Definition of Drama

- Action as the basic organizing element of a story

- Unity of Action

                  -

- Types of Space

- Flat Space and Depth Space

- The formal characteristics of Flat and Depth Space

- Dramatic qualities of Flat and Depth Space

3^rd Week:

- Myth and Character

- Myth elements

- Mythic Structure

- Character and Myth

                  -

- Limited and Ambivalent Space

- The formal elements of the Limited and Ambivalent Space

- Dramatic qualities of the Limited and Ambivalent Space

4^th Week:

- Joseph Campbell / Introduction to the psychoanalytic approach on story

- Monomyth and the Hero's Journey

- Character Archetypes

- The Mythic Journey

                  -

- Line, Edge and Axis / Linear patterns and compositional possibilities

- Shape

- Unity and Contrast of Line and Shape

5^th Week:

- Lajos Egri / Introduction to modern narrative theories

- Premise

- Criticism of the Aristotelian narrative model

- Character and Myth

- Dramatic Conflict

                  -

- Tone and Tone Scales

- Unity and contrast of Tone gradients

- Methods of organizing Tone values

6^th Week:

- The function of Character in drama

- Character structure

- Character and the dramatic objective

                  -

- Light and Color

- Color scales

- Methods of organizing Color 

- Unity and Contrast of Color scales

7^th Week:

- Definition of Conflict

- Types of Conflict

- The functions of Dramatic Conflict

- Conflict, Character and Myth

- Conflict and dramatic structure

                  -

- Movement

- Graphical representation of Movement

- Simple and Complicated Movement

- Motion and  Camera

8^th Week:

- Dramatic composition

- The Three Act Structure

- The anatomy of the Three Act Structure

- Arrangement of  Myth within the Three Act Structure

                  -

- Movement / Unity and Contrast

- Motion and narrative continuity

9^th Week:

- The methodology of writing a scene

- The structural elements of a scene

                  -

- Rhythm / Definition

- Rhythm / Unity and Contrast

10^th Week: 

- The hierarchy of information in relation to Character and Viewer

- The main Dramatic Question

- Secondary dramatic questions

                  -

- Methods of transforming and dividing the Frame

- Subdivisions of a Frame

11^th Week:

- Graphical organization of a script

- Structure of visual elements in relation to the script structure

12^th: Revision exercises

- Revision exercises aimed at consolidating the principles that were taught during 

  the  semester        

13^th Week:

- Revision exercises aimed at consolidating the principles that were taught during 

  the  semester 

Aristotle's Poetics , Kedros Editions 2004

Aristotle's Poetics, Kaktos Editions 2002

Michael Tierno, Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters,  Hyperion Editions 2002

Robert Mc Kee, Story,  Methuen Editions 1997

Syd Field, Screenwriting,  Ebury Press Editions 2003

Linda Seger, Making a Good Script Great,  Samuel French Editions 1994

Bruce Block, The Visual Story: Creating the Visual Structure of Film, TV and Digital Media, Focal Press Editions, Μassachusetts 2007

Steven D. Katz, Film Directing Shot by Shot: Visualizing from Concept to Screen, Michael Wiese Editions / Studio City 1991

The course aims to familiarize students with the theories and techniques of script writing. The course is organized on a series of lectures and exercises, during which the elements of dramaand visual storytelling are presented and embellished. During the lectures, the theoretical elements are presented in connection with extracts from comics and films. Emphasis is placed on the analysis of their morphic systems. Students are  asked to handle specific orginizing strategies in the framework of hierarchical exercises. Particular emphasis is given to developing students' critical ability to decode the structure and organizational elements of cinematographic films.

Provision of multimedia material. Support of learning process through the e-class electronic platform.

Enhanced by multimedia content.
The learning process is supported by the asyncrhonous e-learning platform e-class.

An evaluation questionnaire is filled and submitted anonymously by the students.

During the exams students submit artwork files that they carried out during the semester.

The evaluation of their work is based on quantitative and qualitative assessment in relation to the principles taught during the semester.