Creating the Horror in Your Screenplay

With: Owen Egerton
$150

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4 weeks
4
Creating the Horror in Your Screenplay
4
Creating the Horror in Your Screenplay

About this Self-Paced Course

Ready to write a horror screenplay that gets under your audience's skin? Learn to craft truly terrifying and unforgettable horror stories in this comprehensive, self-paced course taught by celebrated horror screenwriter Owen Egerton.


In this course, you'll go beyond cheap jump scares to discover the core principles of cinematic horror. Through bite-sized video lessons you can watch at your own pace, Owen will guide you through writing exercises that build your story from the ground up, helping you develop compelling characters, build suspense, and create scares that are both original and deeply unsettling.


This course builds upon a previous Sundance Collab Master Class and features exclusive insights and conversations with some of the biggest names in the genre, including Jennifer Kent (The Babadook), Ana Lily Amirpour (A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night), Jason Blum (Blumhouse Productions), and Robert Eggers (The Witch).


In this course, you will:

  • Develop and outline a compelling horror story
  • Create and define your characters
  • Craft and analyze the art of "the scare"
  • Write a powerful logline to pitch your project
  • Draft a short horror script for your film concept

Who this course is for: This course is ideal for aspiring and working screenwriters, as well as directors and genre enthusiasts who want to master the unique elements of horror storytelling.


Additional Benefits: Your enrollment includes a workbook and access to additional videos from Sundance Collab's Video Library.


Live Interaction and Support:

  • Weekly Group Office Hours: Join our live online sessions with a Sundance Collab Advisor. This is your opportunity to ask questions, discuss challenges, and get real-time feedback in a supportive group environment.
  • 1-on-1 Feedback (Additional $150): For more personalized support, you can book a 60-minute, 1-on-1 meeting with your Advisor to receive detailed feedback on a draft of your horror scene, sequence, or short film (10 pages max).


Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Accommodations and services are designed to meet the needs of each participant. Please email us at accessibility@sundance.org to arrange for services.

Self-Paced Course
Beginner to Intermediate
Self-paced course
Group office hours
1-on-1 meeting with advisor (for additional fee)
Certificate of Completion
Access to course for one year

Outline

Topics covered include:

  • Course Overview
  • Introduction to Horror

Topics covered include:

  • Story Development
  • Building Narrative
  • Amplifying the Idea
  • The Art of Character-Based Horror

Topics covered include:

  • Character Development
  • Creating the Scare
  • Horror Scene Analysis

Topics covered include:

  • Navigating the Horror Market
  • Entrepreneurial Producing in the Horror Genre
  • Making Your Film
  • Next Steps for Your Horror Story
  • Career Evolution and Creative Partnerships

Team

Owen Egerton

Instructor

Award winning filmmaker and novelist Owen Egerton is the screenwriter and writer/director of several films including Blood Fest (Rooster Teeth, Warner Media) and Mercy Black (Blumhouse, Universal). Working in horror, comedy, and occasionally animation, Egerton has written for Fox, Disney, Warner Brothers, HBO and more. He’s written several novels including The Book of Harold the Illegitimate Son of God and Hollow which landed on NPR's Best Books of 2017. Egerton is also one of the comics behind the Alamo Drafthouse’s Master Pancake Theater and host of the Fantastic Debates at the Fantastic Fest.

FAQ

Sundance Collab’s Self-paced courses provide flexibility to complete the work on your own time, but also within a structured timeline that helps you to advance your project. You will travel through the course with a cohort of creators like yourself, and - if applicable - are given assignments with due dates during key weeks of the course:  

  • Each week you will view pre-recorded lectures by the instructor structured around key topics.
  • Post-Video Activities after each session are designed to apply concepts to your own work, and move your project to the next stage.
  • If assigned, a course advisor will give you feedback on elements of your work.
  • You will have the opportunity to join live class exercises or group office hours, hosted by Sundance Collab Advisors, at critical points in the course to ask questions and discuss concepts.
  • In some courses, you will have the opportunity to purchase a 1-on-1 Zoom session with your assigned course advisor.

All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to take Sundance Collab Self-paced courses. Please review the course description to ensure the course is a good fit. If you have any questions about a course, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.


Note that each Self-paced course has a registration deadline, so please check the date and time to ensure you don’t miss the cut-off. If the registration window is open, you will see a "Register” button on the course page.

We do not allow creative partners to do our Self-paced courses as a team. However, both creators can individually register for the course.


We often offer a limited number of need-based, full or partial scholarships. Check the course description to see if that course currently has scholarships available. Scholarships are prioritized for one per person per year (from the date of issue). Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline. To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button above and selecting the scholarship option, if available.

Applicants will be notified about their scholarship decision prior to the first day of the course. Due to the volume of applicants, we are not always able to provide a scholarship, but we may still offer a spot in the course.In this case, depending on the course, payment plans may be available and can be selected at checkout.

Yes, we offer two or three-part payment plans for Self-paced courses, depending on the length of the course. In all cases, the first payment is due at the point of registration. The remaining payment(s) are spread out throughout the course term. For specific payment plan dates for a course, please reach out to our team at: collab_courses@sundance.org

In courses with live class exercises or group office hours, the sessions are recorded and usually made available within two business days. The videos will also contain the chat and transcript from the session, viewable in the video playbar.


Participants will have access to the lecture recordings and course materials for one year following the last class session.

All participants will receive a Certificate of Completion. The certificate will include the name associated with your Collab account.


You can find any courses that you are enrolled in or have already completed in the profile section of your Collab account under “Courses.”


You can access the course videos via a computer or mobile device. All of our live class exercises and group office hour sessions are conducted via Zoom. 


Download and set up the Zoom software (https://zoom.us/download) and make sure you have the latest update. Here are some great resources from Zoom’s Knowledge Base to take a deeper dive into using Zoom:

If you have any further questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org.

Sundance Collab provides accommodations and support services to participants with disabilities. Please contact us at (435) 776-7790 or email us at accessibility@sundance.org to ask any questions or to discuss your specific needs after you have been accepted into the course.

No currently scheduled sessions

Interested in hearing about the next session of this course?
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