Screenwriting: Core Elements
Session: May 2026
About this Self-Paced Course
"This course gave me the timeline and accountability to put my thoughts onto a paper, and have structure and background to understand the beginning form of writing a screenplay. I valued this course immensely and thought the instructors were both inspiring and thoughtful."
—Sunny L., Brooklyn, NY, USA
Create a treatment for your feature film screenplay idea in nine weeks with an experienced screenwriter as your guide. In this introductory-level self-paced course, you will take this important first step in crafting your screenplay and learn a set of tools that will get you from concept to treatment.
This is a self-paced course. Self-paced courses allow you to watch pre-recorded lectures at your own pace, while working on deadlines to get individualized feedback on your work.
Along the way you will:
- learn the fundamentals of theme and establish yours for your screenplay.
- develop and reveal your protagonist, antagonist, and supporting characters.
- gain a command of the three-act structure and an understanding of when to break away from it.
- establish conflict and obstacles.
- construct the world and tone for your screenplay.
- layer emotion and emotional truth into your treatment.
- break through your own obstacles as you revise your work.
- understand how to take notes and approach a rewrite.
This course is ideal for:
- first-time screenwriters with a great idea for a film and who could use help with structure, world-building, character development, and deadlines.
- novice writers who have a first draft but want to further hone their structure or character development.
You will submit your work to a Sundance Advisor for written feedback at two points throughout the 9-week course. For an additional fee, you may elect to meet with your advisor for a 60-minute 1-on-1 session during the course term.
We welcome participants with short film ideas, but the course is designed to teach the feature-length format.
Do you have an idea for a TV (episodic) series? Check out our course, TV Writing: Core Elements (Self-paced).
A limited number of need-based scholarships are available and are considered on a rolling basis as they are received. Those who apply earlier will have a greater chance of getting support. To apply for a scholarship, please complete the course registration form.
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 CourseScholarships
Sundance Collab offers a limited number of full and partial need-based scholarships for individuals who need assistance.
Due to limited scholarship funds available, we prioritize one course scholarship per participant in a 12-month period. Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.
Outline
Topics covered include:
- Introduction to the course
- Theme and intent
Topics covered include:
- Initial character work
- Developing multifaceted characters
- The interior monologue
Topics covered include:
- Creating conflict through character
- The character wheel
Topics covered include:
- Fundamentals of storytelling
- The three basic stories
- Writing your action summary
Topics covered include:
- Understanding three act structure
- How to create a beat sheet
Topics covered include:
- Filling in the gaps in your story
- Using parallel scripts
- Mapping sequences
Topics covered include:
- Painting a picture through your script
Topics covered include:
- Adding emotion, motivation, and feeling to your plot
Topics covered include:
- Free your characters and yourself
- Breaking through your own obstacles
Topics covered include:
- Taking notes
- Starting script pages
Team
Part of Sundance Collab's unique educational approach is to create a teaching team of lead instructor and advisors for every course. For our self-paced courses, the video lectures will be delivered by the instructor and the group office hours or live class exercises and feedback will be conducted by a course advisor.
Note that the advisor(s) shown here may include both current and future session advisors.
Trey Ellis
Caleb Aldrich
Raj Trivedi
Melanie Rish-Ho
Maggie Talbot-Minkin
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:
- Watch Zoom's Video Tutorials or review training materials on the Getting Started page
- Join a Live Training from 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.