Worldbuilding: Designing the World Behind the Story

With: Sonte'nish Myers
$395

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4 Days
7
Worldbuilding: Designing the World Behind the Story
7
Worldbuilding: Designing the World Behind the Story

About this Weekend Intensive

Your story's world shapes every character decision, plot twist, and emotional beat. In speculative fiction, masterful worldbuilding transforms your screenplay from a collection of scenes into an immersive experience that captivates audiences and makes the impossible feel inevitable.


Whether you are creating a grounded science fiction screenplay, a fantasy episodic series, or a short film set in an alternate reality, this four-day intensive will walk you through how to map out the world that will best serve your story. With award-winning filmmaker and Feature Film Program alum Sonte’nish Myers as your guide, you will discover new techniques for brainstorming, creating a blueprint for your story, and testing your fictional landscape for potential plot holes. By the end of the intensive, you will have a solid foundation for creating your story.


What you bring to the intensive:

  • An interest in understanding the worldbuilding process in speculative fiction. Creators at any level of experience are welcome to apply.

In this intensive, you will learn:

  • How to assess the scope of your world and plan accordingly
  • How to build a believable world that serves your story
  • How to establish “rules” for your story and how to incorporate them into your screenplay
  • How atmosphere can inform the story and characters
  • To identify common mistakes in worldbuilding to make a bulletproof concept

For an additional fee of $100, you may elect to meet with your Instructor for a 30-minute 1-on-1 session during the course term. You would submit work in advance, and then in this 1-on-1 session, your Instructor would provide feedback on one of the following documents:

  • A breakdown of the world you are building (no more than five pages)
  • A logline and synopsis of the story you are working on (no more than five pages)
  • A selected scene from your work (no more than five pages)

Intensive Schedule

  • Session 1: Monday, August 18
    • 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (PT)
  • Session 2: Tuesday, August 19
    • 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (PT)
  • Session 3: Wednesday, August 20
    • 11:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. (PT)
  • Session 4: Thursday, August 21
    • 11:00 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. (PT)


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.

Weekend Intensive
Intermediate
Live virtual class sessions
Certificate of Completion
Access to course for one year

Scholarships

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

  • 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (PT)
  • 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (PT)
  • 11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. (PT)
  • 11:00 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. (PT)

Team

Sonte'nish Myers

Instructor

A village child with her nose always buried in a fantasy novel, Sonte’nish carries her love for genre and the heroic journey into her filmmaking. With roots in both the U.S. and Jamaica, Sonte’nish’s voice began to crystallize once she understood that she needn’t look any further than her places of origin and the people who loved her to find what was significant and lasting in filmmaking. A graduate of NYU’s Graduate Film program, where she is now an adjunct professor, from drama to sci-fi and fantasy, Sonte’nish centers worlds and characters familiar to her in hopes of continuing the legacy of the folktales she grew up with.


Since the success of her award-winning short Cross My Heart, a Vimeo Staff Pick and streaming on SHOWTIME ANYTIME, Sonte’nish has garnered support for her feature scripts, including fellowships with Sundance, Tribeca, and Film Independent.


Her period sci-fi feature Stampede (The Black List, Sundance Labs) is currently being packaged and cast, while she develops a near-future sci-fi thriller with a leading production company and a fantasy epic for a major network, both under wraps.


Working across mediums, Sonte'nish has directed music videos for Grammy-winning artists Tank and the Bangas and Samara Joy.


With support from Nikon and Black Women Photographers, Sonte’nish is developing her debut audio-visual exhibition “Auntie”.

FAQ

In Sundance Collab’s Intensives, participants attend live, virtual class sessions in a condensed time period. These sessions are led by an instructor and supported by the Sundance Collab courses team. 

All members of the Sundance Collab community are welcome to register for Sundance Collab Intensives. Some Intensives require an application. Please review the description and any eligibility requirements to ensure the Intensive is a good fit. If you have any questions, please email collab_courses@sundance.org. 

For application-based Intensives, note that space is limited. Applications are considered as they are received and applicants are accepted on a rolling basis until the Intensive is full or the deadline has passed, whichever comes first. If the application window is open, you will see an “Apply” button on the course page.

We send our application acceptance notifications on a rolling basis, starting after the application deadline. You will be notified of your acceptance status no later than three days before the first session. At any point, you can check the status of a course that you have applied to by logging into Sundance Collab and visiting the course page. You’ll see a purple bar there indicating your status.

When reviewing applications for an Intensive, the Sundance Collab team evaluates the needs and expectations of each applicant. We are also looking to convene a diverse group of participants who will work well together and support each other throughout the Intensive. Finally, we will confirm that the applicant can meet the time commitment necessary and has a strong interest and readiness to complete the Intensive and meaningfully contribute to the group process.

We do not offer any combined applications or discounts for Sundance Collab Intensives.

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 and selecting the option to apply for a scholarship, 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.

No, because of the length of the course, we do not offer payment plans for Intensives. However, we do offer a limited number of need-based scholarships which can be applied for within the course registration process.

Yes, you are welcome to take a live, online Intensive even if you can’t make the live sessions. Recordings of each session are available online within two business days.

All 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 recordings for one year following the last session.

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

You can join a course via a computer or mobile device. All of our Intensives are conducted via Zoom.

Download and set up the Zoom software 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.

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Scholarships:

  • A limited number of need-based scholarships are available.

  • Scholarship applications are available up to one week before the registration deadline and do not stack with discounts or promotions, including early registration.

  • To apply for a scholarship, complete the registration form by clicking the REGISTER button above and selecting the scholarship option, if available.