Raising The
Stakes
A one-day workshop exploring how to create compelling dramatic conflict and sustain the tension, whatever your genre.
Saturday 5 October 11am - 5.30pm
Pushkin House, Bloomsbury, London
Course fee £115.
The most frequently asked question in the development process is ‘what’s at stake?’.
This one-day workshop offers a concentrated examination of how to maximise the stakes across every element of your screenplay.
The impetus to write is unique and precious to each writer and our personal connection with the material is often what keeps us going through the long dark months of drafting and redrafting. But from the earliest idea stage through to the final polish, it’s essential to keep evaluating how to invite the audience to share that passion for your story. Even if your story is not literally a matter of life and death, learning how to frame your characters’ stakes as critical is the foundation to shaping a story that audiences can emotionally invest in.
We will explore how to elevate the stakes within your premise, interrogate the dramatic tension within your scenes and sequences, and sharpen the motivations of your characters.
Whether you are a writer embarking on a new project, or a producer making the case for funding, our training gives you the tools to analyse why your story demands to be told and the skills to translate your excitement about the material into on-screen action infused with jeopardy.
Workshop Content
1. A Reason to Watch
This session will examine how to identify the most compelling stakes within a film idea and ensure that the story you develop lives up to the full potential within the premise. Does the conflict demand an urgent response? Is the character grappling with a challenge or dilemma that is universal to the human experience? Is the story dealing with an age-old conflict but in a fascinating new world? Or shedding light on a familiar story in an original way?
2. And Reasons To Keep Watching
Is your protagonist’s problem hard enough to solve that it genuinely takes ninety minutes of screen time for them to do so? This session explores how you ensure that your character’s predicament is embedded with enough layers of conflict to sustain tension, deliver satisfying turning points, and keep the audience hooked for the length of a feature film.
3. The Dramatic Question
The single most important ‘key’ to unlocking your story structure is knowing what dramatic question is driving your narrative. What precisely are we watching to find out? This session illustrates how to organize your story around a clear dramatic question: how to pose it at the end of your first act, restate it throughout, and finally answer it with an ending that has real impact and meaning.
“I was thrilled to discover this workshop at the time my screenplay had reached a roadblock. And boy, did it deliver! Justine and Charlotte are a dynamic duo whose insight digs deep into the bedrock of story structure, which allowed me to attack my second draft with effective tools and renewed energy.”
FAQs
Who Is The Course For?
This course is designed for both writers and those who work closely with them as developers and producers. The teaching is equally applicable to those currently at the idea stage and those refining later drafts. Our aim is to equip you with essential story crafting skills that you can draw on for every film project. The class is a combination of creative group exercises and informal lectures but you will not be required to share any of your own writing.
Course Preparation
There will be some preparatory viewing recommended before the programme starts.
Course Tutors
This workshop will be taught by Justine Hart and Charlotte Macleod.
Where And When Will The Course Take Place?
Saturday 5th October 2024 at Pushkin House, 5a Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2TA.
The teaching will run from 11am-5.30pm with a 45-minute lunch break. There will also be the option of heading to the pub afterwards to maximise the opportunity of meeting with fellow filmmakers. The number of participants is limited to 18.
What Does The Course Cost?
Attendance on the course costs £115.
Participants will receive a full set of notes to accompany the teaching.
Free Zoom Consultation
All course attendees will be invited to submit a 2-3 page treatment / story outline within two months of completing the workshop for a free 30 minute Zoom consultation on their film idea.
Booking
Booking is now closed for our 5th October course. If you would like to join the waiting list for our next workshops in early 2025, please complete the form.