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Apply for Film 33: Writing for the Screen

Are you interested in screenwriting this fall? Apply now for Film 33: Writing for the Screen with Professor Bill Phillips.

Application Instructions for

Film 33: Writing for the Screen

 

Fall 2026 & Winter 2027

 

Guidelines:

(Note: no screenwriting experience is required. There is no prerequisite for this course.)

Two types of submission: (both required)

  1. Feature script proposal (or this may be a pilot proposal for a series)
  2. Short script proposal 

Proposals should be simple and brief, like something you’d read on a Netflix page to decide what to watch. One or two lines long. Any topic. I just want to know what you intend to write. The only things I would ever ask you not to do would be clichés we’ve already seen too many times.

You MAY submit a short writing sample, but it is not required. For example:

  1. Screenplay scenes
  2. Play Scenes
  3. Fiction segments (from a short story or novel you’re working on)
  4. Journalism Articles, whether ever published or not
  5. Poetry
  6. School Essays

Please email your application to William.F.Phillips@dartmouth.edu. I would prefer a Microsoft Word enclosure or a Final Draft software enclosure, but if necessary, you could send it as part of the email text.

DEADLINE:  ASAP. First come, first served. I’ll get back to you promptly.

Regarding the proposals, please be aware you may submit one or more story ideas you might want to work on.  There is no commitment at this point to your sticking with your ideas.  You may even want try more than one of each and get class feedback on which ideas will make a better script.

Suggestions for prepping before class:

       1. (optional… this is an assignment in 33): A major character list consisting of:

      Protagonist (your "hero"), Antagonist (your "villain"), Love Interest (if any),

      Best Friend or other Greek Chorus-type figure (if any).

      2. Think about (but don't hand it in yet... this too is an assignment in 33) coming up with at least 40 scenes for your feature script or 20 scenes if you choose a TV pilot.  Simple math tells you a standard 120-page script will need to average  least 40 scenes times 3 pages each to sustain feature length. Many stories have 50, 60 or more scenes.  I tell you this now to give you time to start thinking about your stories. [Note: there is also an option for writing a 60-page TV Pilot and Production Bible if you prefer.]

 

FS33’s Final Assignment will be only act ONE (of 3) of your Feature or Pilot, plus the entire Short script. Feature and Pilot scripts will be finished in FS34, in the spring. (Roughly half the class takes FS34 a year later, because of their D Plan.)