Apply Today! Undergraduate final deadline is August 1
—Metro State will observe Summer Hours May 22–July 25: On Fridays, services will be virtual only, and buildings will be closed Fridays and Saturdays (except the Library will be open Fridays and Saturdays from 10 a.m-6 p.m.).
The Screenwriting minor is intended for the student who is interested in learning the basics of writing a screenplay.
A course of study presents screenwriting as a creative art form. The minor may complement other fields such as theater or creative writing, or it may be appropriate for someone who simply loves movies. Electives provide critical and practical perspectives with offerings in digital film production and film theory.
Once you’re admitted as an undergraduate student and have met any further admission requirements your chosen program may have, you may declare a major or declare an optional minor.
Apply to Metro State: Start the journey toward your Screenwriting Minor now. Learn about the steps to enroll or, if you have questions about what Metro State can offer you, request information, visit campus or chat with an admissions counselor.
This course offers a broad overview of film studies and nurtures students' development of cinematic expression. Students will critique films from a wide range of cultures and historical periods. Through film analysis, they will: examine the formal elements, aesthetic tools, and techniques filmmakers use to convey meaning, evoke emotion, and articulate ideas and themes; explore diverse representations of the human experience and connect cinema to broader cultural movements. In addition to critical interpretation, students will experiment with their own expressive, creative voices and explore their own cultural perspectives through ideation prompts and screenwriting exercises.
The process of writing narrative screenplays will be introduced through writing exercises, screenplay readings, film viewings and discussion. Writing exercises will explore creativity, individual voice and practical skills. Writing in screenplay format will also be covered. Students will finish with at least one complete short screenplay ready for production. This course provides a foundation for further study in screenwriting.
Special Topics is a course designation that is used to accommodate the exploration of various elements, themes, and creative techniques that supplement and enrich a student's artistic education within the screenwriting and film production craft framework. Topics will change from semester to semester. Topics may include, but are not limited to: Documentary Filmmaking, The Writers' Room Experience, Creative Financing and Distribution, Producing the Independent Film, and TV Studio Production. If more than one Special Topics course is taken in fulfillment of the major, they must be different course titles.
Full course description for Special Topics: Variable Subtitles
Through writing exercises and screenwriting assignments students will explore and practice writing in a variety of forms including adaptations, webisodes, scripted series, or other emerging episodic forms. Films and screenplays will be analyzed and discussed for critical and historical perspectives. Professional development opportunities will be introduced.
The course introduces the principles and practices of electronic filmmaking as a personal and creative art form. Students will engage in exercises and projects to explore and understand editing, camera work, light, composition, and sound. A variety of cinematic forms will be examined. Student screenplays may be produced. Students will film and edit individual creative projects.
This course centers the cinematic art from communities historically excluded from mainstream American cinema: Indigenous Cinema, Black and African-American Cinema, Women-led Cinema, Asian-American Cinema, Latinx-American Cinema, Queer (LGBTQ+) Cinema, Disability Cinema, among many others. The major goal of this course is to consciously and radically shift perspective in contemporary cinema studies away from the traditional film school canon to the above. We will discuss the causes of this suppression, study reports and statistics, discuss intersectionality, explore the effects this exclusion has had on American society, and analyze the barriers to inclusion. Past the history into the present, we will study films from the New Wave of Diversity in 21st Century American Cinema, explore their equitable aesthetics, and highlight equitable producing, financing and distribution options for filmmakers who are disabled as well as for Women, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ filmmakers. Significant focus is…
Full course description for Excluded Voices of American Cinema
Internships offer students opportunities to gain deeper knowledge and skills in their chosen field. Students are responsible for locating their own internship. Metro faculty members serve as liaisons to the internship sites¿ supervisors and as evaluators to monitor student work and give academic credit for learning. Students are eligible to earn 1 credit for every 40 hours of work completed at their internship site.
Full course description for Screenwriting Individual Internship
Student-designed independent studies give Metro State students the opportunity to plan their own study. This type of independent learning strategy can be useful because it allows students: to study a subject in more depth, at a more advanced level; to pursue a unique project that requires specialized study; to draw together several knowledge areas or interests into a specialized study; to test independent learning capabilities and skills; or to use special learning resources in the community, taking advantage of community education opportunities which, in themselves, would not yield a full college competence. Students should contact their academic advisor for more information.
Full course description for Screenwriting Student Designed Independent Studies
Through a hands on, learn by doing experience, students will select a project, plan the production, audition actors, work as crew filming on location, and direct a short digital film. Each student will edit their own individual project. This course offers a complete package overview of writing and directing low budget, short narrative digital films. This course may be taken twice for credit.
This course investigates the dramatic essence, creative demands, and craft of feature length screenwriting. Originality and distinctive voice will be analyzed and explored through readings and writing exercises. Students will write a rough draft feature length screenplay. Films and screenplays will be analyzed and discussed for critical and historical perspectives. Professional development opportunities will be presented.
In a supportive workshop environment, students will complete a market ready screenplay and prepare a portfolio of previous work. Students will also participate in community engagement opportunities such as attending film festivals and related professional networking events. Career development strategies will be presented. This is an opportunity to enhance screenwriting skills at an advanced level, reflect, and participate.
Digital storytelling is a growing area of multimodal communication that is part of a larger movement to empower communities and voices through the use of digital tools and platforms. Digital stories are short videos that combine narration, images (still and moving), sound effects, and music to tell a compelling story. Students will create two digital stories: a personal story and a story that promotes a cause or organization (e.g., a Kickstarter-style video). The process will include multiple rough cuts and a final version of each video, as well as extensive instructor and peer feedback.