Information Package
baskent.edu.tr

Program of Radio, Television and Cinema

RTS417

TV DRAMA SERIES WRITING

Course Code
RTS417
Semester
-
Theory+Practice
3 + 0
ECTS
5
Course TypeElective Course
Course LevelBachelor's Degree
Year of Study-
Semester-
ECTS5
Name of Lecturer(s)
Learning Outcomes

At the end of this course, the students;

  1. Learn how the main and side characters in TV series are created. The main story and side stories of the series can be identified.
  2. Learn to capture the spirit and atmosphere of a story through the sequence of scenes in TV series and can apply this knowledge while writing.
  3. Understand the main structure of television series by gaining in-depth observation power.
Mode of DeliveryFace to face
PrerequisitesYes(RTS351)
Recommended Optional Programme Components
Course DescriptionThis course is designed to the conditions and requirements of script writing for a 40-50-minute television drama series.
Course Contents
WEEK TOPICS
1st Week Explaining the elements that make a TV series interesting and worth watching through exemplary TV series. What kind of topics and events in a TV series can make the plot interesting?
2nd Week The plot and character structures of two TV series (Ethos and The Fall) will be compared.
3rd Week The dramatic tension of the scene, characters and dialogues will be analysed.
4th Week In-class exercices; beat sheets for pilot episodes of either Ethos or The Fall.
5th Week How to start and end a scene? How to enter a scene late and leave early? How to arrange the dialogues on a scene?
6th Week How should economic dialogue be written? Sequence structure in the script and how a scene determines another scene.
7th Week Discussion on how to tell the story and the importance of the originality of the character structure when creating a series story.
8th Week How does Writers Room work?
9th Week Writers' Room workshop. The class will be divided into groups.
10th Week Individual presentation- In-class exercices; The class will be divided into two groups. Two ideas will be generated and written for an episode of the TV series chosen as the final project.
11th Week Presentations: Students will be divided into two groups and present their ideas in class.
12th Week The two draft episodes will be discussed.
13th Week The final check of the first and second episodes.
14th Week Discussing the use of artificial intelligence in scenario projects.
Recommended or Required ReadingSENARYO KİTABI / Senaryo Yazım Teknikleri ve Film Örnekleri
Öktem Başol, Pana Film Yayınları, İstanbul, 2010.
SENARYO VE YAPIM
Mahmut Tali Öngören, Alan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1985.
SENARYO YAZARI OLMAK
Feridun Akyürek, MediaCat Kitapları, İstanbul, 2004.
THE ART OF DRAMATIC WRITING
Lagos Egri, Simon and Schuster, New York, 1946.
WRITING THE TV DRAMA SERIES. Pamela Douglas, Michael Wiese Productions, 2011.
THE TOOLS OF SCREENWRITING: A WRITER?S GUIDE TO CRAFT AND ELEMENTS OF A
SCREENPLAY. David Howard&Edward Mabley, Souvenir Press Ltd., 2011.
THE NONBROADCAST TELEVISION WRITER?S HANDBOOK
William Van Nonstran, Knowlwdge Industry Publications, Inc. NY, 1983.
ELEMENTS OF STYLE FOR SCREENWRITERS ? The Essential Manual for Writers of Screenplays,
Paul Argentini, IFilm Publishing, Lone Eagle Publising. Co., USA, New York, 1998.
THE SCREEN-WRITER?S WORKBOOK
Syd FIELD, Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., USA, New York, 1984.
WRITERS AT THE MOVIES ? TWENTY-SIX - CONTEMPORARY AUTHORS CELEBRATE, TWENTY ?
SIX ? MEMORABLE MOVIES, Edited by Jım Shepard, Perennial An Imprint of Harper Collins
Publihers, New York, 2000.
SCREENWRITING
Ray Frensham, Printed in Great Britain for Hodder&Stoughton Educational, a division of
Hodder Headline Ltd., London, 2003.
TELEVİZYON YAZARLIĞI
Gerald Kelsey, Çeviren: Bahar Öcal Düzgören, Yapı Kredi Yayınları, İstanbul, 2001.
Planned Learning Activities and Teaching Methods
  • Lecture
  • Discussion
  • Case Study
  • Presentation
Assessment Methods and Criteria
Quantity Percentage (%)
Mid-term 1 30
Practice 1 15
Attendance 1 15
Total(%) 60
Contribution of In-term Studies to Overall Grade(%) 60
Contribution of Final Examination to Overall Grade(%) 40
Total(%) 100
Language of InstructionTurkish
Work Placement(s)No

Programme Qualifications / Learning Outcomes

LO1 LO2 LO3
K1 X X X
K2
K3 X X X
K4 X X X
K5
K6
K7 X X X
K8 X X X
K9 X X X
K10 X X X
K11
K12
K13 X X X
K14
K15 X X X
K16
K17 X X X
K18 X X X
K19 X X X
K20 X X X
K21
K22
K23 X X X
K24 X X X
K25 X X X