London Film School, offer full-time MA Degree courses in both Film Making and Screewriting.

Based on Alexander Mackendrick's influential teachings, this comprehensive 3-day workshop offers an excellent opportunity for anyone who wishes to learn more about film-making from one of the masters of the medium.

Mackendrick’s practical approach to film-making serves as one of the best introductions to the craft available today.

His writings were designed specifically for students, and are masterful studies of the two primary tasks confronting the film director: how to structure and write the story they want to tell, and how to use those devices particular to the medium of film in order to tell that story as effectively as possible.

The weekend is structured around the illustrated lecture MACKENDRICK ON FILM, which features footage of Mackendrick discussing his approach to film-making, interviews with some of his former students and colleagues who discuss his ideas in detail, and a host of film clips. Click here to learn more about how the course works.

“These are the lectures I had hoped to hear in film school and never did. They seem to me the perfect synthesis of what one must know to tell stories on film. I cannot imagine anyone setting out to make movies without reading this book.” Oscar-winning screenwriter Bruce Joel Rubin’s review of ‘On Film-making’ by Alexander Mackendrick, edited by Paul Cronin.

Course Outline

Topics covered include:

• Crafting a narrative screenplay.
• The fundamentals of film grammar: turning your script into a film.
• How the director works with actors.
• 'When not to write a shooting script'.
• Why you should always try to cut dialogue from your script.
• How 'Movies show and then tell'.
• Why a 'clever plot' might not be a good starting point for your story.
• Why props and 'incidental business' are crucial to the job of the director.
• 'The Pre-verbal Language of Cinema'.
• Why you should be beware of flashbacks.
• 'Exposition is boring unless it is in the context of some present dramatic tension or crisis'.
• 'Passivity is a capital crime in drama'.
• 'The role of the antagonist may have more to do with the structure of the plot than the character of the protagonist'.
• Setting the fuse and the obligatory scene.
• How different camera angles and movement help create different emotions in the audience.
• 'What is happening now is apt to be less dramatically interesting than what may or may not happen next'.
• 'If you've got a beginning but don't yet have an end, then you're mistaken: you don't have the right beginning'.
• 'Drama is expectation mingled with uncertainty'.
• Use of the foil character.
• Why a good story can be told from the point of view of any character.
• Why you should always look for the longest axis on your set.
• 'What you leave out is as important as what you leave in'.
• Postcarding as a method of structuring your story.

Novice film-makers will leave the workshop equipped with valuable craft-based ideas that will help at all times when writing and directing. Those who are more experienced will have their understanding of the craft greatly enriched.

 

"It left me thinking about every aspect of filmmaking. I found it very stimulating."

"Excellent – I wish I had attended the course before I shot my film!"

"Fully met and surpassed my expectations. I found it a real shot of thought energy and adrenalin – just what I needed to keep on writing!"

Click here to read more feedback from previous participants.

 

Click here for additional resources, including tutor profile, Mackendrick biography and an in-depth breakdown of the workshop.

 

Click here for details of our new Mackendrick Script Surgery – an extra day where we apply Mackendrick’s principles to your work.

 

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Times: 9am-6pm
Capacity: Approx. 20-25 participants
Fee: £260
10% Early Bird discount available until 1st March

Fee includes an extensive handout of extra material, a copy of the Mackendrick book, plus Friday evening networking drinks.

 

How to book

Important: Before booking, please click here to read a letter from Paul Cronin explaining more about the course.

Click here to book your place online.

You will be redirected to the LFS Payment Area where you can pay for your place simply and securely using a credit or debit card.

Your place is confirmed as soon as you receive an email from The LFS Payments verifying that your order is complete.

Please review our Refunds and Cancellations Policy before booking, and note that workshop participants must be aged 18 years or over.

 

Discounts

If you believe you are entitled to a discount, please email workshops@lfs.org.uk before booking so that we can provide you with a promotional code.

Note: Discounts will not be granted in retrospect, and therefore must be requested before booking.

(Early Bird discounts are applied automatically when booking before the deadline.)

Email us:
Carolyn Atherton:
workshops@lfs.org.uk

Telephone us:
+44 (0)20 7836 9642