SCADFILM is pleased to announce the university will be partnering with the illustrious Writers Guild Foundation as part of its latest industry original programming series. SCAD TVfest: Screenwriting will premiere Friday, April 19, and feature a Writers Guild Foundation pop-up library as well as three additional events. Open to students and to the public, attendees will have access to some of the best original screenplays from film and television for one day only. All sessions, as well as the pop-up library, will be hosted at SCADshow, the university’s state-of-the-art theater complex in Midtown Atlanta.
SCAD TVfest: Screenwriting
Since the emergence of television as a dominant medium for entertainment in the 1950s, the writers’ room has been its heartbeat, scripting comedy, drama, late-night, and sketch shows for the delight of viewers around the globe. SCADFILM is partnering with the Writers Guild Foundation, which preserves and promotes the history and craft of writing for the small screen, for a day of events focused on the past, present, and future of TV screenwriting. With rising writers’ room scribes in mind, SCAD TVfest: Screenwriting includes workshops and a special exhibition of storied scripts from the WGF archives.
12:30 p.m.
Writers Guild Foundation Presents: TV Format Fundamentals
Broadcast. Streaming. Sitcoms. Limited series. With so many different production studios, networks, and show types today, it can be a challenge for budding writers to know how to format their pilot or spec scripts. Join Writers Guild Foundation librarian Lauren O’Connor for an insightful workshop on the fascinating history and conventions of television script formatting. Using rare examples from the WGF Library’s collection, O’Connor will discuss the unique formatting specifications of multi-camera and single-camera sitcoms, animation, episodic dramas, and serialized and limited series.
2:00 p.m.
WGF Library Pop-up
The Writers Guild Foundation Library is home to nearly 50,000 produced film and television scripts. Located in Los Angeles and bound by copyright restrictions, the WGF Library seldom gets to share its collections on the East Coast. Visit FORTY FIVE’s second floor lobby from 2–5 p.m. to view these treasured scripts. The WGF will also share invaluable resources to help prospective writers maneuver through their writing and TV career. SCAD students can also visit the library pop-up during special opening hours from 6–8 p.m. Thursday, April 18.
Samples of work that will be available to view include:
- Pitches from Emmy Award-winning series Friends and Grey’s Anatomy
- Show Bibles from Golden Girls, Game of Thrones, King of the Hill, and Star Trek
- Episode outlines from Bob’s Burgers, Black-ish, Friday Night Lights, and Wu-Tang: An American Saga
- Writers’ room documents from The Sopranos and The West Wing
- Classic pilots like Cheers, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Office, and Abbott Elementary
- Recently signed award-nominated scripts like Barbie, American Fiction, and Everything Everywhere All at Once
Additional sessions to be announced.
Tickets for each session are free for SCAD students, faculty, and staff, $5 for SCAD alumni, and $10 for the general public. For more information and to purchase tickets for upcoming sessions, visit the official event site. Programming topics are subject to change.
Inspired by SCAD TVfest — Georgia’s only festival dedicated to all things television and streaming — SCADFILM launched a new series of one-day spotlights on trending TV topics and production in January. In all six installments in this insightful series, including a recent event on news and documentaries, SCADFILM welcomes industry luminaries and special guests for screenings and panel discussions.
