In brief: Community Media offers screenwriting course

McMinnville Community Media (MCM) offers a free five-session course on how to write a full-length screenplay.

The workshop will run alternate Fridays (6-8 p.m.) in May and June starting May 5, and continuing May 19 and June 2, June 16 and June 20 at the MCM studio at 825 N.E. Third St.

For details, visit mcm11.org or contact MCM Community Services Director Kyle Dauterman at rd@mcm11.org or by phone at 503- 434-1234. Open to writers of all levels, this extended workshop will focus on the development of writing skills to complete a full-length screenplay from initial idea outline to completed script: dialogue, formatting, plotting, formatting software, character development, shot lists, narrative arc, and setting of scenes. It will also cover adapting a short story to a 15-minute film format, and collaboration in filmmaking.

Instructor Phil Guzzo, founder of McMinnville’s monthly Second Saturday Film Group, will be covering the fundamentals of screenwriting and providing direction on how to write and format a full-length screenplay. He is the Training, Outreach and Digital Video Specialist for MCM, the local cable access station in downtown McMinnville. After establishing the film group in 2016, Guzzo has continued working with local filmmakers and screenwriters to draft, develop and produce short films for the annual McMinnville Short Film Festival as well as the annual McMinnville UFO Film Festival.