Setting: DeKalb

Aspiring young writers may find a successful career in screenwriting may not be long-awaited. Dustin Black, 34, proved that age has precedence in achieving a highly-successful career in writing after accepting the award for Best Original Screenplay for the film “Milk” at the 81st Academy Awards.

Communications instructor Matthew Swan recently spoke to the Northern Star offering aspiring screenplay writers a map to the red carpet.

NORTHERN STAR

How does a student pursue a career in screenwriting?

MATTHEW SWAN

I’d encourage students interested in screenwriting to learn the format for that medium. There are a number of programs, like Final Draft, that you can purchase to understand the format or take a script-writing class, like media writing.

NORTHERN STAR

What are the steps to writing a good screenplay?

MATTHEW SWAN

I think the steps for writing a screenplay should begin with a strong idea or premise or concept. From there, the writer might want to outline their story or write a treatment, which includes a cast of characters, a story synopsis, a description of major scenes and a sample scene scripted out. Then, it’s sitting down and turning the vision from the mind to the page, so understanding the format is important.

NORTHERN STAR

What is the copyright policy for writing a screenplay based off a novel or another individual’s life story?

MATTHEW SWAN

Adapting a book or a life story to a screenplay usually begins with acquiring the rights to that book or life story, unless it’s the screenwriter’s life story or the writer is adapting their own material from prose to a screenplay. It might be a good exercise to turn material into a screenplay from another source, but legally you couldn’t shop that piece around then without the rights. Some novels, though, might be in the public domain, meaning no copyright is still in effect, so that material would be available in many cases.

NORTHERN STAR

Is it necessary to find a manager or agent to sponsor your writing?

MATTHEW SWAN

Eventually people who become professional screenwriters have to get representation by an agent or manager … I’d suggest before that though, that a writer have three or four scripts already finished. More often than not, an agent or industry person will read a script and ask for more material from the writer.