News

Historiographic Research in Screenwriting – Call for Papers

Call for Papers: Historiographic Research in Screenwriting

The Journal of Screenwriting is calling for articles for a special issue on the historiography of screenwriting, to be published in November 2019.

The Journal wants to emphasize the importance of screenwriting history and historiographical research, covering the broad field from media archaeology to historical case studies to a crisis historiography that includes questions of format, copyrights, professionalization, and narrative structure.

In order to better understand the role of screenwriting in filmmaking as well as in academic research, it is our task to scrutinize the development of the craft, profession, and art: the discourses, the pedagogy, and the analysis of screenplays, script development and the work of specific screenwriters and their importance for the development of screenwriting.

Articles may include (but are not limited to) the following topics:

  • Pre-screenplay documents in Early Cinema
  • Screenwriting and Screenwriters in silent cinema
  • The history of the format
  • Screenwriting and historical modes of production
  • Global histories and local case studies
  • Historiography of manuals and screenwriting pedagogy
  • Female Screenwriters (especially in the silent era)
  • National and global tendencies – relations, influences, cultural transfers
  • Censorship and screenwriting
  • Development: analysis of script developments in historical case studies
  • Screenplay as literature: published screenplays in the 1920s
  • Autorenkino in Germany in the 1910s and 20s
  • Eminent authors: case studies of established writers and their fate in the industry
  • Screenwriting and the literary avant-garde
  • Social history of screenwriters, working conditions, reputation, etc.
  • Theoretical questions of authorship based on historical evidence (e.g. the case of

    the American Author’s Association AAA)
    In the first instance, please email abstracts of up to 400 words and a short biography, no

    later than Wednesday 16 January 2019 to BOTH of the editors of this special issue: Claus Tieber, claus.tieber@univie.ac.at
    Steven Price, s.t.price@bangor.ac.uk

    Completed articles of between 4000 and 8000 words should be sent by 29 April 2019via the Journal of Screenwriting’s web page, where you can also access information on the journal’s house style:

    https://www.intellectbooks.co.uk/journals/view-journal,id=182/

    The Journal of Screenwriting is an international peer-reviewed journal published three times p.a. by Intellect, and is abstracted and indexed by Thomson Reuters: ISI Web of Knowledge, MLA and FIAF. It explores the nature of writing for the screen image; this includes not only writing for film and television but also computer games and animation. The journal highlights current academic and professional thinking about the screenplay and intends to promote, stimulate and bring together current research and contemporary debates around the screenplay whilst encouraging groundbreaking research in an international arena. The journal is discursive, critical, rigorous and engages with issues in a dynamic and developing field, linking academic theory to screenwriting practice.

SRN Conference 2019

Dear colleagues,

We invite you to submit abstracts for the SRN Conference 2019 “Screen Narratives: Chaos and Order”, that will take place between 12th and 14th of September, at School of Arts, Catholic University of Portugal, Porto (Portugal). You can present an individual submission of traditional paper presentations, practice-based presentation, audiovisual essays or a panel submission (traditional presentation or discussion panel). For details and submissions, please see http://artes.porto.ucp.pt/en/SRN2019

As usual, we will also have pre-conference activities in 11th September. We will send you the pre-conference program as well as the keynotes information in a further e-mail.

Looking forward to hearing from you!

All the best,

The Organization Committee

Call for Papers forJournal of Screenwriting and Comunicazioni Sociali – Journal of Media, Performing Arts and Cultural Studies

As announced during the last September SRN Conference, theJournal of Screenwriting and Comunicazioni Sociali – Journal of Media, Performing Arts and Cultural Studies have planned a joint issue about the topic of the conference and are now looking to publish articles derived from the papers presented in Milan.

Please, find the call for the joint issues here CFP_JoS and CS

Best regards,

Steven Price (Journal of Screenwriting)

Paolo Braga (Comunicazioni Sociali)

SRN Awards 2019

The Executive Council has decided to establish an annual award for outstanding achievements in screenwriting research. The first SRN awards will be given at the SRN conference in Porto in autumn 2019 in two categories:

  • Book
  • Research article

Nominated texts should be published between September 2018 and June 2019. Nominated texts should be made available to the three members of the jury, either in print or in digital form no later than June, 15th 2019. The text can be published by the date of the conference.

Book: monograph or edited volume.

In general,everything that can be included into screenwriting research from narratology to production studies, can be nominated, even when they do not deal with screenwritingexclusively.Screen writing manuals will not be considered, except the jury argues for its scholarly value beyond its primary instructional purpose.

Research article

In general,articles published in academic journals (usually peer reviewed or editor reviewed), either in print or online. Articles outside of academic journals might be considered if they fulfil the conditions of a research article in length, form and content.

The criteria for the awards are just:

  1. Best new contribution
  2. Clarity of expression

 

Members of the Jury:

The Executive council chose three eminent scholars in the field of screenwriting research. We are proud and happy to confirmthe following three colleagues to serve in the jury:

In alphabetical order:

Jill Nelmes

Janet Staiger

Tom Stempel

 

The award will be a certificate without any financial value.

Anybody can make a nomination(even non-members of the SRN) and self-nomination is allowed. Nominations should be mailed to:

claus.tieber@univie.ac.at

 

Worlds of Storytelling

‘Worlds of Storytelling’ aims to discover, analyse and reflect on regional traditions of storytelling in relation to the global interests of media industries and politics. Human beings have always told stories, and storytelling acts as a powerful tool for communication, enabling us to express ideas around belonging, identity and connect within social groups (Koschorke 2012, Martínez and Scheffel 2007, Fiedler 2017, Leroi-Gourhan and Bischoff 1988). Stories, independent from the medium of presentation, are central to the cultural memory of civilisations, nations, ethnicities and other forms of social grouping (Assmann 2011, Assmann and Conrad 2010, Assmann 1993). Language, topography, climate, cultural traditions and politics influence national/regional storytelling styles, leading to rich and diverse expressions of this very human act.
    Although concepts of the transnational are key in many productions, with media content designed to reach an international audience, a distinction needs to be made between transnational productions which represent local cultures and a more homogenised globalised transnationalism (cf. Curiel 2010, amongst others). With this network research project, we aim to bring together researchers from various fields of screen studies relating to concepts of regional or national media cultures, and through this to develop an international research project around the relationship between national and global storytelling. The initial stage will culminate in a symposium from which we hope to draw out some core strands to explore future and foster international collaborative partnerships. This project may also give voice to the storytelling of minorities and small nations and support expressions of under-represented cultural identities and heritage.
Already involved are partners from China, Germany, and Australia, we are in discussion with colleagues from Canada and Brazil. The plan is to apply for funding in the UK and beyond, hopefully end of this calendar year.
    Therefore, I am inviting interested researchers to get in touch, from first ideas to more developed projects. Everyone is welcome to start the dialogue: kstutterheim@bournemouth.ac.uk

SRN Conference 2018 Milan

Please find below some general information on the SRN Conference 2018 – Writing for Cinema, Writing for Television:

 

1.          The Conference will take place at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Largo Fra Agostino Gemelli 1, 20123 Milan, from September 13th  to 15th , 2018 (9am – around 6pm).

 

2.          The main building of the University, in Largo Gemelli, is just a 5 minutes walk from Sant’Ambrogio Metro station and 10 minutes walk from Cadorna Metro station. Getting around the city by public transportation is very easy and comfortable.

 

3.          Registration is now open (since February 15th), with early bird rate until March 31st and the possibility to book seats for the September 14th social dinner. We strongly encourage to register as soon as possible: the rates after March 31st increase significantly. You will find the link to register on the Conference web page: http://www.unicatt.it/srnconference2018

 

4.          On Wednesday September 12th, in the afternoon, a pre-conference workshop for Ph.D students will take place. It will be an occasion to present their works and the opportunities of practice-based screenwriting PhD. For more details, and for the open call to participate, we will provide updated information in the internet site of the conference before the end of February.

 

5.          Also, we are planning to dedicate a specific panel with some special speakers/guests to screenwriting for animation: more details soon.

 

Some practical information

 

6.          Please, note: Milan will be hosting the fashion week from September 19, but accommodation can be tight also for the previous days as well as prices could increase. For this reason, we recommend to book your hotel as soon as you can.

 

7.          For delegates arriving the day before the Conference, we are planning a Milanese aperitivo (very light dinner), on the evening of the 12th, from 6.30 to 9 pm. Additional details about menu, prices and location will be updated on the internet site of the conference.

 

8.          If you are planning to do some tourism in Milan in your free time, we suggest some touristic landmarks like Duomo, Basilica of Sant’Ambrogio (which is very close to the University), La Scala, Pinacoteca di Brera. Furthermore, very close to the University, near the church of Santa Maria delle Grazie, you can visit The Last Supper by Leonardo da Vinci: we strongly suggest, if you are interested, to book your visit as soon as you can. Entrances are limited to a small number of people per day. At the moment, you can book only until June, but from today to May it is all booked: so you have to check when they open booking for September.

You can find further information for your booking here: https://www.vivaticket.it/index.php?nvpg[tour]&id=744&wms_op=cenacoloVinciano&Language=ENG (please note that on other internet sites different from the official one, prices rise significantly; the normal and official ticket is 10 euro).

 

9.          From the area where the University is located, it is also very easy to go to the Como Lake: there are many trains (more than two per hour) which leave from Cadorna station and arrive exactly in the Lake shores in one hour. 

 

10.       More details about the dinner of September 14th will be given soon. We have the possibility to be at the Orti di Leonardo Restaurant, which is very close to the University, in a wonderful location, but we are considering also other possibilities.

 

Keynote speakers

 

Last, but not least, we are very happy (and very proud) to announce our confirmed keynote speakers (more details about their bios and publications on the dedicated page on the site of the conference):

 

Eleonora Andreatta, Director of Rai Fiction (the area of Tv drama and Tv series of the Italian public broadcaster Rai: 500 hours per year of Tv series)

 

Paolo Braga, Ph.D., assistant professor at Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, where he teaches Writing for Cinema and Television; member of the board of the Master in International Screenwriting and Production at UCSC.

 

Warren Buckland, Reader in Film Studies at Oxford Brookes University.

Daniele Cesarano, Head of Drama RTI-Mediaset group, and screenwriter (Romanzo criminale/Crime Novel, Suburra).

 

Luisa Cotta Ramosino, Ph.D., creative producer (Medici, Masters of Florence) and screenwriter (Un passo dal cielo, Distretto di polizia).

 

Neil Landau, Director of the MFA Writing for Television Program at UCLA School of Theater, Film & Television, and screenwriter (Tad: The Lost Explorer , Capture the Flag, Sheep & Wolves).

Contacts

For any question or enquiry regarding payments, accommodations, etc.

Formazione.permanente-mi@unicatt.it

Phone (+39) 02  7234.5834  (or 7234. 5701)

For any question or enquiry regarding the academic program:

srnconference2018@gmail.com

Screenwriting Archives and Resources Project (SARP)

Screenwriting Archives and Resources Project (SARP) A worldwide statement of screenwriting resources.

April 2018

Introduction

The Screenwriting Archives and Resources Project (SARP) is an initiative of the Executive Council of the Screenwriting Research Network (SRN). The SRN is a group of scholars worldwide whose research focuses on the genesis, generation and development of screen ideas, i.e. those intended to become moving image productions, whether fiction, fact or entertainment, in any medium (e.g. film, TV, interactive etc.).

Scholars of screenwriting have, until the 2000s, tended to work in isolation from like- minded others, often in academic environments where screenwriting is seen as a specialism in the industrial sense, of some interest within the broad study of Film, or Creative Industries and other sub-fields of Media, Media Practice, Communication and Cultural Studies. Screenwriting scholars have now come together to focus on
the practices, processes, discourse, industry and cultural meanings of developing screen ideas; and in following these interests, we have discovered that the collection and preservation of textual material (including scripts, screenplays etc.) has been badly neglected by both academics and archivists, with a few honourable exceptions. This database is intended to draw together information on the collections that do exist, providing us with a greater awareness of what’s available, and therefore also – sadly – what is not.

This document is compiled from a basic questionnaire available to anyone, whether scholar, practitioner, archivist or enthusiast. It is available as a pdf on the SRN website noted above, and will be updated as often as is necessary. We invite you to send us a completed questionnaire on new collections, or where corrections are necessary to our current information. Organised A-Z by country, information herein is freely available to all, though we would like to be credited in any publication which uses it. Many thanks to all our contributors!

Please send questionnaire returns, or any queries, to Ian W. Macdonald (i.w.macdonald@leeds.ac.uk).

Full details can be found at the link below

SARP Data~April 2018