I was wondering if current screenwriters and past student screenwriters can give me feedback on several concerns I have on taking the screenwritingu.com online course. It's hard for me to attend college fulltime at this point. so I was planning on taking this course in the evenings. The issues I have are as follows:
1.) How many have taken this class and after completing the course or 80% of it had success in writing scripts successfully and made movies deals after completing this 6-month course?
2.) While taking this course are you given feedback on how either how well or poorly your screenplays, movies scripts are written and are the instructors giving you feedback on ways of improving your scripts that are sellable if their poorly written?
3.) How many of you once you completed this course were able to join the alumni group and the group helped you sell your first script?
4.) How many of you learned on how marketing yourself course for Hollywood or the movie industry and have had success in this outline course?
5.) Has anyone taken this course and was a Novice like myself and found this course helpful?
6.) How many Novice that have taken this course and had success in writing scripts and after taking this course and are now employable and working with producers at this current moment?
7.) Finally, How many people have found this course unhelpful and the majority of the information was easily found in screenwriting books , znd books on how to write screenplays for $20.00
8.) To all of those replying to these questions, How many of you are alumni's of this online school and are successful and have helped students of this online school sell their scripts and are also being mentored by you ?
9) Have any producers hired students who completed this course and are these same writers still working with you on additional movies?
10.) Any Students who graduated from this online school who were a total novice to screenwriting and were able to find work as screenwriters and were immediately and easily hired by a producer, director immediately after graduating from this course?
11.) Did anyone feel this course was a waste of money?
12.)If you answered "YES" to number 11 then what is the best course of action should a Novice screenwriter take, that will get his screenplayed sold? Get a producer interested in working with the student as a screenwriter, were you can take this same course that will teach you all the skills needed to be a succesful screenwriter and have producers, directors, actors interested in working with that screenwriter?
13.) If your a student who is struggling in completing this online course please reply I would love to hear your feedback as well and get a great feel on your opinion on these classes.
Your input and feedback is greatly appreciated.
Wow Edward, that’s a lot of questions...I never attended their screenwriting course, I did a free one about rewriting they offered last year and it had some interesting info, however I just wanted to say that one course only won’t make miracles...writing is about craft and voice, and it’s a long way to achieve a decent level of either. For what selling is concerned, there’s a lot of elements that have to work to sell a script - meeting people who like your stories for a start. I’m sure this course is as good as any other ones (I attended few and they all give good tips), but then you have to find your path, which involves experimenting, picking a genre, reading scripts and books, networking...Best of luck with whatever you decide to do and with your career! :)
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I did the ProSeries. It was 1) informative 2) useful 3) overpriced and 4) unprofessional. Their information was good, but could be put in a $20 book. They basically dole it out day by day, with assignments. That kept me writing, so it was useful in that sense. They sold it as including several live forums with Q&A, then all but one were pre-recorded, so there was no Q&A participation. Most frustrating and disappointing was the inability to get any questions answered by anyone other than tech support. Beyond the minutes-brief "consultation" with Hal's wife early on and at the end of the series, we had no access to any experienced writing instructor. The surveys that accompanied each chapter invited questions and promised a response, but I never got any, even though I was looking for simple clarification.
Students trade assignments and give each other feedback. This is sometimes very helpful, but not always. On a good day it is a far cry from getting feedback from a professional.
ScreenwritingU was recommended to me by a writer I respected, so I kept up with assignments and finished, but was not seeing the value. The lessons were full of typos, as they stressed a need for attention to detail. Hmmm... Then I'd listen to a podcast where Hal took two hours to tell us the importance of being succinct. Well...
I told myself that the real value must be in the alumni group, which you are invited into after a month - conveniently beyond the time you can ask for your money back if you didn't think it worth the price of admission ($800?). I should have asked for the refund. Their alumni group is just a facebook page, and they won't let us post anything from any other source, no matter how valuable. (I posted a link to something helpful but they took it down and messaged me that they won't allow that.) If you're looking for honest answers or help, Stage 32 is far better, as are other FB groups I've found that didn't require me to be a sucker to belong.
I did learn some good things and get a broad overview of some screenwriting basics, but that won't make anyone successful. I keep learning, keep writing, keep asking, keep growing... Eh, what do I know, I'm not there yet. But I'm almost embarrassed to say I took their course, and I cannot really recommend it to you. Your time will be better spent reading books and scripts; then spend your money getting coverage on your writing.
I'm glad you asked. I wish I had. I see you posted 3 weeks ago so I hope this is still helpful.
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Clever little con with thoroughly mundane information. They figured out how to sell a tiny eBook for $99. Too late I decided to check out the IMDB page of their "guru." It doesn't amount to anything of real quality.
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Jake Wiethop This is not the correct place to post pitches or loglines or your ideas. Please try to stick to the topics or questions that are posted. Also, just in general, just because some stupid people make money doing stupid shit, doens't mean that everyone can or should. So, I probably wouldn't compare your work to theirs.
Edward A. Stodolski To your questions... I work with a large number of ScreenwritingU Alumni as clients and mentor a few. They have some solid classes, but I have had to re-teach a number of the writers who were taught "their structure method". And their marketing class is pointless and will probably do you more harm than good. Their free weekend calls and classes are solid and worth checking out, but in terms of paying THOUSANDS of dollars for a "certificate" that means nothing, I'd probably save your money and find a mentor who can truly help you. The biggest issue with SU is that they do NOT give you feedback - it's all PEER feedback. So, if you're with a bunch of writers who only know as much as you do, it's not helpful. And could be harmful. Go to PROS for notes and guidance. Read some books, watch some free webinars or cheap webinars on specific topics. Or check out UCLA Extension classes, which are also online and usually MUCH better.
Thank You, Danny Manus, I noticed you offer classes as Well. On your No Bull Script Consulting Services. And trust me I would love to go back to School. And the UCLA sounds great I just don't have the 10K at this moment. I am also happy that you were straightforward. I wish I knew someone locally to teach me. However, I was hoping to find something Online. I do like how you can assist me in finding an agent, get my script read and possibly get it in front of a producer according to your website classes. I'll keep you in mind when needing to move forward with my screenwriting career and thanks for your honesty and teaching screenwritingu.com students the correct fundamentals of Screenwriting. Gosh, Hal boasts so much of teaching those 300 skills needed for successful screenwriting. I am wondering what skills are those. When I have a moment I send you a message of exactly the classes I'll need or plan on needing. Again Thanks So Much for your feedback.
Danny - Or as I like to say, always play pool with someone who can beat you.
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Just for the hell of it, I signed up for a class last year, and they started sending me lessons on how to write an action screenplay. I didn't give a damn about taking the class but thought I would review the lesson plans on my own time. However, I thought their customer service was less than adequate. For example, I had a login problem that was never solved, and out of the 14-part lesson plan, I'm missing two parts I asked them to resend them to me, and they never responded. So I would never use their service again. As far as the material? I think it's okay, and some might benefit from it, but IMHO, the class is overpriced. And I would hardly call the curriculum inspired. Feel free to email me if anyone wants to review my syllabus that's missing two lessons.
I have been a student of Screenwriting for a little under a year now, and I have been amazed at how much I have learned. The teacher is very knowledgeable, and the classes are so informative. I have learned so much from this site and would recommend it to anyone who wants to learn more about screenwriting. Teachers are very open to discuss about https://edubirdie.com/powerpoint-presentations-writing-service and other useful tools. I believe that if you understand the fundamentals of writing, you will be able to improve your work and create better scripts. Screenwriting is a tough industry to break into. There are so many people trying to get that one break, but few succeed. The people who do succeed are the ones who have been working in the business for years and can make connections with other writers and producers, as well as having film skills of their own.