4 Types Of College Minors Ideal For Screenwriting Students
Posted on: 21 April 2016
For students attending a liberal arts college, such as Chatfield College, a screenwriting major can provide you with the foundation and courses to thrive in the world of film. Along with learning how to format and write various types of screenplays, you can help build knowledge for a future career through various college minors. Adding a minor to your studies can help you add a lot of valuable courses that will help supplement your screenwriting. There are four different minors that have large advantages to screenwriting students. The knowledge gained in these courses can be applied to future movie scripts, television scripts, or various stories that are written.
History
There are thousands of movies that rely on historical content to tell a great story. By taking history as a minor, you can have a basis of learning that can be applied to all types of stories you are writing. When choosing a history minor, you can select general studies or focus on a specific area. For example, you can minor in United States history to learn about the formation of our nation, various wars, and important historical figures. Worldwide history courses are also available on specific countries like Japan, Italy, and England. If you're interested in writing fact-based screenplays or war stories, then this minor is ideal for building your factual knowledge of different events and the people involved.
Criminal Justice
In the world of movies, there are numerous characters involved in the world of law. At some point you may be finding yourself writing for cops, detectives, lawyers, or judges among other characters. Help create an authentic world by diving deep into the system with a minor in criminal justice. Not only will courses on the history of crime help you learn how different branches of law enforcement work, but it can also give you a good perspective on various criminals. This includes courses on both petty crimes and major crimes. As you develop characters and plot, the content that you learn will help keep the story grounded and eliminate illogical story points.
Psychology
As you develop a screenplay, you are entering the mind of anywhere from two to a dozen different characters. Help sort out personalities and unique voices with a minor in psychology. Psychology courses can help you understand different personalities and the influences on the way people act. When developing a screenplay, not only can you make a character do actions, but you can dive deep into the action of why they are completing these actions. Courses can also focus on different personality disorders and issues. By implementing these issues into characters, you can have a more authentic story. Psychology courses can also cover the world of relationships and conflict. Conflict is a huge part in screenwriting, and psychology classes can help you understand the wants and needs of characters through the use of conflict.
Linguistics
The location and world that your stories take place in can have a huge impact on the dialogue and slang that characters use. To help get a better understanding of spoken language, you can minor in linguistics. Through linguistics courses, you will learn about different speech patterns from all over the world. Specific courses will focus on recognizing these patterns and the different phonetics associated with them. Once you're able to hear and break down different sounds, you can help create dialogue that fits a variety of characters. For example, a screenplay that is set in Boston, Massachusetts will have vastly different accents than one set in Jacksonville, Florida. Understanding subtle differences and tones can help your characters come alive on the page and give you useful information that can be used for numerous years.
Creating a screenplay is like working with a blank canvas. By improving your own knowledge through these minors, you can help create a world full of unique stories and settings.
Share