In late April, PMA Professor Austin Bunn travelled to Edinburgh and Glasgow Scotland to develop short film projects with Scotland’s unique Take Three program, which supports young filmmaker development through grants, labs, networking and workshops. He served as a mentor for six filmmaking teams at Take Three’s film incubator at a resort outside in Edinburgh. Later, Bunn went to Glasgow to give a public talk to 80 aspiring filmmakers about screenwriting for short films.
Take Three is part of a Scottish talent development initiative funded by Screen Scotland and comprises three new programs for short form storytelling. Continuing the legacy of world class short filmmaking from Scotland, these programs provide multiple entry points and a platform for bold, original voices with international appeal from across the country.
During the incubator, Bunn and the film teams spent three days exploring screenwriting craft concepts and short form filmmaking specifically. “The filmmaking teams had been selected by Take Three based on a compelling synopsis for a short they had pitched — and they had all already made a strong short film or two (and in some cases, even a feature film),” said Bunn. “Screen Scotland is supported by the national lottery and so there were grants available for these teams to make the shorts they were proposing, which is fantastic for Scottish filmmakers!
“I led a workshop for all the teams in narrative design for short films, based on my book Short Film Screenwriting. Then, I scrambled the teams so they could all meet each other and generate an original short film premise based on a new idea. There were two other mentors, a film producer from London and a Cannes festival programmer, and we all met with each team to discuss their projects one-on-one. This was based on the Sundance Lab model, where participants hear from multiple mentors and get a range of perspectives and responses to their material. We were staying at a resort outside of Edinburgh, and the weather was spectacular, so we would find tables outside, huddle up and talk. The filmmakers were incredibly talented with unique visions for their work, and it was just such a privilege and pleasure to work with them.”
Afterwards, Bunn left for Glasgow where he spoke to 80 up and coming filmmakers about how to strengthen their ideas so that they might apply for grants and be successful. “Interestingly, the granting programs in Scotland expect loglines and synopses — scripts are more optional — so I went big picture. I covered the five elements of a strong short film premise from Short Film Screenwriting (indebted to John Gardner's The Art of Fiction): reasonable scale, visual life, danger, an element of strangeness, and "the now". There's a lot to unpack there, and for most newer screenwriters, a lot to consider. We watched a terrific short film together and then I followed that with an exploration of story form, the Freytag Triangle of dramatic shape, and why "conflict" is so challenging to write well. Basically, a semester of PMA 3531 (Screenwriting) in two hours!”
Read more about Take Three.
Read more about Austin Bunn.
