November 27-December 3, 2003

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Scriptwriting for Documentary

Scribe Video Center provides the community with a valuable way to document its experiences: video. Its Community Visions program pairs community organizations with local filmmakers to produce a tangible manifestation of their struggles and goals. These videos are, in turn, used by the community group to promote their cause and inform people (not to raise funds). In addition to community outreach programs like this, Scribe conducts a series of documentary filmmaking workshops. Scriptwriting for Documentary, beginning this Monday, might seem like an oxymoron, but actually may be the most essential step to creating a nonfiction film. Local filmmaker Louis Messiah, who works at Scribe, describes a documentary script as "a blueprint for [a] project." It's a plan for gathering crucial visual evidence rather than pages of pre-written dialogue. This first workshop helps would-be directors develop this plan of action and is designed for those already itching to get something on tape. Dwight Wilkins, a playwright and a teacher for Big Picture Alliance and the Wilma, leads the project-centered course. After designing their script in this six-session course, participants may enroll in Scribe's other workshops -- Production, Non-Linear Editing, and Camera and Lighting for example --and put their blueprint into action.

Scriptwriting for Documentary, Dec. 1-Jan. 12, 7-9 p.m., $100, Scribe Video Center, 1342 Cypress St., 215-735-3785.

—Keegan O'Connor

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