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Screenwriting
Original photo by Danielle Paisley
Life > Academics

I Learned How to Write Scripts at UCLA (I’m a Nursing Major with ZERO Background in Film)

This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at UCLA chapter.

I hate to break it to you – I am not in the school of Theater, Film, and Television; I’m a nursing major at UCLA, but I also LOVE to write (I mean clearly, or else you wouldn’t be reading this right now)! But what I really like is telling and sharing stories. What better way to do this than to learn how to write scripts in the home of Hollywood?

How did I do it?

This picture might be a little misleading; I didn’t use a typewriter. Instead, I took the class FILM TV 33! (Not sponsored, I genuinely enjoyed this class.)

During the class, we learned what programs to use, the proper formatting, and how to create a cohesive story!

We pitched three storylines, gave each character a backstory, and made a dream cast list with actors. Eventually, the TA chose the most interesting one and I agreed with the TA. Funny enough, I made up two stories and the third one was my personal life story pre-UCLA (that I most definitely think was worthy of being on the big screen), so it was validating to have a professional screenwriter validate that!

Anddddd in case you were wondering, I got an A in this course! As London Tipton would say, “Yay me!”

Why should you take film tv 33?

I 100% recommend learning how to write scripts! If you’re the type of person who makes little scenes in your head or like to predict how certain life events will turn out, why not turn them into an actual movie? You just need a few more things – a director, some actors, and maybe Great Gerwig’s nearly $150,000,000 movie budget for Barbie! Who knows, you might have yourself a blockbuster!

Channel a little 1D energy and talk about the story of your life! Happy storytelling and DON’T forget about me when you get your big break!

Danielle is a third year from Temecula, CA. Her articles range from sharing interviews with influential figures, discussing the ups and downs of being a young woman in LA, and spreading positive energy through diverse stories! Happy reading!