Writing for Film, Television & Games
Online Certificate Courses
Evolve your skills. Get direct experience in screenwriting.
Every great film, television show, or video game starts with a great script. In our online certificate courses, you will get direct experience in screenwriting and be challenged to bring your creative ideas to life. These courses are designed for anyone interested in exploring what our Writing for Film, Television & Games program has to offer.
We welcome enthusiasts, high school students, mature students, and anyone looking to make a career change. When you finish an online certificate course at Vancouver Film School, you will receive a digital certificate of completion confirming your experience.
Explore the certificate courses:
* Upon successful completion of this CONNECT course, the cost can be deducted from any full-time Advanced Production program tuition at VFS. Only one discount may be applied. Contact a VFS Advisor for eligibility.
**Students must confirm they are at least 16 years old at the beginning of the workshop in order to register.
***Please note that courses may be cancelled at any time due to low enrolment. Upon cancellation, registrants will receive a full refund.
To meet your industry instructor(s), click here.
If you have any questions, please contact: [email protected]
Writing a TV Spec Episode: Pt. 1 (online)
In the Writing a TV Spec Episode: Pt. 1 online course, you will learn the art and craft of coming up with an idea, pitching it, creating a beat sheet, and crafting an outline of an episode for a current television show of your choice.
You will learn what makes a successful TV spec script, and how concepts, character voicing, and story arcs are all essential components to writing a TV spec.
By the end of the course, you will have concepted and developed a complete outline for an episode of a current TV show.
- Gain confidence as a screenwriter.
- Create characters and a story that enables you to write a spec episode of an ongoing TV program.
- Write a full outline for a spec episode of an existing TV program.
- Paper, pen, pencil, and notepad
- Computer, microphone & camera (optional)
- Stable Internet connection
- DramaQueen scriptwriting software (free to download here)
Students are not required to have any previous training or experience.
** Sorry, the registration is now closed. **
Don't miss out when the next workshop becomes available. Save your spot by joining the wait list today!
Screenwriting Fundamentals (online)
The Screenwriting Fundamentals course will teach you the concepts of story, structure, character, and theme, and how these elements are essential to the creation of your plot.
You will also work on two homework assignments where you will create short film scenarios and present them to the class. Finally, you will learn how to write dialogue and effective scene descriptions for your screenplay, the blueprint that must convey all that is necessary for a film to become reality.
By the end of the program, you will have created a complete short film script.
- Understand the fundamental knowledge of screenwriting: story, structure, character, and theme.
- Gain confidence as screenwriters.
- Create a complete short film script.
- Paper, pen, pencil, and notepad
- Computer, microphone, and camera (optional)
- Stable Internet connection
- DramaQueen scriptwriting software (free to download here)
Students are not required to have any previous training or experience.
Course Details:
Dates: January 9 to February 20, 2025
Duration: 7-week course, one online class per week
Time: Thursdays, 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. PST
Cost: $$950
Writing for Video Games (online)
Explore the fundamentals of writing for video games in this 7-week course. You will discover how a writer has the power to immerse players in the world of a video game, allowing them to take control of a character while also guiding them through a powerful narrative experience.
In this course, you will learn how to develop a cast of diverse & compelling characters for a game, work on your own game pitch, and receive feedback from instructors & classmates. Be prepared to fully immerse yourself in narrative storytelling and have your work assessed by round-table discussions in class – a routine practice in professional game studios.
By the end of this course, you will have a complete five-page industry-standard design document for an original game narrative.
- Understand the many challenges of interactive narrative, including how to immerse the player in the game world and guide them through a powerful narrative experience.
- Work on your own game design document.
- Pitch your work in class and have it dissected/workshopped through round-table discussions in class – a daily practice in professional game studios.
- Craft a five-page industry-standard document for an original game narrative.
- Paper, pen, pencil, and notepad
- Computer, microphone & camera (optional)
- Stable Internet connection
- DramaQueen scriptwriting software (free to download here)
Students are not required to have any previous training or experience.
**Sorry, the registration is now closed.
Don't miss out when the next workshop becomes available. Save your spot by joining the wait list today!
Writing a TV Spec Episode: Pt. 2 (online)
In the Writing a TV Spec Episode: Pt. 2 online course, you will take the outline you created in Pt. 1 and start writing your first draft of the episode.
In each live production session, you will review, edit and improve on the draft of the episode you have created, as well as discuss essential components of writing a script.
By the end of the course, you will have written a full-length script for an episode of a current TV show.
- Work on and edit a prologue and draft of a TV spec episode.
- Write a complete spec episode for an existing TV program.
- Completion of Writing a TV Spec: Pt. 1 course
- Paper, pen, pencil, and notepad
- Computer, microphone & camera (optional)
- Stable Internet connection
- DramaQueen scriptwriting software (free to download here)
Completion of Writing a TV Spec: Pt. 1 course is mandatory.
**Sorry, this course is now closed.**
Don't miss out when the next workshop becomes available. Save your spot by joining the wait list today!
Laura Doyle
Instructor
Laura has worked in both Canada and the US as a television Screenwriter on Neon Rider, Madison, Undressed, and Early Edition. She is also a singer-songwriter with over 20 credits in film and TV. In 2003, she was double-nominated at the Genie Awards for Best Original Song in a Movie.