“After visiting several film and dramatic writing classes at The Savannah College of Art & Design, I figured I’d share some of the worksheets and documents I use when developing my projects. Download, share, or ignore at your leisure.” JA
Student Guide to Pitching
Pitching isn't about explaining your plot. It's about performing your story and proving you're the only person to tell it. Here's what you need to know.
PDF: Craft a Compelling Short Screenplay
Short screenplays are a sprint, not a marathon. In 12–15 pages, you must hook the audience, build a world, make us care, and land an emotional punch before the credits roll. This guide offers one approach via a streamlined version of the eight-sequence story structure.
PDF: Lights, Camera, Pixels: Intro to Visual Storytelling for Video Game Cinematics
In this crash course, we'll be breaking down the key elements that'll turn your game cinematics from "Meh, hit hold B and skip it" to "Holy crap, play that again!"
PDF Worksheet: Best Practices at Project Start
This worksheet is designed to ground a project before the creative chaos begins. It helps me define what we’re making, who it’s for, and how it fits into the larger creative and production ecosystem.
PDF Worksheet: Questions for Screenplay Development
A collection of questions I use to brainstorm, build characters, shape story structure, or… just get unstuck and make the blank page un-blank.
PDF Checklist: 99 Tips & Tricks for Scribblers
Questions I ask myself when I finish a project or to get unstuck.
PDF Worksheet: Scene, Sequel, Sequence
Worksheet to facilitate the crafting of Scenes, Sequels, and Sequences, helping shape each unit with a strong point of view, escalating conflict, emotional clarity, and visual intention.
PDF Worksheet: Espionage Mission Elements
A relic of my Alias days, this worksheet reminds me of elements to consider when blueprinting an action or heist set piece for film, TV, or games.