Screenwriting Commons^™

All You Can Eat, Kelly Schiesswohl

Theses and Dissertations

All You Can Eat is a 2D-animated horror short following the patrons and inhabitants of a bakery as they prepare for its annual pie-eating contest. As the contest nears, tensions rise after the discovery of a dark secret amongst the staff inspires rebellion. Through the visual metaphor of pie and the pie-eating contest, this film explores how sexual violence functions on a systemic level. It explores our collective conditioning to a range of behaviors that contribute to patriarchal oppression and the social cycles that reinforce them across generations. Through design and surreal storytelling, this film captures the urgent threat of …

Writing Stories That Have An Impact, Andrew Rogers

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Social Justice & Raising Awareness: The Stories That Need To Be Told, Christopher Eastman

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Write What You Know: Serving Others Through Purpose Driven And Honest Storytelling, Breanna Porter

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

From Ink To Code, From Binary To Boundless Reality—Until All Returns To Emptiness, Weitong Sun

Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores the entangled relationship between language, memory, and technology through the lens of immigrant experience. Moving from programming to visual storytelling, I investigate how dyslexia, bilingualism, and cultural displacement have shaped my ways of reading, writing, and coding.

Beginning with personal reflections on switching from computer science to art, I trace how code offered a form of clarity and expression where written language had once failed me. Yet as I ventured into real-time simulation and XR storytelling, I encountered new forms of mistranslation—where narratives dissolved, mutated, or resisted coherence altogether.

Through a series of experiments in code-driven art, …

Taking Risk As A Storyteller, Megan Liguori

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

The Great Race, Willard Bullock

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

An Ambiguous Hermeneutic: Doubleness In Ingmar Bergman’S Quest For Self, Ingy Aziz

Theses and Dissertations

One of the functions of art in all its forms is to provide the means for self-exploration and, in this way, to enable us to relate cultural representation to the question of meaning. The beauty of cinematic art is that it gives voice to our deepest and most profound concerns and enables us to bridge the gap between personal psychology and public understanding. As interpreters, we do not always unearth the answers that we seek, but we certainly gain more insight through delving into the minds of major filmmakers in the canon of modern cinema. This thesis is on the …

Dark Moon, Kate Mathews

Theses and Dissertations

Dark Moon is a short narrative film that follows Billie as she comes home for the weekend to look after her father, Jack, who has recently been diagnosed with early onset Dementia. The appearance of a mysterious woman shines a light on their changing power dynamic, threatening to throw their world out of orbit. Dark Moon is a rumination on an ailing man’s need for agency and a daughter’s misguided attempts to keep her father safe. Inspired by my own relationship with my father, the film explores loss and the ways we try, however foolishly, to fight against it.

The Anti-Hero Struggle: Mental Health And Addiction Overwhelming The Postmodern Protagonist, Nicholas Michael Durdan

Theses and Dissertations

Essay: The Anti-Hero Struggle: Mental Health and Addiction Overwhelming the Postmodern Protagonist -- Script 1: Shades of Death -- Script 2: Borderline -- Script 3: iSassins -- Script 4: Fake News.

The Art Of Provocative Entertainment, F. Clint Denisco

Theses and Dissertations

The art of provocative entertainment -- Jeff Doops somber greeting (bad entertainment) -- Off the cuff -- Cool counselor -- Next door on Alice Street.

No Beef, No Filler, Just Baloney: My Approach To Truth In Screenwriting, Bryant Alexander Loney

Theses and Dissertations

Essay: No Beef, No Filler, Just BALoney: My Approach to Truth in Screenwriting -- Script 1: Peach Beachy, Thanks for Asking! -- Script 2: Scooby-Doo: “The Wane of Whitney Woods” -- Script 3: Bob’s Burgers: “Bob’s Books, Beach Mice, and Body Scrubs” -- Script 4: LEGO Friends: “When Bricks Are for Boys” -- Script 5: Sea Breeze Academy.

Starless Nights, Deepak Rauniyar

Theses and Dissertations

A film about the filmmaking process and the life of a filmmaker. But it's also a story about immigration, home, and negotiation. We constantly negotiate in our lives to maintain our relationships, opportunities, and dreams.

As Honorable As Tears: Comedy As Surgeon, Pharmacist, And Clown, Emily S. Rauch

Theses and Dissertations

No abstract provided.

Going Forth: A Thesis Presented To The Faculty Of The Humanities And Teacher Education Division, Pepperdine University, William Dewitt

Theses and Dissertations

Essay: Going forth -- Script 1: Geronimo -- Script 2: Monster Moscow.

Stories That Matter: Developing Media With Purpose, Chirag Patel

Theses and Dissertations

The following thesis project represents the culmination of studies in the M.F.A. in Cinematic Media Production graduate program by the student, Chirag Patel. It serves as a representation of knowledge gained during the program, in addition to a showcase of materials produced by the student to serve as a portfolio for future employment opportunities in the media industry. The thesis aims to provide a thorough understanding of the media production process by the student, who will present multiple projects designed to highlight the various steps in the production process, from story development through pre-production, production, post-production, and distribution. Furthermore, each …

Uniting Cultures With Stories, Matthew S. Frey

Theses and Dissertations

Uniting cultures with stories -- Crystal City -- Love, integrity, and the military.

Giving Voice To Everyday Characters In Extraordinary Circumstances, Andrew D. Hasselbring

Theses and Dissertations

Giving voice to everyday characters in extraordinary circumstances -- Undesirable donor -- Blowfish -- Behind the lavender door

Time Machine Research And Approach, Tarek Bouraque

Theses and Dissertations

Time Machine is a hybrid documentary that explores the logics of enslavement, colonialism, eurocentrism and their interconnectedness in our globalized world. Mustapha Azemmouri, born in 1502, undertakes a journey to the 21st century to recount his own story of enslavement and exploration, and reflects on a collective puzzle of 500 years of hidden history.

I Spit On Your Agony!, Deann M. Sanval

Theses and Dissertations

Essay : "I spit on your agony!" -- Script 1 : You only live once -- Script 2 : I love your hate -- Script 3 : New money -- Script 4 : Love at first site.

Storyteller As A Cultural Leader, Brielle Yuke Li

Theses and Dissertations

Storyteller as cultural leader -- The answer : pilot "Ice cream addiction" -- Ten years later -- The last train to Death Valley.

The Revolution Of Plastic, Marine Brun-Franzetti

Theses and Dissertations

The Revolution Of Plastic is a fiction film about the overconsumption of plastic in our everyday lives. Leo, a ten year-old girl who loves dolphins, rebels against her father Mister Risso, the Manager of Detergents at Willy Supermarket.

My Name Is Jing, Jing Wang

Theses and Dissertations

My Name is Jing is an essay film about my family and a commentary on the rapid changes that have taken place in Chinese society over the past five decades. The film explores personal and national memories. It shows the impact of large-scale economic and social changes on an ordinary Chinese family.