MIDPOINT Writers´ Room – Ireland
Induction:
90minute induction on Friday December 11th from 2pm – 3.30pm for successful applicants.
Course schedule:
January 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th
10am – 6pm each day (with a 5pm wrap time on the final day)
Tutor(s): Ben Morris, Gabor Krigler
Venue: Online
Cost: Free
Course Profile:
MIDPOINT Institute is an international audiovisual training and networking institution organizing a wide range of programs focused on script and project development, post-production and the education of aspiring script consultants and development executives.
In collaboration with Screen Skillnet, MIDPOINT Writers´ Room – Ireland is an online, series-oriented 9 day training program aimed at mid-level Irish writers with at least 4 x paid professional writing credits, who have not had their own original series commissioned, and have not been hired as a writer in a writers’ room to date.
The program is designed to offer practical knowledge and training in the specialized skills of the organization of a writers’ room and will run under the leadership of two world-renowned tutors Gabor Krigler (Golden Life) and Ben Morris (Mr Selfridge, Bancroft).
The 9 day simulation will replicate the creative atmosphere of a writers room through an interactive collaborative online platform, and will be complemented by theoretical lectures.
Upon completing the training, participants will have a better understanding of the structure, hierarchy and processes involved in a writers’ room (such as creative teamwork, joint brainstorming, and creating or following one unified narrative voice and vision for a TV series)
Tutor Profile:
BEN MORRIS: After studying drama at Bristol University, Ben’s first industry job was as a runner at ITV Studios Drama. Subsequently, Ben became Assistant to the Creative Director and he’d only recently made the leap to Junior Script Editor when a show he was assisting on was greenlit by ITV/PBS.
This show was Mr Selfridge (10×60). Ben became part the original creative team that setup the series and its writers’ room alongside creator Andrew Davies. He went on to oversee the script process on all four seasons as Script Editor/Executive, eventually writing his own episode in the final season.
Soon after, Ben worked with show-runner Kate Brooke to setup contemporary crime thriller Bancroft (4×60 for ITV) which ran for two seasons. Ben was Script Executive/Story Consultant and co-wrote three episodes with Kate across both seasons.
As Development Executive, Ben recently oversaw the development and story of Sarah Williams’ family mystery drama Flesh and Blood, starring Imelda Staunton, which premiered this February on ITV1. Most recently, he wrote an episode of Kate O’Riordan’s new Channel 5 psychological drama Penance, which became one of the highest-rated dramas ever on the channel in March 2020.
GABOR KRIGLER: In 1999, Gabor heard the siren call of TV drama and ended up on the writing staff of a daily soap at Grundy UFA. Having emerged to the level of story editor, he burnt out quickly and left after 4 years of hard labour. Based on his experiences, he wrote a book on TV writing and was subsequently invited to teach scriptwriting and dramaturgy at various institutions, among them the University of Theatre and Film Arts in Budapest. In 2006, he co-founded a script consulting firm and spent the following years as a hired gun, doing script editing and writing.
Gabor was offered the job of script development executive at the fledgling Local Original Production department at the Budapest office of HBO Europe in 2010. He later became the Creative Executive, responsible for all creative aspects of development and production on all Hungarian HBO shows as a producer, the latest being the third season of Golden Life, a crime thriller/family drama. In this role, he had also assisted in the launch of original production for HBO Europe in the Adria region.
After leaving HBO at the end of 2018, Gabor went on to found his own company, Joyrider, specializing in creating and developing high-end scripted serial content for the international market.
MIDPOINT INSTITUTE:
MIDPOINT Institute is an international audiovisual training and networking institution organizing a wide range of programs focused on script and project development, post-production and the education of aspiring script consultants and development executives.
Its programs are dedicated to both short and feature narrative films and long or short form series.
www.midpoint-institute.eu
Participant Profile:
This course is aimed at mid-level Irish writers with at least 4 x paid professional writing credits who have not had their own original series commissioned and have not been hired as a writer in a writers’ room to date.
Application Procedure:
PLEASE APPLY ONLINE HERE by 5pm on Tuesday December 8th.
Please note places on this course are limited to 6 participants so only applicants that fit the participant profile will be considered.
All applicants will be notified of the status of their application on December 9th.
Successful applicants must be available for an initial 90minute induction session on Friday December 11th from 2pm – 3.30pm to get an overview of the programme from the MIDPOINT team.
For further information, please email barbara.deignan@screenskillnet.ie
Screen Skillnet courses are open to all regardless of gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability.
- 4th January 2021 - 14th January 2021
10:00 am - 5:00 pm
