Brian McDonald, the writer/director behind the award winning short White Face will be teaching a weekend seminar on story construction next month. McDonald is also the co-author of Inheritance which was a semi-finalist at the Austin Heart of Film Festival screenwriting competition.

McDonald's story structure class.

Over the past few years McDonald has taught his course through 911 Media Arts Center in Seattle, but has now struck out on his own.

In the class you will learn how to recognize the structure of celebrated stories and films and apply those techniques successfully to your own work. Learn the secrets of Dickens, Steinbeck and Billy Wilder.

If you are a writer with something to say you will learn how to give your stories resonance and depth without being preachy.

The first course will take place December 7th and 8th from 10:00am to 2:30pm and will cost $200 per person. A $50 discount will be given to IFP members. Class size is limited t0 20 students so sign up early. To register for the class, and get more details please contact Brian McDonald at brian@scotopiapictures.com.

For those of you who are not interested in the classroom environment, but have a screenplay you are working on, McDonald is available for one-on-one consultation. Please contact him at the above email about fees.

BIO

"Nobody, in Hollywood or out, understands story better than Brian McDonald. Never give a script to Brian to read casually, because he doesn’t know how to do that. He only knows how to make it better — whether you like it or not."
-- Mark Handley – Screenwriter, Nell

Brian McDonald is an award-winning writer/director/producer whose short-film White Face is currently running on HBO and CINEMAX.

McDonald teaching at 911.

At the age of 15 he began working in film as an assistant camera operator at an animation studio in Seattle, WA. After a few years of working for that company he began to freelance. He was a special effects animator doing motion graphics and titles for commercials, industrial films and some feature films as well.

Always writing, McDonald began writing jokes for professional stand-up comedians and then began to perform himself. It wasn't long before he was being paid to perform in clubs around the country.

It was also around this time that his first comic book stories were published. He has written for such high profile strips and books as Tarzan, Predator and Lost In Space. McDonald is proud to have been one of the creators asked to contribute to 9-11 Artists Respond, a comic book tribute to the 9-11 tragedy.

A sought after instructor and consultant, McDonald has participated in Lucasfilm’s lunchtime story seminar program where he was so well received that there is now talk of bringing him back for an all day session. His classes have been so popular that he is now hard at work on a book on the subject of story structure.

Brian has been featured in the Seattle Weekly, Source Magazine, Seattle Magazine and The Director’s Guild of America Magazine.

Currently McDonald has just completed work on Inheritance a feature film that he co-wrote and produced.

AWARDS

SLAMDANCE AUDIENCE AWARD (2001) – Best Short Film
SEATTLE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL (2001) – Creative Merit Award
AUSTIN FILM FESTIVAL (1999) – semi finalist Best Feature-length Screenplay
DISNEY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM (1999) – semifinalist for sitcom script
SAGUARO FILM FESTIVAL (1996) – Best Short Screenplay