5 DAYS OF GUIDED STUDY · OCTOBER 12–16 · LIVE Q&A OCTOBER 18
SCREENPLAY STUDY HALL
Instead of just reading great screenplays, learn how to study them.
A 5-day hands-on deep dive for screenwriters who want to understand how great screenplays actually work.
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Learn to read screenplays like a screenwriter.
“If you want to get better at screenwriting, read more screenplays.”
You've probably heard that advice a thousand times.
It's good advice.
But what if you don't really know how to read one in a way that teaches you something?
You can read a great screenplay from beginning to end and think:
Wow. That's a great script.
You might even understand what you liked about it.
But can you explain how the writer did it?
That's what we're going to explore in Screenplay Study Hall.
We’re going to take one screenplay apart.
Over five days, you'll learn how to investigate a screenplay scene by scene — figuring out what the writer is doing, how it works, and why.
You'll work through a daily lesson and screenplay-study assignment, putting the process into practice.
Not to prove that it follows a set of rules, and not to turn it into a formula you can copy.
We're going to look underneath the finished story and figure out how the writer solved the storytelling problems in front of them.
You'll map the screenplay scene by scene, identify its story foundation and major structural turns, track the protagonist's arc, study the relationships and sources of conflict, and choose a specific craft question you want to investigate.
By the end, you'll have something much more useful than a pile of notes and a vague memory of what you read.
You'll have a screenplay case study you can reference whenever you need it, and a process you can use to study any screenplay you want.
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This isn’t just a screenplay to read.
It’s a screenplay to examine.
A finished screenplay is deceptively seamless.
You experience it as one complete story, so it's easy to miss all the individual decisions that created that experience.
Screenplay Study Hall gives you a way to pull that finished story apart and look at the pieces themselves.
You'll ask questions like:
What is this screenplay doing?
How does it work?
Why does it have this effect?
How did the writer create that effect?
Where on the page can I actually see those choices?
And, importantly, what can I learn from this for my own writing?
Think of it as creating an X-ray of a screenplay.
In five days of guided study, you'll learn to look past the finished story and see the choices that make it work.
Here’s how the five days work.
1️⃣ When you sign up, you'll receive a welcome email with the first steps to prepare for the five days of guided study.
You'll choose one screenplay to study and create a scene-by-scene breakdown to work from throughout the rest of the process.
(The earlier you sign up, the more time you'll have to complete this step before the 5-day deep dive begins.)
2️⃣ Then, from October 12–16, you'll receive one lesson each day.
Each lesson will give you a specific focus, examples, and screenplay-study homework.
You'll work through the material on your own, at your own pace.
The five days cover:
Day 1: Story Foundations
What are the essential elements of this story?Day 2: Plot & 8-Sequence Structure
How does the writer create shape, movement, and escalation?Day 3: Character Arc & Theme
How does the protagonist's transformation connect to what the story is really about?Day 4: Supporting Characters & Relationships
How do the other characters create pressure, conflict, and change?Day 5: Your Craft Questions & Case Study
What do you want to understand about this screenplay — and what can you learn from it?
And I'll be building a case study right along with you. Each day, you'll be able to see how I'm approaching the analysis and what I'm finding as I work through the same process.
3️⃣ After the five days, we'll come together for a live Q&A.
On Sunday, October 18, I'll host a Q&A where we can discuss the process, answer questions, and compare notes on the scripts we've studied.
Leading up to and during the 5 days of study, you'll also have access to a casual group chat space where you can share what you're studying, compare notes, ask questions, and trade screenplay recommendations with the other participants.
The Q&A and community are there if you want a place to talk through what you're discovering, but you don't have to participate in them to complete the guided screenplay study work. You’ll receive everything you need in the daily lessons emailed to you.
What you’ll walk away with
When you join Screenplay Study Hall, you'll get:
Five daily screenplay-study lessons
A step-by-step process for studying your screenplay, delivered one lesson at a time, October 12-16.A screenplay to study
I'll provide a selection of screenplays you can choose from, but if there's a particular screenplay you already want to study, you’re welcome to use it instead!
My case study
I'll be working through the steps alongside you, so you'll be able to see how I'm approaching the analysis and what I find. You’ll receive the finished case study document at the end of the 5 days.
Working documents and examples
You'll be able to see what a screenplay case study actually looks like as it comes together.
A process you can reuse
The goal is to learn how to do this yourself with any screenplay you want to study in the future.
A place to compare notes
You'll have access to the community space leading up to and during Screenplay Study Hall. That’s where you can ask questions, share discoveries, and see what other writers are noticing in their screenplays.
A live Q&A
Bring your questions, discoveries, and “Wait, why did they do that?” moments to our live Q&A on October 18 (9am Pacific / 12pm Eastern on Zoom).
Who is this for?
Screenplay Study Hall is for you if:
You've heard that reading screenplays is one of the best ways to learn screenwriting — but you're not sure how to get much out of the experience.
You read great scripts and think, “I know this works, but I don't know why.”
You want to get better at analyzing story, structure, character, conflict, or craft.
You'd like to build a library of reference screenplays you can return to when you're stuck.
You learn best by seeing how other writers actually solve storytelling problems.
You're tired of collecting more screenwriting rules and want to study how real screenplays actually work.
You want a practical, structured way to spend a few days studying a screenplay instead of simply reading one and moving on.
Or you just love reading screenplays and want to get really in-depth about it! ❤️
You do not need to already know how to analyze screenplays in order to join the Screenplay Study Hall.
That's the point — we'll walk through the process together through the daily lessons.
We’re not looking for the “right” way to write a screenplay.
There isn't one screenplay template that every great writer follows.
And we're not studying a screenplay to decide whether it follows the rules.
We're studying it to ask:
How did this writer solve this particular storytelling problem?
Because the more screenplays you study, the more you'll start to see both the patterns and the possibilities.
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Meet your host
Hi, I’m Naomi, a screenwriting teacher and story consultant with 10+ years of experience helping screenwriters, producers, and directors develop their projects.
I was part of the development team at Maverick Films (Madonna + Guy Oseary’s production company), where I worked on projects like Twilight, Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief, and The Stanford Prison Experiment.
I also worked with Blake Snyder on his second Save the Cat! book and taught Save the Cat! workshops in Los Angeles.
That experience is where I first fell in love with story structure — not as a set of rules, but as a way of understanding why stories work.
Since then, I've continued to study, refine, and build my own frameworks based on what I've seen actually help writers move forward.
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Common Questions
Can I use a TV pilot instead of a feature screenplay?
Absolutely! The same process works for TV pilots. You'll still be looking at story foundations, structure, character, relationships, conflict, theme, and the specific craft choices the writer is making on the page. The main difference is that you'll be studying how a pilot establishes a story and a series — rather than how a feature builds toward a single, contained ending.So if there's a TV pilot you've been dying to dig into, bring it along!
I already know three-act structure. Is this just more of the same?
No, we're looking at much more than structure: character, relationships, conflict, theme, and the specific craft choices the writer is making on the page.Is this suitable for newer writers?
Yes, especially if you’ve already been exposed to basic screenwriting concepts and want to see how everything you’re learning applies in the real world.What if I don't have a screenplay in mind?
No problem. I'll provide a selection of screenplays you can choose from, including the screenplay I’ll study and use as an example throughout the process, so you won't have to hunt one down yourself.Are we studying one screenplay or several?
You'll take one screenplay apart over the five days and build a case study of what you’ve learned.The goal is to go deep enough into one screenplay that you know exactly how it works, and then to use that process on any screenplay you want to learn from in the future.
What if I don't finish the day's assignment?
That's okay. This isn't a race, and there's no grade at the end. The daily schedule is there to give you structure and momentum.You can work through the material on your own schedule and catch up if you need to.
How much time will I need each day?
You don't need to spend hours every day, but this is a hands-on experience — the more time you spend actually investigating the screenplay, the more you'll get out of it.Do I have to attend the live Q&A?
No — the Q&A is an opportunity to ask questions, compare what you found, and talk through the experience with the other participants. If you can't attend live, you'll have access to the replay.Will there be a community?
Yes. You'll have access to a casual group space leading up to and during Screenplay Study Hall, where you can share what you're studying, compare notes, ask questions, and trade screenplay recommendations with the other participants.It's there for conversation and support, but completely optional — you don't have to participate in order to complete the deep dive.
Is a replay included?
Yes. The Q&A replay will be available for 30 days.What will I have when Screenplay Study Hall is over?
You'll have your own screenplay case study, the example case study I'll build alongside you, and a process you can reuse whenever you want to learn from another screenplay.
Join Screenplay Study Hall
Spend five days taking one screenplay apart. Build an X-ray of how it works. Create a case study you can return to.
And learn a process you can use every time you find yourself wondering:
“That was great... how did they do it?”
Five days.
One screenplay.
A whole new way to read.