Kate Marciniak

Instructor Biography:

MA, writer, professional story analyst who has worked on both studio features and independent movies for over 2 decades, for companies such as Disney, HBO, Miramax, Dreamworks SKG, Warner Bros., 20th Century Fox, and Amazon Studios. Ms. Marciniak also produced programming for National Public Radio and C-SPAN and oversaw the Los Angeles Downtown Film Festival.

Instructor Statement:

As a professional story analyst for over 20 years, working for both the studios and in independent film, I have analyzed well over 10,000 screenplays. And I have witnessed over and over what works and what doesn’t.  Story analysts (also called readers) can see the red flags coming down the pike —  in the average screenplay they can tell what will happen, when it will happen and who will do it. One of the biggest reasons why story analysts give most screenplays a pass is that they are pale, cookie-cutter imitations of movies we’ve seen (perhaps a dozen times) before. Screenwriting is both an art and a craft. It entails letting your own original voice come out to create a compelling story and memorable characters.  It also entails following some rules that seem blatant to story analysts but that are missed by most screenwriters.  I love artistry that is given form through structure.  Let’s explore what that means in this class.