“How to Write a Contained, Micro-Budget Screenplay”

Schedule: October 28th - December 2nd, 2025 6 Weeks — Tuesdays, 6 PM – 8 PM PST
 Format: Virtual (Zoom)
 Instructor: Professional Screenwriter / Producer (you can insert your name or guest instructors)

COURSE OVERVIEW
This 6-week course guides writers through the full process of developing, outlining, and writing a feature screenplay that can be shot with minimal resources. Students will learn how to craft high-concept, low-cost stories that attract producers, investors, and festivals.

By the end of the course, participants will have:

A completed short treatment or full outline for a contained feature.

A clear understanding of the micro-budget filmmaking market.

The first act (20–30 pages) of a producible screenplay.

WEEK-BY-WEEK BREAKDOWN
WEEK 1 — Understanding the Contained Screenplay
Topic: What makes a film “contained”?
 Key Lessons:

The economics of micro-budget filmmaking.

Examples: Horchata With Oatmilk, El Mariachi, Clerks, Slacker

Identifying your limitations (cast, locations, effects) as creative strengths.

Exercise: Brainstorm 3 contained concepts you could realistically produce.

Homework:

Write one-paragraph loglines for your 3 concepts.

Choose one idea to develop during the course.

WEEK 2 — Building a Marketable Concept
Topic: How to make a small movie feel big.
 Key Lessons:

The difference between “cheap” and “low-budget but cinematic.”

Finding high-stakes, emotional tension in small spaces.

Defining your genre: why thriller, horror, or drama dominate micro-budget markets.

Exercise: Develop your protagonist, antagonist, and primary conflict.

Homework:

Write a one-page synopsis for your chosen concept.

Identify your contained “hook” (the marketing angle).

WEEK 3 — Structure & Outline
Topic: Story Architecture for Micro-Budgets.
 Key Lessons:

3-Act vs. 5-Act-Sequence structure for contained scripts.

The “24-Hour Rule” and time compression techniques.

Visual pacing when you can’t rely on big set pieces.

Exercise: Create your beat sheet (10–15 major story beats).

Homework:

Build your detailed scene-by-scene outline.

Bring to class for feedback.

WEEK 4 — Writing the First Act
Topic: Hooking the Audience Fast.
 Key Lessons:

Introductions and exposition in one location.

Dialogue vs. visual storytelling when scale is limited.

Building tension through rhythm and blocking.

Exercise: Write your first 10 pages and share for critique.

Homework:

Complete your first act (20–30 pages).

Revise based on peer feedback.

WEEK 5 — Character & Dialogue Mastery
Topic: Keeping an Audience Engaged Without Action Scenes.
 Key Lessons:

Designing layered characters and subtextual dialogue.

Conflict and power dynamics in confined spaces.

Repetition, claustrophobia, and the “pressure cooker effect.”

Exercise: Re-write a key dialogue scene using subtext and misdirection.

Homework:

Polish your character arcs and dialogue.

Prepare your logline + synopsis for Week 6 pitch session.

WEEK 6 — Pitch, Polish, and Path to Production
Topic: From Script to Screen.
 Key Lessons:

How to pitch your contained screenplay to micro-budget producers.

Writing your one-page pitch and “micro budget plan.”

Next steps: development labs, contests, and pitching platforms.

Guest Q&A: A working micro-budget filmmaker or distributor.

Final Deliverables:

One-page pitch document.

3–5 page synopsis or first 25 pages of your script.

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Software: Final Draft, WriterDuet, or Celtx

Reading:

Save the Cat! Writes for TV & Film by Blake Snyder

The Anatomy of Story by John Truby

MicroBudget Filmmaker’s Handbook by Robert Rodriguez excerpts (Rebel Without a Crew)