Important Notes.
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This is Part One of the three-part From Script to Screen series. Take it on its own to master the script — or continue the journey into pre-production, filming, and distribution.
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All participants are required to watch Fresh Kills in its entirety prior to attending the workshop. A private screener link will be provided upon registration, along with a copy of the script. This pre-screening is essential for engaging in discussion and fully understanding the case study examples presented throughout the sessions.
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Space is limited to keep the group intimate.
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All sales are final. No refunds.
Gain Confidence in Your Voice-
beyond craft and structure, this class is about finding your fire. You’ll learn how to make your script undeniable by infusing it with the one thing no one else has: you.
Workshop Breakdown
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Week 1: Act 1 – Setting the Stage
We discuss the important of your Opening image, set-up, and inciting incident. We’ll use Fresh Kills as our example and break down the following. Plus all the “why’s” which is VITAL!
Objective:
Learn how to establish the world, characters, and central conflict.
Opening Image (pg 1–2)
Set-Up
Inciting Incident (pg 10–12)
Break into Act 2 (pg 25)
Week 2: Act 2 – The Promise of the Premise
This week we look at the "Fun & Games", midpoint, escalation of stakes.
Objective:
Learn how to deepen character relationships and raise stakes.
Fun & Games (pg 30–55)
Midpoint (False Victory) (pg 55)
Bad Guys Close In (pg 55–75)
Week 3: Act 3 – Climax and Transformation
This week we focus on Break into Act 3, climax, resolution.
Objective:
Build to a climax that resolves both story and theme.
Break into Act 3 (pg 85)
Climax (pg 85–110)
Final Image (last page)
Week 4: Thematic Analysis & Application
We discuss themes of the story, building arcs, and what the story is actually saying.
Objective:
Leave with a beat sheet for your own script.
Themes: autonomy, freedom, Family, Loyalty, Identity
Character Arcs
Why This Matters for You This isn’t about memorizing rules —
It’s about studying one film that fought its way into existence and learning how to apply those lessons to your own vision.
You’ll leave with:
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A clearer sense of your story’s spine.
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A beat sheet you can return to draft after draft.
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The confidence to write with urgency, clarity, and voice.
At the end of four weeks, you won’t just understand Fresh Kills. You’ll hold the framework for your own script — a story alive with your truth and ready to stand on its own.
Part One: The Script
4-Week Deep Dive
Date TDB | Live on Zoom
It’s simple If you don’t have a good script, you don’t have a film. The production, the distribution, the festivals — all of it collapses without a script that’s alive with your authentic voice. If you have taken my classes before than you know how much I drill in my students head how YOUR voice is VITAL. It’s the one thing you have, YOU and all YOUR experiences- that differentiates you from the crowd. That uniqueness is what will set you apart form the thousands writing scripts every day.
This first four-week class takes you inside Fresh Kills — from my “why’s” for NEEDING to write in the first place to my raw first draft then on to my final shooting script. We will use these scripts as an example and a teaching ground.
You’ll watch the film (link included) and also read study the two full drafts of the script. We will break down beats, acts and build your own beat sheet using the same principles that took Fresh Kills from page to screen.
By the end, you’ll have more than just theory or beat sheet “rules”- you’ll have why’s that will translate be your guiding light for your own work. You’ll hold a framework, a blueprint ,you can use draft after draft and the confidence to write with clarity, structure, and voice.
NO PERMISSION NEEDED.
What You’ll Get.
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Four live 2-hour sessions (Zoom)
Four, two-hour sessions focused on the writing journey—developing your concept, drafting pages, revising, and preparing a script that’s ready to move toward production.
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Full Q&A Access
Bring your biggest question. Participants get the chance to ask Jennifer directly and receive guidance rooted in her own filmmaking journey.
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Fresh Kills Scripts + Private Screener
Get both Jen’s first draft and the final shooting script, plus a private screener link to the film. Study how the words on the page transformed into the finished movie.
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A Practical Beat Sheet
A simple, no-nonsense map of story beats (with page numbers!) you can apply directly to your own script.
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Scene-by-Scene Analysis
Break down pivotal moments from Fresh Kills (the Staten Island parking lot opening, Rose’s breaking point, the haunting final image) to see how structure and character arcs collide.
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Your Own Story Blueprint
Each week’s exercises build toward your personal beat sheet, so you leave with a working outline of your story’s structure.