Email info@nbfilmcoop.com to register.
Free for Film Co-op members in good standing.
$10 for non-members.
On Zoom
Instructor: Vanessa King
1. Why most short films don’t work (discuss common problems - no real story, overwritten dialogue, no emotional movement, cramming a feature into 10 pages, twist endings do not mean meaning)
2. What is your film actually about?
3. Character: build a human, fast
4. Structure: the architecture of a short film (setup, escalation, collision, emotional aftermath)
5. Emotional Payoff (subtext, silence, image-based endings, unresolved but emotionally complete endings)
6. Industry Reality & Practical Advice (writing producible shorts, festivals, proof-of-concept, actor-driven, director showcase)
7. Final Takeaway & Q&A
In this 60-minute session, screenwriter-filmmaker and story editor Vanessa King will explore the anatomy of a great short film through the lenses of story, character, structure and emotional payoff. The class will examine why many short films fail to resonate, from overwritten dialogue and weak story engines to twist endings mistaken for meaning, and focus on how to build emotionally compelling, producible short films with strong narrative architecture. Topics include identifying what your film is truly about, building layered characters quickly, creating momentum through escalation and collision, and crafting endings that are emotionally satisfying without over-explaining. The session will also cover practical industry considerations including festival strategy, proof-of-concept shorts, actor-driven material and writing within realistic production constraints.
Biography: Originally from Saint Andrews, Vanessa King is a New Brunswick-based producer, story editor and screenwriter with nearly two decades of hands-on entertainment experience spent working with an Oscar-winning actress in New York City. Her award-winning scripts have been recognized by industry giants AMPAS/Oscar® Nicholl Fellowship and Sony Worldwide Entertainment which showcase her storytelling expertise.
She cofounded the free, educational-based New York Screenwriters Co-Op and was faculty at a UK university where she taught both beginner and graduate-level screenwriting. She currently teaches Writing for TV as a part of Gotham Writers Workshop and a free, monthly screenwriting class in Hampton.
For four consecutive years, Vanessa was named to Vanity Fair’s “Downtown 100” List, recognizing New York City’s top networkers in the entertainment industry. She is a four-time appointee of The Diversity List and, after a brain injury, in 2019 was named an “Industry Thought Leader” by Forbes Magazine for her work on the development of a built-in E/D/I/A analysis for Final Draft’s screenwriting software. She has both coordinated and judged dozens of film festivals during her career, frequently consults for Harlem Film House and is a final round judge for UCLA’s Masters Screenwriting Showcase. She is passionate about making no- and low-cost film education accessible to all and is currently heading up entertainment-related education and workforce development initiatives in the province.
Vanessa is an Executive Board Member of Media NB, a member of WIFT-AT (Women in Film & TV - Atlantic), a member of the NB Film Co-op, and is on the filmmaker advisory board of AIFF (Atlantic International Film Festival). She lives in Smithtown, NB.