I have tried one of these online courses before, and it can be useful. I think you just have to be realistic about what you are getting.This, after all, is a completely free course being run by the most prestigious writing school of any University in the UK. Students who are registered there will be paying £9k per year for the priviledge - and of course you are not going to get anywhere near the same supervision or feedback that a fee paying student would! You DO get feedback - but, because the courses are free, that feedback is provided by your peers on the course - which can produce some very mixed blessings! Anyone can sign up, which means that free courses in a creative subject like this will - like it or not - be stuffed full of selfish ME-merchants, with egos the size of the Sun, who just want to monopolize attention and comment. They soak up ALL the praise they can from diligent students providing full and constructive feedback to peers (and then gush and gush about it on the discussion Forum, to attract even more attention) - but refuse to give fair or even nice feedback to others, in their turn. I had the misfortune to get feedback from one of these creatures; and it was surprisingly hurtful, even when recognising them for what they are, attention ****. It wouldn't stop me from doing a course again - but forewarned is fore-armed! You will need to be quite prepared for very hit-and-miss (and sometimes cruel) critique of your work! The certificate on the course I did was £15; which I don't think is unreasonable. Each to their own, and I hope others appreciate an alternative view.

This course if by one of my tutors and I was actually one of the crew filming the little clips you see. Fun fact, the shoot took about 6 hours of them just talking and talking. We had to cut down on a lot of the footage coz they would go off into too much detail that wasn't required for an entry level course. It was all unscripted too.

Michael, who runs the course, knows so much about scriptwriting it's ridiculous. He's worked for Disney and Showtime in the US before.

Really enjoying this course :-)
Very instructive, very thought provoking - lots of intelligent conversation with people on a similar intellectual level.
So refreshing! Thank you, OP, for posting the deal. ;-)

Ooh sorry forgot to say - the numbers signed up that Michael mentioned - they sound daunting, but what actually happens is you get hundreds of people doing the first few segments, and then when they realise they actually have to work a bit and provide input and show some background knowledge, tons of them just melt away... By the end of week 1, there were only a couple of hundred who were consistently contributing. Which was nice!

I've heard that UEA are so strong on these subjects, I'm impressed that you have already built up really practical experience. I have to say I envy you (even the boring Theory - which will pay off in the long run because you will be so familiar with the ground rules of your profession)! Just by doing your course, you are meeting and networking with people (like the leaders of this online course) who will be useful to you when you're out furthering your career. I wish you the very best of luck - sounds like you are really making the most of it! :-)
If I had the ability to drop everything in my life and study full time (and could afford the fees!) I would defo pick UEA.

I do Media Studies specifically, so all things media. It's alright - there's a lot of (what I feel is) pointless theories (things that are common knowledge dressed up in fancy academic terms) you're made to study, but the practical modules and some of the theory based modules are pretty good and you actually get to film, write and create as part of the assessment.

As for the shoot itself, it was part of the university's production company - they do video production for clients from around Norwich and employ students to do all of it - filming, sound mixing, editing. They give everyone a shot at it, if they wish to.

I spoke to Michael today, as he does one of my modules, and he's really happy about the interest in this course - something like 30,000-50,000 people have signed up for it.

This course if by one of my tutors and I was actually one of the crew filming the little clips you see. Fun fact, the shoot took about 6 hours of them just talking and talking. We had to cut down on a lot of the footage coz they would go off into too much detail that wasn't required for an entry level course. It was all unscripted too.

Michael, who runs the course, knows so much about scriptwriting it's ridiculous. He's worked for Disney and Showtime in the US before.

I don't want a certificate

Your problem shouldn't be with the course, which sounds very useful and valuable. Your problem is with the job centre who wanted you to do this course... In reality no director or producer is going to care that you did this course -- but they will notice that your script is better written, more visual, that craft has been developed and worked on. Reading and dissecting other people's scripts is a great start on this course, for example.

Why the job centre wanted you to do this course is beyond me. If you want to get into the industry ask about industry internships -- some areas do them, and they will help get you contacts and other leads. Work as a runner for a production company -- then be assistant editor or some other pathway. Apply for the BBC trainee scheme. There are lots of opportunities if you know where to look. Join https://shootingpeople.org/home

Hope things improve for you and you get to see your work on the big screen.

I did it, very useful for no cost

Really enjoying this course :-)
Very instructive, very thought provoking - lots of intelligent conversation with people on a similar intellectual level.
So refreshing! Thank you, OP, for posting the deal. ;-)

Signed up, started today. Looks ok so far. (Grins to audience. - exit stage right):laughing:

Taking a course without certification is not useless. Irrespective of whether the course turns out to be the best ever or the worst ever you can consume course content which may increase your knowledge, experience and skills for free. The course is free, the optional certificate is not.

​No. You can optionally purchase a certificate if you want to prove to someone else that you've taken the course. You CAN take the course without buying this. In fact I will do just that. Therefore it is free.

A good point well made. Let's end this by me saying thank you to andy_g9 for taking the time to post this free course.

Let's end this, you clearly haven't read what I said earlier. But all I know is that the company is not in it for the quality of the contents.

I don't know how people can be more clear with you......but I'm going to try.Firstly, in response to your last comment. You don't need a certificate to say you've taken any course. I took a first aid course when I was ten.....there I said it.....without a certificate. But more importantly, this clearly isn't a course somebody would take for a qualification, it is an introduction to subject or skill to help you get started or to help people who have already started but would like a little more help. I can't think of a job where an introduction to screenwriting 6 hour course would be useful (not even screenwriter, they hire you on the strength of your screenplays, not certificate stack) but I also can't see a single potential employer asking for proof that you took it even if you did include it on your CV. If somebody had posted a free "3 year Maths BA (Hons) Degree" but you helpfully pointed out that you won't officially graduate without paying £12,000 for the certificate then I'd understand you constantly mentioning it but I don't understand why you have put so much importance on a certificate for this course. Having the decency to mention it once for people to make their own mind up is great and completely the point of this comment section but what you're doing seems a little over the top.....did you buy the certificate and then feel silly by any chance?

Surely the purpose of taking the course is to enjoy (or endure depending on how good it ultimately turns out to be) the content and hopefully get some knowledge and experience out of it. Do I have to pay for that? No. Therefore it is a free course. Can I take the course without paying? Yes. Therefore it is free.

Some of their courses have value on a CV, but aren't free. It's that simple, mate.

You still seem to be labouring under the illusion that this course is some kind of formal or relevant qualification. It isn't.

You could write on a piece of paper "dear mister ian duncan smith, i have completed this course online. lots of love" and it would have the same amount of relevance and meaning as any optional certificate you might choose to get.

This course did not charge any kind of admission, sign-up or entry fee, therefore it is free. It really is that simple.

aha, nice one. been writing scripts as a hobby for many years so this might be a nice way to polish that up. had a couple of shorts produced so far, so next stop feature film :smiley: cheers op

You really seem to be struggling with the concept of "free" here.

If I let you in to the cinema to watch Star Wars and offered you the chance to buy a ticket after watching the film, would you be complaining that the film wasn't free ?

Or if I took you to McDonalds and gave you a big mac, fries and a shake and offered you the chance to pay for it after the food, would you also complain that the food wasn't free ?

It's exactly the same principle.


Having an OPTIONAL certificate for an FREE online course doesn't automatically make it formal or make it relevant to any industry or field and I'd wager that everyone who has signed up for the course knows that.

You seem to be the only person here who has any kind of expectations of gaining some kind of formal qualification or meaningful education from a free online course.

If you read everything, you'll notice I wasn't the one starting the insults. And again, all those courses are useless without a certificate, therefore not free.

So why start insulting people ?. When you mentioned that you'd been told to take the courses by a DWP "advisor" then I had a degree of sympathy because i've been in that situation and know how sh*tty it can be, but now you're just coming across as a rather petulant troll.

And "optional cost for certificate" doesn't make the course any less free deary ..

I was saying most of their courses are **** so this one is bound to be too. I tried 6, more than you have. Totally empty of useful content. But then must be suitable for people like you who feel a bit thick or terrible. Yawns. Oh yes and... Its not free.

​I have to write script, for a2 film I need guidance help!eek

Ah, there it is.
I was thinking it was just too hard for you, or you got some bad feedback and you were bitter about how thick/terrible you are. I've been there, jobcentre workers are chocolate teapots in human form and seem to delight in giving completely wrong information. But you're wrong.

No, this isn't much good if you want padding for your CV.
But for people who actually want to learn a little bit as a hobby or as a start then this is great. Is it really that hard for you to understand that such people exist?
And as for your complaints about the content, that doesn't really hold up either. There's a wide range of providers, and presumably an even wider range of teachers setting the courses. So unless you have taken this exact course then you don't really have much to say. I don't think anyone is expecting an indepth experience from a six hour course.

I was told to take the courses by a job adviser at the jobcentre but you can't put the course on your CV if you haven't got the certificate. Not a freebie.

Wrong. It is free. You do not need the certificate. Exactly how are the courses useless without a certificate given that the cert is only A Statement of Participation. Unless of course you need a reminder that you attended the course.

Lights touchpaper...

Carrots are healthy.

Wait for it...

Looks cool. :-)

Voted hot!

The course is CLEARLY F R E E and you are not FORCED to buy a A Statement of Participation. Cheers Mandy! Move on Kattykit!

Mandy you clearly haven't read or understood any of it.

Calm down, madam!* It's only some free information, that people can dip into or out of, if they choose. It's their choice; not yours.

* (on second thoughts, don't. Your desperation to have the last word, on everyone, has actually pushed this deal into 'Hot' status. Amusing! :-)

time is money and you will waste plenty :wink:

It's the company I have problems with as I hate fake freebies. About courses to add to your CV, I obviously didnt mean this one.........................

when I read this on early morning, it says introduction to screwing???

Once time I did writed for the BBC.

******* A word of warning *******

Hollywood will butcher your work and cast Danny Dyer in the leading role.
Quit writing now and save us all from the agony.

Somebody REALLY doesn't like this course.......that they haven't actually done.....

Seriously though, it's a freebie, might be useful, might not be, we'll see. But WHO IN THEIR RIGHT MIND wants to put a 6 hour introduction to screenwriting online course on a CV anyway?

fair enough :smiley:

i'll see how it goes - if it's no good i'll just drop out. won't be like i've lost out or anything.

well done, and same here but believe me, you dont need that course...

If the certificate is not free, then the course is not free. Simple. And the contents are shocking, I've tried!

Yep, I can imagine that some of them could be as nasty as the destructive forces here on HOTUKDEALS, like you offer a great deal and then some people **** it off like brown stuff. E.g. one bad slight remark in the beginning and then a potentially hot deal turns cold with the lemmings.

Tried some courses with them, content is mostly obvious and useless at best of times and they charge a fortune for a certificate which renders the course useless if you can't afford it. You can't put it in your CV. Cold.

awesome ty

Wonderful

Brilliant, thank you :smiley:

Excellent, thank you.

Also worth looking around the course website as they offer a huge range of free courses. It all looks fascinating.