Basic Scriptwriting

WANG, ZHAO-WANG 老師


Basic Scriptwriting

Basic Scriptwriting Instructor: WANG, ZHAO-WANG

CATEGORY Year Level Number of students taking the courses Curriculum Curriculum and Instructional Features
■Required Courses for College and Departments Freshman 80 ■Department of Film and Video Production
Departmental Required Course		 ●Planning Objective：
Translating stories from old streets, docks, and historic trails.
This course seeks to guide students in field study on Shenkeng's cultural landscape, therefore fostering a closer knowledge and respect of cultural legacy. The course will help students to arrange, evaluate, and translate their research results into cultural narratives that might function as film scripts, therefore reflecting an educational philosophy directly related to the SDG objective of excellent education.
●Curriculum and Instructional Features：
Provide students with training in efficient planning and control methods to guarantee the successful implementation of design projects.
●Expected Social Impact：
Incorporating and converting the narratives of old streets, docks, and historic trails into language suitable for modern marketing and applications.
By transforming Shenkeng’s local cultural stories into film scripts or cinematic productions, students can enhance the added value of digital content creation in Shenkeng, allowing the local cultural industry to keep pace with modern developments. This approach also supports the sustainable development of Shenkeng’s cultural heritage, aligning seamlessly with the SDG goal of fostering sustainable cities and communities.
    Screenwriting techniques—including script formatting, the creative process of writing, and fundamental plot structures—are taught in this course. Using the results of their cultural studies in Shenkeng, the course also helps students create their scripts. The course not only sharpens students' professional screenwriting abilities but also piques their interest in local history and culture by translating Shenkeng's cultural places and historical narratives into screenwriting material.

Course learning outcomes:.

    By means of field research, students compile and evaluate information about the people, events, sites, and objects of Shenkeng, therefore generating a topic fit for a screenplay. They then build characters and position the narrative within a specific period and location, therefore forming a 500-word script outline.
基礎編劇 基礎編劇2
基礎編劇3 基礎編劇4
Student Works from the Basic Screenwriting Course: Li Wenru

1.Li Wenru – Basic Screenwriting Course Project


(1) Compiled Field Research Data
The origin of Shenkeng's name is closely tied to its geography. Its long and narrow terrain inspired the elegant Qing Dynasty name "Zanying," referring to the adornment of officials' headdresses. However, in the late Qing and Japanese colonial periods, the name was changed to "Shenkeng" (literally "Deep Pit") due to the surrounding mountains and the area's main activity zone located in the lowlands, resembling a pit.During the Qing Dynasty, Shenkeng was the political center of the Greater Wenshan area in Taipei, near the Jingmei River. In an era when railways and roads were underdeveloped, areas with river ports thrived, and Shenkeng's commercial development began early. In 1885, tea merchants Wang Shuijin and Wei Jingshi from Anxi, Fujian, introduced tea plants and the baozhong tea production method to Taiwan, expanding tea cultivation from Nangang to the Wenshan District, encompassing Shiding, Pinglin, Shenkeng, Xindian, Muzha, and Jingmei.

Shenkeng and neighboring areas such as Wulai and Shiding were traditionally territories of the Atayal and Pingpu peoples, as well as the Ketagalan's Xiulang community. Conflicts between Han settlers and Indigenous peoples were frequent, with the Pingpu people gradually assimilating into Han culture while the mountain tribes moved toward Wulai. Today, the Amis people are more prominent in Shenkeng and celebrate the Harvest Festival annually.

Shenkeng is renowned for its four treasures: tofu, Oldham bamboo shoots, black-haired pigs, and tea. The tofu is handcrafted using traditional methods, yielding a rich, smoky flavor that has inspired a variety of tofu-based delicacies, such as stinky tofu, braised tofu, and fermented tofu. Shenkeng is also home to locally-raised black-haired pigs, known for their extended growing period, firm and juicy texture, and elasticity. The area's Oldham bamboo shoots are famous due to Shenkeng's soil, which is ideal for their cultivation. Bamboo shoot farmers harvest them with headlamps in the early morning to ensure fresh supply to markets across Taiwan. Tea, Shenkeng's first widely-known economic crop, still holds historical significance here, even though the primary tea-growing areas in northern Taiwan have since shifted to Pinglin. Savoring Wenshan Baozhong Tea in Shenkeng remains a unique experience steeped in history.

The most iconic building on Shenkeng Old Street is Dexingju, a century-old structure representing the Minnan architectural style. The building boasts a Baroque facade with floral reliefs, simplified Greek-style columns, and floral motifs atop the walls, all infused with a French flair. Next to the characters "Dexing," two dragon-fish sculptures symbolize rain control and fire prevention. The building's decorative elements merge Eastern and Western influences, with vibrant colored ceramic tiles and exquisite craftsmanship in both its exterior and interior detailing. It stands as the most luxurious Western-style mansion on Shenkeng Old Street from the Japanese colonial era.

(2) Story outline:
After school, Huang Jingjing returns to her family’s busy grocery store, where her older brothers, Shengxiong and Shengan, are attending to customers. Jingjing sits by her father at the counter to assist with the bookkeeping. Just then, Ah Dao arrives to deliver tea for sale. Jingjing stands up to help him check the goods and gives him the payment. Before leaving, Ah Dao discreetly slips her a note. Back at the counter, her father teases her about eventually taking over the family business.

That evening, Jingjing writes romantic poetry in her room while Shengxiong reviews the accounts downstairs. Shengan comes down, and the two brothers discuss the store’s operations and Shengan’s ambition of becoming a government official. While Shengxiong introduces products to a customer the next day, a local Japanese officer visits the shop. During their conversation, Shengxiong realizes the officer is interested in Jingjing. With Shengan’s help, Shengxiong arranges a meal with the officer to discuss marriage arrangements and business matters, including Shengan’s aspirations for an official post. Meanwhile, Jingjing is meeting Ah Dao in the mountains, where they talk about making their relationship public. When Jingjing returns home late for supper, Shengxiong questions her and becomes suspicious. After retiring to her room, Shengxiong chats privately with their father, informing him of the marriage arrangement with the Japanese officer. Their father agrees, citing the benefits to the family business.

The next day, Jingjing works at the store as normal, and Ah Dao arrives to deliver more tea. During their brief talk, Shengxiong observes their intimacy and orders Jingjing to follow. When Shengxiong discovers Jingjing's secret rendezvous with Ah Dao, she confines her at home and notifies her of the arranged marriage that their father has accepted. News of her impending marriage spreads quickly. When Ah Dao learns of it, he rushes to confront the Huang family but is brutally beaten by Shengxiong’s men, leaving Jingjing devastated and sobbing in her room.

On the wedding day, Jingjing goes through the ceremony with a blank expression. In the bridal chamber, she takes out a small knife, stabs the officer, and escapes to find Ah Dao’s home.