The academic screenplay: Approaching screenwriting as a research practice

Screenwriting is an emerging research practice within the academy, whereby the act of writing a screenplay is understood as a form of research. The resulting "academic screenplay" or associated screenplay work functions as both a method of research enquiry and also a research artefact, valuing screenwriting as a way to generate and disseminate new knowledge and – crucially – new ways of practising. In this article we explore the implications of writing a screenplay as part of a creative practice research degree, from the perspective both of a candidate and a supervisor. We do this by discussing an approach to a PhD currently being undertaken in an international context: it is registered and primarily supervised in the UK; the candidate is conducting research in Japan; and it is remotely supervised in Australia. In this PhD, the candidate is writing a romantic comedy screenplay that is in dialogue with notions of transnational cinema and orientalist representations, and is exploring his own sense of self with regard to authorship and creative practice. By providing a commentary on this emerging site of knowledge production, the article contributes to the increasing scholarship on screenwriting as a research practice and the "academic screenplay". It also contributes to the wider disciplines of creative writing and screen production through its considerations of how research incubation influences and changes the work of a practitioner. Furthermore, with its collaborative and reflective voice of candidate and supervisor, it also contributes to ongoing debates about the purpose and nature of research degree supervision in the creative and professional arts.