Award-winning Hollywood story consultant Robert McKee will deliver the programme virtually. McKee course graduates are reported to have worked on 'Game of Thrones', 'Breaking Bad' and 'House of Cards' among others.
Dubai-based New Media Academy, a digital academic institution supporting a new generation of content creators in the Arab World, is launching a six-day storytelling programme delivered by award-winning screenwriting guru Robert McKee — with the aim of developing 1,001 storytellers from the Arab region.
Robert McKee has dedicated his career to teaching major media and literature celebrities inspirational storytelling for cinema, television and other fields requiring creative writing. He has consulted with the world’s most influential corporate storytellers — such as Microsoft, Nike, Siemens, Pixar, Disney, BBC, Nickelodeon and Miramax.
Alumni from Mckee courses have tallied 200 Oscar nominations and 60 Oscar wins between them. They have gone on to be nominated for over 1,000 Emmys and have scooped up 50. They share 50 DGA wins from 100 nominations, and 100 WGA wins to go with 250 nominations.
“Every company should strive to be a content company; it is vital,” commented Rashid Al Awadhi, CEO New Media Academy.
“The content you create should mean something, and make your audience connect with it, crave it and want more of it. One of the core elements of great content is the story being told, it is how the content becomes meaningful, memorable, effective, lasting and ultimately valuable. On the art of storytelling, there is no better human being to learn from than Robert McKee, and New Media Academy is thrilled to be able to give the Arab World the ability to learn from the greatest storyteller alive.”
The six-day course aims to empower content creators to tell great stories more effectively irrespective of the field they’re in, and share common human experiences. The programme will also be translated live to Arabic, and targeted at marketeers, PR professionals, creatives, script writers and anyone who needs to create a compelling narrative
Programme creator and lecturer Robert Mckee added: “Nothing expresses a culture’s vision and values as powerfully as its storytelling. A well-told story unearths a universal human experience, then wraps itself inside a culturally specific expression. The New Media Academy’s brilliant vision for the future of Middle Eastern narrative art has captured my imagination and enthusiasm. Whether Arab content creators work on screen, page, stage or digital platforms, in entertainment, marketing or the business world, the New Media Academy’s in-depth education will give their unique stories globe conquering power. I am very pleased and proud to add my teachings to this bold, creative venture.”
The course takes participants through the principles of story construction while introducing them to key archetypes and universal forms. It unveils the realities of writing and teaches audiences to master the art of telling an original compelling story while respecting target audiences, and without second-guessing what the marketplace desires. Authenticity is put at the centre of the compelling story creation.
Enrolment is now open, with the six-day programme commencing on 23 November 2020. The programme schedule includes an additional two days dedicated to three-hour Q&A sessions with McKee.
