01
Mistake one
Structure
Where a script falls apart first, and why knowing story and structure lets a writer make changes on set with confidence when a location, an actor or the weather forces them.
The script is the blueprint.
A masterclassFilmed live on the set of The Chosen
It all starts with the page.
Chad Gundersen and Chris Juen have produced The Chosen since its first season. In this masterclass they walk through the five script-writing mistakes they see most and show you how to fix every one.
Enrollment opens November 15
The roomOct 22, 2026 · Midlothian, Texas
Recorded on a working set of The Chosen.
0min
of teaching, recorded live in front of a room
0
mistakes they see in almost every script
0
cameras on the floor of the synagogue set
The evening started with a tour of the city and sound stages. Then the room sat down under the lanterns for an honest conversation about the work behind the show: how a script holds a production together, what makes a character worth an actor's time, and why being coachable matters as much as being talented.
Contact sheetPhotos by Summer Michele
The notesFive mistakes, five fixes01 / 05
Where scripts break.
02
Mistake two
Dialogue
With about 130 speaking roles a season on The Chosen, they've seen exactly how dialogue makes an actor look good, or makes the edit work twice as hard.
Write it to be said out loud.
03
Mistake three
Is it entertaining?
A story doesn't get a pass because of its message. They cover knowing your audience and how to tell whether only your friends would love it.
Get out of the echo chamber.
04
Mistake four
Engaging the audience
Two real scripts with opposite problems, side by side: what kept a reader turning pages in one and what lost them in the other.
Keep them turning pages.
05
Mistake five
Being coachable
Why they'll take a script to 75 or 80 percent on purpose, and what happens when a writer holds on too tightly once a director or a lead actor comes in.
Leave room for the director.
Your teachersOut of Order Studios
The studio system and the indie set.
Between them, Chad and Chris have spent decades on both sides of the business: tentpole animation at Sony and independent films made on lean budgets in Texas.
The ChosenArthur ChristmasSound of HopeCloudy with a Chance of MeatballsHooveyThe Chosen Adventures
Chris spent about fifteen years at Sony, where he helped set up Sony Pictures Animation and co-produced Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Arthur Christmas. He's been producing The Chosen since the very beginning, and he'll tell you it's about people before projects.
Chad has been an independent producer for more than twenty years with over two dozen film and TV credits, from Midnight Clear to Hoovey. In 2015 he co-founded Out of Order Studios with Chris, and the two went on to produce The Chosen.
What's insideThe course, scene by scene
Watch it at your own pace.
The full masterclass is cut into short lessons you can watch in order or come back to when you're stuck on a draft. Each one comes with a page in the companion workbook so you can put it straight to work on your own script.
- The full masterclass, filmed with four cameras on set
- A companion workbook for your own script
- Audience questions answered on the night
- 00:00
Who we are
Where Chris and Chad came from and why they're here.
- 00:12
The story behind the show
Almost saying no to The Chosen, and what changed when they read the first script.
- 00:25
Structure
The blueprint everything else is built on.
- 00:32
Dialogue
Lines that make actors look good.
- 00:39
Is it entertaining?
Knowing your audience and escaping the echo chamber.
- 00:47
Engaging the audience
Two scripts with opposite problems.
- 00:54
Being coachable
Leaving room for the director.
- 01:01
Your questions
Questions from the room, and the one thing to remember.
Who it's for
You've got a script in a drawer, a story you can't shake, or a draft that isn't working yet.
Writers
You're working on a feature, a pilot or a short and want notes from people who've made hundreds of scenes work.
Filmmakers
You direct or produce and want to know what to look for on the page before you shoot it.
Students
You're thinking about a life in film and want to hear how the business works from two people inside it.
EnrollOpens November 15
Nov15
Early-bird pricing for the first 72 hours.
Enrollment opens November 15, the same weekend the new season of The Chosen begins. Join the early-bird list and we'll send you the link the moment it's live, with early-bird pricing through November 17.
Questions
Before you roll.
When can I start watching?
The course opens on November 15. You can start the moment you enroll and watch at your own pace.
Do I need to have written a script already?
No. If you've got a draft you'll get more out of the workbook, but the lessons work whether you're on page one or your tenth rewrite.
Is this a faith-based course?
Chad and Chris are people of faith and they talk openly about The Chosen, but the craft they teach applies to any story you want to tell.
Who's behind it?
The Creative Collective is a Texas nonprofit founded by Chad and Chris to nurture and protect storytellers. Read about the Collective.