Animator? Editor?

Lisa and I are looking for an animator / editor / After Effects maven who would like to work with us on an Annoying Orange-style short, for fun and glory.

Ideally Montreal/Ottawa/Toronto, but open to people elsewhere if we can figure out how to do it.

Interested? Let me know.

Seven Writer's Rules for Survival in Animation

Rob Edwards, writer of THE PRINCESS AND THE FROG, has an interesting post called Seven Writer's Rules for Survival in Animation at MakingOf. I liked these points:

RULE 3. THINK IN SEQUENCES
Animated features are usually divided into about 30 3-5 minute sequences. Each Story Artist is “cast” to do various sequences according to their abilities with action, comedy or dramatic moments. If you’ve followed Rule #2, you’ll quickly figure out how to write to the strength of the particular artists. If she’s great with physical comedy, take it as a challenge to create dynamic physical gags. If he’s good with drama, go for it and allow the tone of the film to change a bit. It will help give the film a variety and pace that will ultimately add to its overall entertainment.

RULE 4. REMEMBER WHY IT’S ANIMATED
The current state of special effects is so advanced that it’s become increasingly difficult to impress even the least theatrically experienced 8-year-old. But take heart, there are still things animation can do that can’t be matched by the most skilled effects wizards in the world. The key is to know what those things are and use them as tools to make your story as fun as possible.
Good animation looks for an “animation hook” – essentially a reason why the movie is being animated in the first place: Toys coming to life after you leave the room is a hook that bursts with possibilities. The ascension of a rat to the pinnacle of Parisian gastronomy would probably lose a bit of its charm in live action, but Ratatouille stands out as one of my favorite animated films of all time. The key is to squeeze as much mileage out of that hook as you can.

Good points to remember as we try to work up some animation pitches.

Just Add Pictures

Q. I have a concept for an animated comedy series, is it best to write a spec pilot and bible - or to pitch it as a producer?

Note: I'm a former film-school type that sidetracked into the creative agency world. I'm used to making things happen myself, and I've even had the crazy idea to actually create a pilot on spec. (Does anyone do that and succeed - assuming the product is good, of course, and not a heap of amateurish junk?)

My knowledge of the animation world is not deep. I've (re)written exactly one animated feature, which hasn't come out yet. So take this answer with a handful of kosher salt.

Both routes are viable, I think. I know if I had a really great idea for an animated series, I could take a pitch bible or spec pilot to a network, without drawings, and if they loved it, they'd team me up with an animator. Or, I could find an animator, and flesh out the pitch bible with a package of key art. I've seen those around. Then I could probably take that to a production company that does animated series and ask to co-produce with them. I probably couldn't propose myself as a sole producer to the network because I have no track record as an animator, though; so while you could be a producer, you wouldn't likely be the sole producer.

With animation, as with musicals, the concept goes beyond the words. It's hard to imagine an animation series without seeing the key art. So if you can lock down the key art, you'll be ahead of the guy whose pitch doesn't have it.

That said, though, you need great key art. If you team up your great animation idea with mediocre key art, it's dead. The studio or network may have animators they already want to work with. So don't bring in an artist just for the sake of bringing in an artist. Bring in an artist who really illuminates your idea.

How Is Animation Different From Live Action?

We just turned in a draft of our first animated feature. We were trying to figure out if we're doing the Right Things, or if there's some magic that an animation film is supposed to do that we didn't do.

Of course in an animation script you describe the action much more carefully. In particularly you load in a stack of sight gags.

In animation, of course, you can defy the laws of physics. Wile E. Coyote doesn't fall until he realizes he's run off the cliff. Eyes bug out three feet.

You also have to be a little more careful in your metaphors. When you write "Spongebob is crushed," you might want to specify whether he is crushed emotionally or by a large conch falling on his head.

We had to cut down on our dialog. As live action writers we were writing minute-long scenes that were all dialog. We were asked to reduce the talking and increase the action.

You can't depend on visual acting as much. The human face can form hundreds of expressions. Animators mostly stick to a few basic, exaggerated expressions. A human actor doing a deadpan face can be funny; an animated face doing nothing is rarely funny.

Most subtly, we noticed that the best animation features create their own worlds. FINDING NEMO creates a world of talking fish. THE INCREDIBLES creates a world where superheroes not only exist but are oppressed. MONSTERS, INC. creates the world of the monsters in your closet. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST enters a world of talking teapots and candlesticks.

What else do you find is different between live action writing and great animation writing?

Animated Scripts?

Q. Are there any agents for full-length animated feature films? A couple books I have read say that the chances of getting one made (from the outside) are nil to none; but I am hoping that there is someone out there that can help me get my foot in the door at Disney or DreamWorks.

There aren't agents specifically for full-length animated films. There aren't enough of them to support an agent, and as you say, these scripts are generated in-house. That said, to find agents with relationships with Disney or Dreamworks, I think you could check out who's got the writing credits on animated films, then call the WGA to see who represents those writers. They may not be looking for clients, but at least you'd be getting rejected by the right people. And if you have an awesome hook, who knows? Everyone's looking for an awesome hook.

Click This Link

Q. It's so hard to get production companies to read my [live action] pilot script, or even to talk to a producer or agent on the phone. What if I were to create an animated trailer on the Net? Wouldn't people be more likely to click on a link than call me back?

Not necessarily. People are busy. It's their job to read scripts. It's not their job to click links.

But you're right, people do love to fool around at the office clicking links. (The readership of this blog plummets on weekends, for example.) But now you not only have to pitch your script, you have to create a top-quality animated trailer. Because if your animated trailer lags in any way, people will close that browser window. If the animation isn't great, or the voices, or the editing -- if it isn't ready for prime time in any important way -- then most people will go back to 30 Second Bunny Theater. Most writers are not also superb animators; and if they are, they should probably quit writing for live action and go into animation full time.

Moreover, you've shifted to a new medium, with its own strengths and weaknesses. For example, the "actors" in animation aren't as nuanced as in live action. Their actions and words have to be bigger-than-life to make an impression. If you have an animated trailer that works, your show is probably overwritten for live action; if your trailer is well written for live action then it's probably underwritten for animation.

There are oh so many ways to get your script read, but the best way is still to ask people to read your script. As Confucius says: "The way out is via the door. How is it that no one will use this method?"

On the other hand, if you are pitching an animated show, and you have a concept so easy to animate and so simple to voice that you can create a near-broadcast-quality short film (not a trailer but a complete story), then go for it. South Park originated as a student project at the University of Colorado, which convinced FOX exec Brian Graden to commission a video Christmas card from Trey Parker and Matt Stone, which convinced Comedy Central to commission the series.