A script for an animated short

Research and Development - This is Your Life

Initial Brainstorm
TASK:

Brainstorm ideas that interest you – this exercise should take around 15 minutes.

1. Write down anything – fear, a number 2 pencil, the sensation of getting into the bath, a funny phrase.

2. Keep these themes brief for now – not more than one sentence if possible.

3. If you are struggling, brainstorm under headings - visuals, locations, funny sayings, movies you like etc.

4. Remember - go with what fascinates you – don’t censor yourself

- My initial brainstorm for Belly can be found in the resources section below.
Personal Research - Start a Diary
Note:

Part two (personal resarch) and part three (external research) of this unit can happen alongside each other – they are mutually beneficial.

TASK:

Spend one week writing in your diary.

1. There is no right way to do this. It can be done in a notebook, sketchbook or on the computer. Make sure you have a portable element too – whether it’s ‘notes’ on your phone or a small notebook for travel.

2. The important thing is to want to do it every day. This is not for anyones eyes but yours so do what makes you comfortable.

3. Not your typical 14 year old diary.

- This is about being aware – go out more, be social, observe when you walk around. You want to fill your diary with funny anecdotes, pieces of trivia, a joke, a phrase, a song, a moment you see between two people on the street, events that happen to you, how you feel inside, what that feeling would look like if you had to visualize it.

- Also be aware of visual cues in your day to day life as this will come in handy later on. For example this ridiculous cookie I made inspired the character design for one of my films:

4. If also helps to keep a small box of notecards with brief descriptors on them. This is good to flick through at the beginning of every project to spur on ideas.
External Research - Down the Rabbit Hole
TASK:

Research everything

1. Research:

Articles
Radio shows
Music videos
Music
Imagery
Literature
Movies
Tv shows
ANYTHING that inspires you, extract segments and save them on your computer. Reference your previous brainstorm for ideas of what to google and what rabbit holes to go down.

2. Keep it organised - categorise it in a way that makes sense to you. For example:

A word document of online links or extracts categorised into human interest, science etc.

A word document of book quotes.

A folder of images separated into illustrative and photographic

3. Articles that are often the most helpful are human interst stories, science, animals, weird events etc. For example:

“Killer whales are social animals [resident killer whales stay with their mothers for life].”

Gawker

This could become the inspiration for an entire film – you could go on to research more on killer whales, the ocean, sealife, homesickness, being with your parents for life, what that would feel like etc.

4. Helpful Resources are listed below and can be found as links in section three of resources.

Online Articles

Newspaper Articles

Music Videos + Shorts

Music videos are a great resource as they encapsulate feelings and narrative often without dialogue. Modern music videos are really pushing the boundaries of what can be done on a small budget. Here are a few examples and there are links to sites for music videos in the resources section:

MGMT - Congratulations

Passion Pit - Cry Like a Ghost

MGMT - Your Life is a Lie

Grizzly Bear - Yet Again

Online Literature

For short narrative animation, short stories can be inspiring. Great reference for story arch’s, how much you can include etc.

Literature

As well as being inspiring for visual description it is also great at describing a human condition in one well-written sentence or paragraph. This might not be for everyone but I find collecting quotes from literature and going through them at the beginning of each project hugely helpful. All of my films stemmed from a quote and reference to this can be found in the resources section below.

For example:

Belly:

She went home with her father, the centre of me followed her, and I was left with the shell of me.

Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close

Radio and Talk Shows

These programs often pick a theme and research it extensively - it can be a great source of inspiration for your own work.

Film and Television

Watch the films you enjoy. Do not censor your tastes or force yourself to watch something you don’t enjoy it. Note down what it is you like, how do the characters interact, what kind of humor do they use, how is it paced, what kind of stories are being told?

5. Imagery

Imagery can be hugely inspirational for getting your mind working. It can touch on a theme, a location etc. that was lurking inside your brain and you hadn’t even realized. This image from Are you Afraid of the Dark inspired this illustration:

Choose an Obsession

Choose an Obsession
TASK 1:

Choose three themes.

1. Themes can be broad or small. Themes should be more emotion based than event based i.e. embarrassment, romantic relationships, revenge, family etc.

2. The research you have done until now should have better prepared you for this task and given you the groundwork for which to become inspired. Read through the work you did in Unit One if you need inspiration.

TASK 2

Once you have honed in on three obsessions choose the one you are most obsessed with. The other two might end up being secondary accompaniments to your story later but for now focus on one.

REMEMBER: don’t edit yourself - go with your gut and make it personal.
Research Part Two - This Time it's Personal
Note: As with Unit 1 - external and personal research should be conducted at the same time as they are mutuall beneficial.

TASK 1.

Gather as much additional research under the theme you have chosen

- This could be articles, imagery, books, music, DVD’s relating to the theme. Making notes and observations. Follow the elements that fascinate you.

Case Study - Belly

- I thought about childhood and coming of age and decided the best way to research would be to think like a kid. I started watching TV and Films I loved from my childhood – Are you Afraid of the Dark, X Files, Alex Mac, the Goonies, ET, Gremlins etc.

- Knowing I wanted to centre on the theme of coming of age I looked into rituals, fables and Native American tales.

- It became clear I was most drawn to the spooky and weird elements of childhood so I also researched that.

- i further researched the spooky and weird by look at films that centred around the uncanny and used it well through repetition, doubles etc. (David Lynch)

TASK 2

Write down your own memories and stories that relate specifically to the theme. Again – approach this like a brainstorm - take your mind for a walk.

Case Study - Belly

- I wrote about wanting to grow up and be just like my older sister. How that older sister treated me like a disease. How that feeling made me want to sink into the ground. This lead to thinking about my childhood fear of quicksand, which lead to my thinking about general childhood fears and obsessions (aliens, ghosts, the ocean, death) and how we obsess over these things much more as a child.

TASK 3

Ask friends and family to tell you anecdotes on the subject – ask them specific questions or broad questions – whatever helps. This is also a good opportunity to start a dialogue with your fellow classmates on this course - ask them the same questions.

Case Study - Belly

- I was interested in thinking like a kid so I asked my friends for stories about kid logic. This exercise revealed a lot of patterns in how kids behave including exaggeration, outright lying and misconceptions about how the world works.

REMEMBER: The more information you gather the more opportunity you have to be inspired. Don't get overwhelmed with information - focus on the bits that are fastincating to you.
Cherry pick your Research - Build a Wish List
REMEMBER

Nothing is original. Steal from anywhere that resonates with inspiration or fuels your imagination. Devour old films, new films, music, books, paintings, photographs, poems, dreams, random conversations, architecture, bridges, street signs, trees, clouds, bodies of water, light and shadows. Select only things to steal from that speak directly to your soul. If you do this, your work (and theft) will be authentic. Authenticity is invaluable; originality is nonexistent. And don’t bother concealing your thievery—celebrate it if you feel like it. In any case, always remember what Jean-Luc Godard said: “It’s not where you take things from—it’s where you take them to.

Jim Jarmusch’s 5 Golden Rules of Moviemaking

TASK

1. Go through everything you have so far and start building a wish list of everything you would like to include in your film in an ideal world.

- REMEMBER: It doesn’t have to directly relate to your theme – it might be a visual or a concept that you are particularly drawn to. For example with Belly I included the youtube video of the whale song during this stage despite it not relating directly to the theme of childhood.

- Choose from your initial broader research in Unit One, your more specific research in Unit Two, conversations with friends, your diary entries etc. Everything.

2. It helps to section your wish list. Here are some examples but you can use whatever headings you like:

+ Scenarios

+ Events

+ Jokes

+ Phrases

+ Locations

+ Visual Metaphors

+ Sound

+ References

+ Imagery (photographic and illustrative)

+ Characters

+ Endings

+ Beginnings

- Of course not everything will make it into the final film – it is better to have too much at first and then go smaller.

Get Specific

Write a Treatment
TASK

Write a Treatment

- This process allows you to structure your research, pick out what is most important to you and clarify your ideas.

- It is also a coherent document that you can begin sharing with your fellow classmates for advice and feedback.

1. Choose your Primary Theme (the subject matter of your film) and describe the reasons why you are choosing it

2. Choose your Secondary Theme (the devices and details you wil use to tell the story) and why you are choosing it

3. Choose your setting - the locations in which your film takes place.

- Case Study - Belly

- Primary Theme : Coming of Age story centred around the relationship between me and my sister.

- Seconday Theme : The logic of being a kid - the spooky, the kid logic and casual lying.

- Setting: The Beach - logical setting for coming of age and eeriness because of the connotations of summer holiday and the mysteriousness of the ocean.

4. Other Headings

- Tone (humor, dry wit, goofball, sadness)

- Pacing (how is it edited - references - Scott Pilgrim, David Lynch etc)

- Sound (music, folie, what references compare to it)

- Aesthetics (2D, 3D, stop motion, collage)

- References (Film, Article, Media, Literature that relate)

- Imagery (your own and others that relate to the world you are building)

REMEMBER - Do not get absorbed in too much detail at this stage - this is a coherent simple document to clarify your ideas and to share with other people for feedback.

- You can see my treatment for Belly in the resources section below.
A to Z of Your Film
TASK

Create an A – Z of your film.

- Write what comes to you. Go off on tangents. Even if you stumble upon one tiny element that influences your film in this exercise it will be worth it.

- Like with your treatment you can share your A – Z with the group for feedback. See what elements people are finding the most compelling.

- You can see my A - Z from my film Belly in the resources section below
Devices
TASK

Pick ‘devices’ for how you will tell the story.

- Using your research focus in on the main themes and how they could be represented visually and narratively.

- The devices are often drawn from the seconday themes that you outlined in your treatment. They are the elements that take your subject matter and bring it into a more personal and imaginative world that further supports your message.

- They are the metaphors or abstract representations for the emotion you are trying to convey.

- Case Study - Belly:

- The uncanny and fear - looking into what spurs fear on in kids – casual death, quicksand, the mystery of the ocean

- Physics - being a kid you feel like you can do anything – push through walls, sink into the floor when embarrassed, squeeze through someone’s body if it’s the quickest way to get down.

- The Imaginary Friend - ET had become my biggest reference so far –The two characters become so emotionally connected that when one becomes ill, they deteriorate together. Taking inspiration from this I used the device of the imaginary friend to create a father figure that represents the lack of responsibility you have as a kid and the necessary evil of letting it go.

- The pit of your stomach - I thought about what is feels like to leave something behind, to have known a feeling and then lost it – I focused in on the Belly – referencing the native American tale I had stumbled upon earlier and the idea of feeling something in the pit of your stomach.

- Whale Song - This led me to pair this 'pit of my stomach' feeling with the youtube clip of the whale song – this haunting wail that felt an ideal device to audibly represent the loss of leaving something behind.

NOTE – as devices were so key to my story I found it most helpful to brainstorm them here. If you don’t feel ready for this stage yet you can come back to it later. Some people find the next unit will lead them to discovering the devices they want to use.

Layout

Film Theory
TASK

1. Read up on Film and Animation Theory

- Read through other filmmaker tips on Film Theory online and from the resources provided below.

- The most relevant to this course are Pixar's Rules of Storytelling

- read these through now and keep coming back to them later as you progress with the script.

2. Begin to ask yourself these questions:

-        What genre of film are you making – bromance, rom com, thriller, western, comedy, coming of age.

-        Why is it animated? What are you doing with the animation that you couldn’t do with live action.

-        How are you telling the story:

Is it silent, interviews, based on a book, music based, sound based, dialogue, visual?

-        Who is it for?

-        What are you trying to say?

-        How do you want people to feel?

-        How have the shows, films, books, you admire achieved what you want to.

3. This stage is designed to clarify a few things and make sure you really know what is important to you before you start your basic layout.

4. You can also use this unit to ramble – have a conversation with yourself on word, in a notepad, take your brain for a walk to clarify additional details. This activity is always helpful at any stage of this course.
Layout
TASK

Begin writing your layout

1. Use the ‘central plot / character paradigm’ chart as a starting off point. You do not have to stick to it exactly – it should just be a guide, feel free to break the rules.

2. Pixar's structure is also helpful:

Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.

REMEMBER - nothing is set in stone yet –all it takes is the delete button to completely re-root someone’s story, motivations or location – do not get too attached in these beginning stages –play around – always be open to change.

3. There are many ways to do create your layout:

- Post It Notes on your Wall - this is my personal preference as you can see everything in one space.

- Note Cards on your Wall

- A Word Document

NOTE: I would not recommend a notepad at this stage as you want to have to the freedom to move things around.

4. Once you have laid out a basic structure, use your previous cherry picked research and ideas and put them in the timeline where they seem most relevant.

- Case Study - Belly

- I wanted the whale's howling belly to be middle point of the film so I put it there.

- I put the phrase 'Hey Buddy, I Miss You' at the end because it made the most sense there.

5. Ask yourself questions to help the process

-        What does the main character want?

-        How do they find it?

-        How do they lose it?

-        What is the ephiphany/climax?

-        How does it end? - To me the ending is the key to the story - I often choose the ending first and then work backwards.

6. Kill Your Darlings

- As I mentioned before do not get too attached to anything at this stage. Always be questioning why you have chosen what you have.

-        should the end come at the beginning?

-        Do you need a voice over or it is superfluous?

-        identify what is in your layout because you are attached it and what is actually helping the story. In Belly I was very attached to the idea of UFO's but they were not the best way to tell the story so I had to cut them out at this stage.

7. Keep going - Your layout should be an ongoing process from now on - keep coming back to it as you develop characters and world in the following unit.

8. When you are happy with your concept and layout, share it with the class and people you trust for feedback.

- Constructive criticism is a vital part of the process, especially during development. Better to hear feedback now than when you're knee deep in animation.

- REMEMBER: Everyone's taste is different - go with your gut. If you don't agree with someone's feedback you don't have to take it on board.

It is important to have a thick skin during the development process - something you love might not be everyone's cup of tea but that doesn't mean you have to change it - try to differentiate someone's personal preference to actual problems with your story.

Character, World and Script Development

Character Development - The Toybox Knows its Empty
CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT

You need to understand your characters and their motivations like they were your own family. You want people to care about them. However weird the scenarios you put your characters in, if they themselves are relatable, believable and funny you will go with them on that journey. The characters ground the world you put them in.

TASK 1

How many characters are there and what are their relationships

- Think about what you are trying to say and how many characters you need to tell it.

- Belly began as a larger cast of characters and then was stripped down to the bare essentials to tell the story - everything else was just distracting.

- Remember this rule from Pixar:

#5: Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You'll feel like you're losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.

TASK 2

Develop Characters based on yourself and other people

1. I find it most helpful to base one characters on myself. It is your most direct reference for how someone would behave, their flaws, fears etc.

2. What celebrity are they like?

- If they’re like Bill Murray research him, watch films that he’s in, pick up on his mannerisms and humor – see who he acts with in those films – what is their dynamic like – is one of your other characters like them?

2. Base characters off of your friends, family and classmates.

Write a Questionaire

- Send it to your friends and family and people in this class.

- Treat it like a slam book – have basic questions about their life and interests and then more specific questions relating to your theme.

- Extract from a recent project questionaire:
- Describe yourself in 3 sentences
- What do you do when you get up in the morning?
- What are your bad habits?
- What activities and sports did you do in school?
- What did you want to be when you were little?
- If you could be anything at all now what would you be?
- What is the biggest lie you told when you were a kid?
- Were you a bad kid or a good kid?
- Who did you have a crush on in school? Describe them.
- Did they like you back?
- What makes you happy?
- What do you worry about?
- What’s the most embarrassing thing that’s ever happened to you?
- What do you eat for breakfast?
- What kind of people are you attracted to?
- What is the best advice you’ve been given/have given someone else?
- What is your biggest fear?
- What is you biggest irrational fear?
- If you could have chosen a different name what would it be (as a kid or now)?
- What was your childhood nickname?
- Are you afraid of the dark?
- Do you believe in ghosts?
- Certain questions will be helpful in a general sense – little stories or anecdotes they tell could be converted to aspects of the story rather than the character specifically.

-        Make sure you tell them what you will be using the questionnaire for and that they give full permission to use all their answers for your own means.

-        Use these questionnaires as a starting off point for your character descriptions.

3. One useful way of understanding your characters is to have someone interview you as your characters. Take a leaf out of Reddit's book.

You can do this on an instant messanger or with a sound recorder so you can record the results.

TASK 3

Write your Character Descriptions

- REMEMBER: Make sure your characters fit in with the plot points. Think about the motivations of the story and make sure your character descriptions support the actions the characters will need to take.

- Again go back to Pixar's Storytelling tips for inspiration.
World Development
TASK

Develop the World they live in

-        Where do these characters live, what are the rules of this world.

-        Draw a map of it.

-        What are the physics of the characters and the world.

-        How does something feel inside – is that reflected in how they move outside?

-        Do certain physics or rules apply to everyone or just certain characters - why?

-        How do things sound. Pick a piece of music you like and relate it to the world. Start speaking to a sound designer as soon as possible. Good sound will help you create a much richer world.
Script Writing
TASK

Begin Writing your Script

1. Make sure you have a rough layout and you are pretty happy with the key moments before you start this stage.

2. Look at other animation scripts for reference.

Extract from Toy Story 3:

NOTE: This stage is hugely important but shouldn’t be set in stone – as you begin storyboarding and doing the animatic you’ll realize what is written down sometimes doesn’t translate visually.

3. With this in mind if it is helpful to start an animatic as soon as possible. Even if it's just a text animatic, it will help you work out pacing and whether key moments are working. There are courses on skillshare that can teach you how to develop storyboards etc. when you are ready to move on to this stage.

GENERAL TIPS
- This stage will see you writing 8, 9, 10, 11 etc drafts of your script - keep reworking it. Sometimes it's helpful not to look at the previous draft when you write your next one to break out of the routines your script has gotten into - if you are constantly referencing back you will keep putting in the same mistakes.
- When writing dialogue - say the lines out loud. Something that sounds natural in your head might not sound right when spoken.
- Get close to it, get obsessed, then take a day off and come back to it.
- Show it to people, take their advice, know whose to ignore, always go with your gut. When you settle on a draft you are happy with, share it with your classmates for feedback.
- Kill your darlings – is every element of the script moving the story forward?
- Read it through drunk – you’ll see what does and doesn’t make sense and you’ll be more willing to kill your darlings.
- Every element of your story should be working for you - do not take the audience hostage by lingering on something that took you a long time or you think is clever:
  If it’s clever people will get it. Do not over explain.
- Go back to your original treatment – are you still making the points you set out to make. Remember why you’re making it – what you’re trying to say.
- Go back to the pixar tips on storytelling – it might help you break through a wall.
- If you're feeling uninspired, watch inspiring movies or read inspiring books. Go through the A – Z of your film or your brainstorms or cherry picked research. Some of the bizarre or smaller elements you collected may have a place in your script as it develops.
- This process should never feel like a burden - it should feel difficult but only because you want to make something great, not because you hate the project - this is first and foremost a labor of love - you're making it for yourself, not for anybody else.
- Always go weirder – think with the freedom and possibility of a kid because that is what animation allows you. Have fun with it always – be playful, embrace the possibility and don’t take yourself too seriously.
- Thank you so so much for taking the time to do this course - I hope you found it inspiring and helpful and learnt something along the way.

Additional Resources

Part One - Introduction to Narrative Animation

My Work

Julia Pott - Belly

Literature

Tao Lin – Bedtime Stories Extract

Animation

Silly Symphonies – Skeleton Dance

Joseph Pierce – Family Portrait

Allison Schulnick

Priit Parn

Igor Kovalyoc

The Fleischer Brothers

Sally Cruckshank
Part Two - Dear Diary

Rookie Mag
Part Three - External Research

Culture Sites

Vulture

Gawker

Huffington Post

National Geographic

Wired

Buzzfeed

Rookiemag

Radio Programs & Lectures

Radiolab

This American Life

Ted Talks

Online Literature

McSweeney's

Guardian Short Stories

A Letter to

Haruki Murakami Short Stories

Literature

Personal Influences:

Haruki Murakami

JD Sallinger

Jon Irving

Kurt Vonnegut

Jonathan Safron Foer

David Eagleman

Imagery & Video

It's Nice That

Motionographer

Vimeo Staff Picks

Cartoon Brew

Colossal

The Fox is Black

Brwn Paper Bag

Gorilla Vs Bear

Tumblr

Pinterest

Flickr

Instagram

Of course these links just scratch the surface - feel free to look for inspiration anywhere you like!
Treatment

My Treatment for Belly
A to Z of your Film

The A to Z of my film Belly
Film Theory

Pixar's 22 rules of Storytelling

Character Pardigm Worksheets

The Hero's Journey

i09

Kurt Vonnegut's Writing Tips

Wim Wenders 50 Golden Rules of Filmmaking

Golden Rules
Character and World Development

Examples of Animations that have both well rounded believable characters and worlds that are pushing our own reality into a more imaginative setting:

Adventure Time

Bee and Puppycat
Script Reference

Pixar Scripts

Trenton Thompson

Animator. Illustrator. Author.

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