How to Write for Animation by Jeffrey Scott

Getting Ready to Write

Understanding the World of Animation

Understanding animation is key to being able to communicate and work effectively with the studio.

Especially budget - backgrounds, characters, effects all cost more and push the budget.

A good script that can't be produced isn't a good script.

A Brief Overview of Animation production - From Script to Finished Cartoon

Script-driven shows and movies start with the script.

Script describes the story:

• description of all the environments
• action that happens
• dialogue spoken by the character

For TV animation, the script usually spells out everything.

1. Script
2. Storyboard
3. Design
   • Backgrounds
   • Models
   • Props
   • Effect designs
   • voice casting
4. cast recording
5. layout & posing
6. animation
7. post production
   • music and SFX
   • audio mix
   • VFX
   • final composite

Types of Animation

Types of Distribution

• Motion picture
• Television
• Direct to video
• Internet

Audiences

• Adult
• Children
• Preschool/Educational

Types of Animated Media

• 2D
• 3D
• stop motion
• paper cutout

Genres of Animation

• action adventure
• action comedy
• anime
• comedy
• dramatic
• educational
• musical
• preschool
• sci-fi
• sitcom
• squash and stretch

Prime-time animation: animated sitcoms and adult shows

Usually written by live action writers

Non-prime-time animation: saturday morning, daytime, preschool, network shows

Written by cartoon writers

Non-Prime-Time Animation

Usually written by independent writers, not a writers room

Pitched with premises for free, then contracted for outline and script

half hour scripts go for $3000-$6500

staff writer: $1500-$2500/wk

story editor: $7500/episode

Frequently done freelance - writers take their assignments, and then return them to the story editor a week later.

Not typically covered by union (WGA).

Prime-Time Animation

7-22 writers depending on show and experience

• Story concepts come up in group
• Then divided among the writers, who write the beats.
• Then group revision for gags etc.
• Each lead writer writes the outline
• exec producer revision notes
• lead writer script
• Table process developing the script
  • rewrite script according to notes
  • Table polish
• Actors' table read
• read rewrite
• recording
• storyboard and edited dialog track
• animatic
• animatic rewrite
• animation
• animation retakes

22 half hour episodes in 9-10 months, full time.

Usually WGA union jobs.

Animators covered by IATSE

Typically only interested in live action writing cred.

Rates according to WGA minimum basic agreement - salary, plus script pay additional.

Choosing Which Type of Animation to Write

Comedy is harder to write than drama.

short scripts are easier to write than long scripts.

There are way more opportunities in TV than in feature writing.

Follow your passion.

Tools of the Trade

paper and pencil

Switching media can help break a writer's block.

computer

Computers help you manipulate your ideas without stopping to think about the medium.

word processing software / scriptwriting software

Use whatever software the studios are most likely to be able to read your scripts in.

Scriptwriting software can help make organizing your writing easier, and doing a lot of your formatting for you

reference works

• a good dictionary
• a thesaurus
• a slang dictionary
• multi-language dictionary
• atlas
• encyclopedia
• book of names

Or just look those up online, it doesn't have to be a book.

internet

The internet is important - not just for writing tools (this book predates online tools like Google Docs) but also email for communication with studios, and collaboration software.

Writing for Animation

Basic Overview

TV most common format is the "half hour" (22 minute) 3 basic steps:

1. Premise
2. Story Beats - not included in this section, but the main step later in the book
3. Outline
4. Script

The Premise

Premise - a simple telling of the story, 1.5-3 pgs. Beginning middle end.

• Communicates the story
• Sells the story

Should be as short as possible but long enough to tell the story!

Economy of words.

Work well in context of series - fit characters and format

Needs to stand out as different

old idea + new time/place/characters = fresh idea

character-driven story

The less experienced (younger) your audience, the more interested in action rather than people.

Look at what's popular (really?)

Keep it simple

Working writer needs to be able to come up with LOTS of ideas. Like, 50+ at once, and at best half approved.

Keep a file of ideas.

Stay true to your audience - whether the ultimate audience of the show or the editors reviewing the premises.

What does the buyer/backer want?

Next Comes the Outline

An outline is a complete story, in written prose form, laying out every scene that will be in the final script. (Story beats)

Half-hour outline: 15-25 beats, 10-20 pages.

Beats (scenes): 5 sec to 5 minutes long

Dialogue optional!

Then Comes the Script

In screenplay format!

• description of the physical environment
• any action
• dialogue
• transitions, camera angles, camera moves when necessary

Format Lengths

7 minute

Looney Tunes, etc. Slapstick, no time for character or story

11 minute "Quarter Hour"

Powerpuff Girls, Dragon Tales, WordGirl - story arc, minor character changes, B story, no act breaks (act break between episodes)

22 minute "Half Hour"

My Little Pony, Batman, Muppet Babies. Time for A, B, C stories, character interaction. 2-3 acts, sometimes a cold open. 30-45 pages.

The following designations do not appear in the book

44 minute "Hour"

uncommon in animation as a format, but frequently done as a two-parter of 22 minute episodes. Also Star Trek: TNG. A plot, B plot, C plot, D-velopment. You can have one main story going on and a secondary framing story in the background, or something evolving over the course of the episode, worldbuilding, etc.

89 minute "Feature"

The minimum for a movie to be considered an animated feature - and hence the running time of most non-Disney animated features. Sometimes a 4-parter TV movie broken into 4 22minute episodes, for example WordGirl's "The Rise of Miss Power". Each act practically has its own 3 act structure, lots of time for musical numbers etc. Think of it this way: you can introduce a season-arc-sized problem in the first half and resolve it in the second, without having to reference it over the season. See also the (frequently overused) Blake Snyder's Beat Sheet, from Save the Cat, which expands each of the four acts of the dramatic structure with 3 acts or so each.

If you're not pitching to an existing show, choose your format based on how you like to write, or what depth of story you're best at.

How to Write a Premise

Practice makes perfect in cartoon writing.

This book focuses on half-hour action comedy, because it's the most common format.

When writing a premise for an existing series, make it:

1. As unique and creative as you can
2. Fit well within the format/characters expected
3. Familiar/relatable elements you can have fun with

Story can be fleshed out using subplots:

A-story (Action)

main action plot, what happens -= beginning, middle, end

B-story (Barrier)

a complication to prevent the A-story from resolving immediately, usually character-driven.

C-story (Character/Change)

In order to resolve the B-story, you need to have a character arc or change happen.

C-story is not mentioned in this section

This is not the only way to describe A/B/C plots or stories. Most resources describe the B story as a completely different thing that is developing during the course of the A-story sequence, that isn't so much a direct barrier as it is a distraction that also has to be dealt with. (Move this note to the subplot page when created)

Premise should be 1.5 pages or so.

Developing Your Story Beats

Easily moveable singel-line descriptions of what goes in the scene.

Too many beats will feel rushed. Half hour will be 15-25, but some will be determined later.

Comedy beats take longer than action, there's less sense of urgency.

To start: List the scenes that HAVE to happen for the plot as described.

Can help to cut apart the premise, to make beats.

Continue with what must be there, based on the existing beats. Also based on the format - if the show requires some comedy, make sure you have some comic scenarios.

Every scene should advance the story, or it will at best feel gratuitous, or at worst, be a Big-Lipped Alligator Moment

First brainstorm the beats you need. Then put them in order.

Logic

Logic is important for continuity. Not just action logic, character logic - a character who is upset will not make the same decisions as a happy character.

• "(is this) What would happen next?"
• "What would character do/say next?"

Movement creates interest, no movement creates boredom.

What's the dramatic tension of a scene - and what changes in it?

Movement that can be predicted is less interesting than movement that cannot be predicted.

Easy way to keep a story moving is to cut between subplots.

Also, exit a scene either before resolving everything about its conflict, or after opening another conflict - little cliffhangers you'll come back to. Just not with too predictable a rhythm.

Putting the Beats in Order

Apply logic and story pacing tastes for the beat order.

Also look for missing beats, or beats that can be combined - resolution of story forks, or contemporaneous events.

A good balance between substance and meaning, as well as between action and dialogue.

Breaking a Scene into Beats

Scenes can have beats, just like stories - and breaking up a scene's beats may be helpful if there's a LOT going on in one scene.

1. What elements/beats have to be in the scene
2. What elements have to happen for characters to reach the conclusions of the scene?

Story Dynamics

The patterns of change taking place in the story.

Always keep track of the dynamics operating in your story! This helps with story logic and prevents continuity errors.

What do the characters care about, what do they want? The personality and action needs determine the dramatic situations.

Story dynamics diverge as a result of the story, but converge at the end.

Tie your subplot beats together - an action from one character or plot affects another character or plot already involved. (otherwise you have more diverging elements to reconcile)

How to write an Outline

Each beat, numbered for reference, titled with a slug line, written as a few paragraphs.

Also:

• Filling in any remaining gaps
• Correcting anything that turns out to not work when actually expanded
• Adding details that may have been generic before - names, places, etc
• Expanding beats into what actually happens if they're too vague
• Further developing characters/relationships/interactions
• Easier for someone not familiar with the story to read.

This is the fun part! Most of the logic is solved, you're taking a structure and doing creative writing on it.

Keep in mind: sometimes you may find something that makes you go back and redo a stage, that's fine.

How to Write a Script

To learn scriptwriting, study and write scripts.

master scene method

slug line sets up the scene, rest of the action handled with description without mention of camera angles

shot-by-shot method

each shot is called out as you envision it

This is usually a matter of studio style.

If you have the choice, use shot-by-shot if you have a clear visual concept or are confident in your storyboarding, use master scene if you are relying on your storyboarder to design the shooting.

Look up standardized screenplay format, this applies to animation writing too.

How to Begin Your Script

Just go ahead and past your outline right into the script.

To keep yourself from writing long, estimate how many pages each scene will take before writing. Figure a little more than one page per minute. This is easier the more scripts you're familiar with, especially ones you've written.

Editing Your Script

Don't edit as you go, get the script written, then worry about editing. That way you can ensure flow.

Editing is learned through experience. But you can start by just fixing stuff in passes, as the fixes get smaller, until what's left is being picky.

Writing Description

The physical part of the story - all the action, the environment, and what's in it. Camera angles, moves, sounds, sfx.

Description is always written in 3rd person present tense - it's describing "what's happening on screen now".

Omit nonvisual narrative - e.g. what a character is thinking (visual moods are fine tho!)

Visualization

Visuals are key in animation - a cartoon is effectively a single long effects sequence, from a live-action point of view.

shot-by-shot description (even just calling out the character(s) focused on on their own line) can break the description up into shots and help it read as a visual sequence.

Be able to imagine the shot yourself before putting it into words!

The Importance of Communication

Communication is getting an idea from one person to another.

Word - building block of communication.

A word is a sound that has meaning.

Have a good vocabulary, use words appropriate to your audience.

Young children can handle complex stories, but they must be written based on words and concepts they understand.

Continuity

No discrepancies in logic that are obvious to the viewer.

Visual logic, also the "rules of the world" in scifi and fantasy, also the "rules of the character" - would the character do that?

Pacing

The speed or energy level of a scene or script.

Educational cartoons should move slower, so their content can be absorbed.

Action scenes should be fast paced.

Comedy mixed - fast for visual gags and set up, but pauses for punchlines to drop, or for character reactions.

Script pacing affected by length of description, number of shots in scenes, amt of dialogue.

If you can describe something with fewer words, do so - excess description during an action shot feels like slow motion to take a moment to observe each thing before the action completes.

Make sure the pacing of the script moves as fast as reasonable but no faster (should not detract from what you are communicating)

Writing Dialogue

Dialogue is tricky, BUT is based on character.

Actions and dialogue define character.

Good dialogue comes out of the character who is saying it.

Not just what the character would say, but how they would express it, it shouldn't be interchangeable.

Age-appropriate dialogue, repetition isn't inappropriate to an educational audience! Keep it language the audience knows how to hear.

Assume POV of your audience, to communicate to them better.

The more you can imagine yourself as your characters, the better you can write as them in action and dialogue.

Be careful with slang, it will cause the language to date quickly, unless it is a consistent feature of a character.

Show don't tell - animation is a visual medium, if you can make it happen as action, do that rather than extra exposition.

Dialog should be minimal for what is needed for the story. Dialogue Checklist Remove or correct dialogue that is:

• out of character
• generic/interchangeable
• doesn't further the story/character development
• bland/ordinary/uninteresting
• inappropriate (character/story/audience)
• unnecessary
• not funny in comedic scenes
• redundant
• rambling/too long
• unclear
• expository (when it's better shown)
• visually redundant

How to Write Funny Stuff

Comedy relies on a certain illogical logic. Gags make sense in an unexpected way.

Don't ruin the rhythm by continuing after the punch line, put the punch line at the end!

(for that matter, the same goes for drama - the most dramatic concept ends the scene)

Sight gags emerge from the environment - if you have a choice of environment, pick one with good options for gag setups and props!

Goofy characters can also bring sight gags, if they tend to interact with their environment in a silly way, or their costume provides gag options.

Gags from caricatured emotion.

Gags in the rule of 3: 1, 2, 3 in escalating intensity/ridiculousness, and then maybe a capping twist on the situation.

Feature, Internet, and Sample Scripts

Writing Animation for the Internet

This book was written before YouTube existed, it has no useful information here.