A French Poet Moment: Part 2

Today's discussion will be about scripting your story.

Depending what kind of story you are working will dictate the method of your script format. Since this is an animation, I will write this in a television/film format. There is a rule in film and television that one page of script is equal to one minute of film. Some animation writers follow that format however, there are those in animation who follow the rule that every two pages of script is equal to one minute of animation. For me, I don't always follow either. I could spend a lot of time on a description of an animated take. Note: When you write a script don't put a bunch of detail in it. Just put in enough to tell the story. Its the storyboard artist's job to create what's going on in the scene, but for the sake of this project I am wearing all the hats. So, when I write a story that is just for me and not a client, I just write the story then figure out the timing when I go to the storyboard stage. Since it is my story I can make it as long or as short as I want. In the last post I think I mentioned that I was planning a 10-15 second animation on this project. After writing the script, I am estimating a 35 second to 50 second animation. I haven't done the storyboards yet, so that could still change.

Before you begin the script you will need to understand what a script is and what goes into it. Below is a video I show to my students when I teach scripting. In this video you hear them mention outlining your story and creating a treatment. I haven't discussed that, but probably will in a future story. For something as short as my current story I didn't feel I needed to do either. If I was to write a film, I would use a treatment. Outlining is always a good idea no matter the size of the story. When I outline a story, I usually use bullet points for every important part of the story. For example, I will write the title of the story, then write Scene One, and finally underneath that I write the bullet points of importance. Then I move to the next scene. Everyone writes different and outlines different. I am explaining my methods. You should experiment and see what works best for you.

Here is a piece of my script for the story. I am not showing everything as I do not want to spoil the ending for you. Just click on it to enlarge it.

Well, that's it for now. I'll be back soon with some art work to show. Next time we'll discuss character design and model sheets. Until then, keep your pencils sharp and your head in the clouds.