ASK & DISCUSS
INDEXAdvice about starting an animation project
13 years, 3 months ago - Keith Margolis
I am a spec screenwriter, working on several projects, who knows nothing about animation, but believes that I have a very commercial idea.
It is a very silly idea, which is aimed at primary school age children, but it has been designed for a much larger demographic.
What I want to do is to make an audience laugh, and I would be embarrassed to tell you, how long it has taken me to piece this project together, so that it functions like an engine.
My presents thoughts are to write a treatment/pilot script and for the episodes to be of 5-10 minutes duration.
However, given my lack of experience and knowledge, I thought it made sense to make contact with animators at this stage. So if anyone has any thoughts about the above, and could offer any advice or suggestions, it would be greatly appreciated.
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13 years, 3 months ago - Ian Inniss
How exciting! If your only criterion is to make an audience laugh, aimed at primary school children, then your project plan is pretty straight forward. The only thing I would suggest you need consider is how you manage your production pipeline. In other words, first decide what your production standards are. Are your aspiring to mimic the standard set by Avatar in 5-10 mins or a Shockwave-Flash file hosted on a website or burned to a handful of DVD's for example?
Either way you will need a raft of skills and should aim to reach these touch-points:
Script drives - Shot List -
Shot List drives Storyboard -
Storyboard drives both - Art Direction / Animation Direction
Animation Direction drives - Animatic
Animatic drives Feature set -
Feature Set drives Technological Due-Dilligence
So far so good!
Due-Dilligence drives Sound considerations - such as
Sound FX's - Foley Art
Score ??" Choosing to engage with a Composer for an original piece of work, or prefering instead to use a music library.
Art Asset list ??" Decide on Model complexity per shot.
Rendering solution
Data Storage solution
Compositing solution and Post Production ??" but these are issues pertaining to 3D computer animation in the main.
Regarding 3D animation, visual, technological Due-Dilligence include things like:
Character Rigging
Lip-Syncing
Lighting Rig
Camera Rig - (driven incidentally by sequences recorded in your storyboard)
What software to use - or indeed whether you intend using Stop-Frame - hand drawn etc.
I personally consider the list above as the bare minimum, to increase your chances of success during production....
That little list should get you to a 10 min finished piece. Which you can take to primary schools to be used in a workshop for instance or whatever....
I set out to make a 23min animated film pilot back in 2004. The criterion I set myself was:
1. " Make a 3D animated film pilot that equaled the standard set by by JOJO in the Stars by Marc Craste (before Studio AKA)
2. Get it seen by my target audience.
3. Make enough money to pay a return on investment to my financial backers and make a second episode.
4. Continue to own the Intellectual property rights.
If you want to know what happened next... I wrote an entry on my blog in 2008, which you can read at http://www.quirkyposture.blogspot.com . The piece is called "Hacking through Celluloid’s Language & Mythology: The Future of independent Animated film Distribution". I would also recommend that you read the document produced by Robert Kenney and Tom Broughton, entitled "Securing the Future of UK animation"; published in September 2011. Sorry I don't have a link for this.
Here’s looking forward to seeing your film and wishing you every success - Warmest regards and the best of luck - Ian Inniss