Your World, Only Better – Developing Narratives for Animation

What is the Project?

The class will take you through the steps leading up to and including writing a script for an animated short. 

Students will be encouraged to share their research, ideas and scripts with fellow classmates every step of the way. 

What You’ll Learn

You will learn how to channel research and every day experiences into narrative film ideas. 

You will learn how to develop fully fleshed out characters with rich back stories that are believable and appealing. 

You will create the worlds they live in and know them like the back of your hand. 

You will learn how to create the backbone of your idea and then push it further and make it weirder by thinking like a kid. 

You will learn the importance of critical feedback through sharing work in progress with fellow classmates, friends, grandparents, the man on the bus etc.  

Through critical feedback and your own instincts you will learn how to understand what is and isn’t working and the necessary evil of ‘killing your darlings’. 

Throughout the phases I will be sharing personal tips and anecdotes on how to be obsessed with your subject, how to stay obsessed, and how to push yourself to make your stories more bizarre and yet surprisingly plausible. 

Project Phases

The project will be broken up into phases.

1. Research and Development
Learning the routine of constantly researching articles, imagery, films, novels etc. You will also by required to take up the fine art of keeping a diary (like a 13 year old girl)

2. Defining your Concept
We will use the development stage to hone in on your obsessions and develop a concept based on them through brainstorming.

3. Character Development
Through interviews, diaries and physics you will develop rich fully realized characters, understanding their motivations and desires.

4. World Development
You will develop the world these characters live in, through the physics, logic and rules of the environment. The only required drawing in the course will see you mapping out a birds eye view of the land you have created.

5. Script writing
Finally you will start the sometimes-excruciating task of beginning to write on a blank page. You will learn automatic writing, pushing through walls (not literally) and focusing on your best ideas. 

Who is the class for?

The class is for anyone who wants to develop their storytelling skills by learning how to create fantastical yet believable narratives through research, character development and thinking like a kid. 

• An Introduction to Narrative Animation and 15 Minute Exercise
• Personal Research - Dear Diary
• External Research - Down the Rabbit Hole
• Choose an Obsession
• Research Part Two - This Time its Personal
• Cherry Pick Your Research - Build a Wishlist
• Write a Treatment
• A to Z of your film
• Choose Your Films Devices
• Film Theory
• Layout
• Character Development - The Toy Box Knows It's Empty
• World Development
• Script Writing