A
avoiding clichés 57
building a character 52–58, 72
exploring physicality 60–63, 72
exploring scene work 65–68, 72
adrenaline moment 21
Animator and the Seat, The 78–79, 80, 88, 91, 92, 97, 142, 146, 147
anticipation 185
arc 2, 185 see also character arcs
archetypes 5 see also character archetypes
Aristotle 2
B
back story 77
basic premise 48
basic story 106
beat sheet 164
Besen, Ellen 230
Beware of Monster 32, 114, 115
Bird, Brad 34
Bradbury, Ray 31
brains vs. brawn 10
Briggs, Paul 192
buddy stories 10
Bug’s Life, A 5
building character see character(s)/character building
building conflict see conflict
building location see location building
building a story see story
building bus stop structure 119–120
C
camera focus 202
trucks and zooms 187
Campbell, Joseph 2
categorical imperative 77
catharsis 2
character(s)/character building 1, 52–64, 76–88
avoiding cliché 23
creating a memorable 24
desire of 12
finding the motivation for your 232–234
physiology 232
psychology 233
revealing of by dialogue 145
sociology 232
working with two or more 80
shapeshifter 9
mental 81
physical 81
spiritual 81
character attributes 10, 35, 81, 88
character design 62–63, 81–88, 98
actions, gestures and additional attributes 87–88
goals 100
model sheets 88
personality and function 86–87, 100
recognizable and relatable 84
variance 101
character profiles 77–79, 98, 108
character voices/dialects 154–156
consistency 155
characterization 79
cinematography 162
clothesline story structure 134
collage 179
competition 33
composers 158
character vs. character 1, 26, 37
character vs. environment 1, 26, 37
increasing the intensity of the 111
motifs of 10
universal 10
see also rising conflict
continuity 166
contrast 202
courage and survival 10
cranes 186
cross cutting 175
cross dissolve 180
cut away 175
cut on the action 175
cut on the look 173
cyclical story structure 133–134
D
Defective Detective 76, 94, 97, 106, 107, 108–109, 110, 111, 112–113, 116
design elements 97
desire 12
analysis of The Captain 150–152
character voice and dialects 154–156
driving the plot forward 145–146
driving the resolution 146
revealing the character 145
and storyboarding 190
tempo, pacing, rhythm, intonation and timing 149
digital storyboards 192
disjointed shots 170
displacement 37
DreamWorks 102
Drobile, Eric 142
Duck Amuck 135
E
Early Bloomer 39
Egri, Lajos 227
Emotion
endings/resolutions 2, 26, 109–110, 234–238
driving of by dialogue 146
establishing shot 172
ethics 77
Eureka! 26
external monologue 114
F
fade to white 180
Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore, The 123–127
Feature Film Plots Against the Hero’s Journey
Call to Adventure 3
Crisis 4
Happy Ending 5
Hero Has a Weakness 3
Introduce the Hero 3
Quest 4
Return 4
Showdown 4
Unexpected Event 3
Features
differences between shorts and 13–15
Feline Follies 161
film language 161
film structure, nonlinear 134–136
fish out of water 10
flat space 206
flaw 78
Floss, The 119
follow-through 185
Fox Cry 53
Funnypages Productions 100
G
genre 38
Glebas, Francis 110
goals see character goals
Goldberg, Eric 236
golden rule 77
good vs. evil 10
Gopher Broke 25, 80, 81–84, 89–90, 97
Gordon, Steve 166
Great Big Robot from Outer Space Ate My Homework, A 13, 59, 67, 118, 143–144
Greno, Nathan 161, 179, 191, 194–196
H
happy endings 5
hedonism 77
high key lighting 96
Hooks, Ed 21
How to Train Your Dragon 11, 95, 96
Howard, Stan 119
human needs 11
humor 27
I
ideas, finding and getting 17, 20–50, 221–225
brainstorming in groups 222
seed idea 221
Iglesias, Karl 1
insert shots 174
internal monologue 112, 114, 147
intonation 149
iris in 180
Johnstone, Ollie and Thomas, Frank The Illusion of Life 76
jump cut 183
Jung, Carl 5
K
L
La Marca, Perry 238
lens’ flare 162
high contrast 96
high key 96
low contrast 96
low key 96
light patterns 201
local color 93
location/location building 1, 30, 89–97, 98–99
defining the mood of the piece 92–96
design elements 97
supporting the story 97
love stories 10
M
McDonald, Brian 110
McKee, Robert 12
Martin, Demetri
mask 63
mask shot 200
master sketches 97
mental needs 11
Mercurio, James 109
metaphors 35
mid shot 202
minimalist structure 135
model sheets 88
monomyth 2
Monsters, Inc. 31
movement
graphic representation of 184
anticipation 185
arcs 185
follow-through and overlapping action 185
multiple images 186
squash and stretch 185
multiple images 186
music and sound 149, 152, 238–242
creating of to support narrative 156–158
N
need 2
nonlinear storytelling 128–141
definition and features 128–129
general principles 137
key points for working in 137–138
soundtracks 133
visual content 132
O
observation 31
originality in story 12
over the shoulder shot 172
overlapping action 185
P
parody 32
peacemakers 10
physical needs 11
pictorial transitions and match cuts 180–181
pitch/pitching 18, 191, 247–249
Pixar 5
plot 2
avoiding cliché 23
driving forward by dialogue 145–146
point of view (POV) shot 173
Poor Bogo 24, 37, 118, 147, 148
process boards 159
Production Schedule 243
professional storyboard artists 161
progression/story reels 191
psycho-physical action 53, 62, 72
puzzle story structure 134
Q
R
rags to riches 10
Ran 207
reaction shots 173
rectangle, redesigning the 200–201
registering your work 247
observational 34
and staging 206
resolution see endings/resolutions
Respire, Mon Ami 26, 27, 92, 93, 144
reverse shot 172
rhythm 149
rising conflict 15, 25, 113, 149
ritual pain 110
role reversals 10
Cardinal Rule: Do Something You Like 28
Rule #3: Know the Theme 22
characters 23
concepts 23
plots 23
symbols 23
Rule #5: Create a Memorable Character 24
Rule #6: Emotion Drives Action 24–25
Rule #7: Show Don’t Tell 25
Rule #8: Create Conflict 25–26
Rule #9: Know Your Ending 26
Rule #10 Entertain Your Audience 26–27
Rule #11: Make Me Laugh 27
Rule #12: Answer The Question: Why Animation? 28
S
Schumer, Gary 9
Schwartz, Zach
And Then What Happened 232–233
scratch track 191
seed ideas 221
shallow space 206
and light patterns 201
shapeshifter 9
ship of fools 10
short animated film, developing a 220–246
finding the motivation for your character 232–234
know what you are going to write about 221
money matters and budget 244–245
short films
definition 20
differences between features and 13–15
stories that don’t work for 22
shot list 164
cross cutting 175
cut on the action 175
cut away 175
cut on the look 173
disjointed 170
establishing 172
insert 174
point of view (POV) 173
reaction 173
reverse shot and over the shoulder 172
split screen 179
tracking 88
Show Don’t Tell 25
silence 149
silhouette 201
slice of life 120
Sony Pictures Imageworks 39, 247
sound see music and sound
soundtracks, nonlinear 133
flat 206
shallow 206
spiritual needs 11
squash and stretch 185
space 92
camera focus 202
redesigning the rectangle 200–201
and research 206
Stanislavski, Constantin 53
stereotypes 10
story
arc 2
definition and elements of 1–2, 14
ending/resolution 2
inciting moment 1
location 1
need 2
originality 12
story question 1
endings and beginnings 109–110
journey of the audience 107
narrative questions and narrative structures 112–120
pitfalls 107
Story, Jim 160
story question 1
story structure 106
clothesline 134
puzzle 134
slice of life 120
storyboarding/storyboards 136–137, 159–196, 210
beat sheet 164
continuity 166
and dialogue 190
digital 192
establishing shot 172
film language and cinematography 161–162
formal elements of visual design 162–163
graphic representation of movement 184
interview with Nathan Greno 194–196
pacing 191
pitching 191
principles of movement 185–186
progression/story reels 191
shortcomings 170
shot list 164
single short to sequence of shots 162
visual imagination 160
visualizing time and movement 183–184
storytelling 106 see also nonlinear storytelling
Studio Ghibli 5
styles 97
superimposition 179
swappables 38
Early Bloomer 39
symbols, avoiding cliché 23
T
technical editing transitions 179–180
Teddy 24
telling 25
tempting fate 10
Ten Unknowns 64
mental needs 11
physical needs 11
spiritual needs 11
three-act structure 2
time and place 38
timing 149
Tomov, Evgeni 30
tone, redesigning with 201–202
camera focus 202
contrast 202
contrast of scale 202
light and patterns 201
silhouette 201
too big of a gap 170
jump cut 183
pictorial and match cuts 180–181
Triplets of Belleville, The 30–31, 84–85, 86
trucks 187
U
universal conflicts 10
utilitarianism 77
V
vanishing point 197
variance 101
veil of ignorance 77
visual imagination 160
visualizing time and movement 183
Vogler, Chris
The Writer’s Journey 6
voices/dialects, character 154–156
W
Weinberg, Larry 33
Z
zollys 188
18.224.73.77