Best books on screenwriting for animation?

[braj]

I haven't really written anything in the longest time, since high school, and want to get a book on the subject. I'm just one guy working alone so I need to learn to do it all. Thanks in advance.

[lwaxana]

I'm a huge fan of Directing the Story by Francis Glebas. It's not just writing, but also storyboarding and directing. This book gave me about a million "aha!" moments.

[braj]

I actually do have that already, I need to finish it, on pg 275 and a little slow getting through. But it doesn't seem to be focused on developing a story from the beginning, the very beginning, and so for me maybe it is too much too soon. It seems to assume you already have the story, and need to tell it. I need to write the story in the first place. Maybe I'm wrong.

[lwaxana]

Hmm... I guess it depends. If I have a rough treatment, I think I'm more comfortable storyboarding to feel out the story than writing it in a screenplay format. Especially for dialogue. I can't just write it on paper, I need to test it in an animatic. But if you don't have the idea and rough outline for the story yet, then I don't know of any good books to help with that. Maybe someone else has some ideas.

[braj]

I'm thinking of getting Nancy Beiman's Prepare to Board, which has exercises, it is still storyboard based I guess, but it seems more like the textbook kind of thing, which maybe I'm more comfortable with. Can anyone comment on that book?

[anim8ter]

You may also want to check out Jeffery Scott''s "How to Write for Animation" and David B. Levy's "Animation Development".

[Greenlaw]

Preproduction is my favorite part of working on animation. I've read a couple of books on the topic but in my experience, nothing beats just doing it. My personal writing/storyboard experience is mainly in shorts and commercials but the basic principles are the same for longer format productions. Here are some basic tips:

I like to start by writing a treatment, which is basically breaking down the story to its main 'story points'. This should be kept very short--as little as a single sentence, no more than a brief paragraph for each act (if it's a long piece) or sequence (if it's short.) Think broad strokes. This stage is very important since this is the structure you will follow when writing the script.

Writing the script is essentially filling in the details of the treatment--keep it manageable by tackling each story point separately. If you get stuck, move onto the next story point and work on that. There is no reason to write in a linear path. Sometimes it helps to write the ending first or second, then it's a matter of connecting the points to reach that conclusion.

If the characters haven't been previously established, it may help to write a brief history for each character to help you guide their actions and dialog.

Here's a very important tip: write very quickly, and don't fuss about editing or making things perfect. You can always come back for that later. The important thing is to get a first draft completed while you're feeling fresh and excited about the subject. If you stop to edit and fuss during the first draft, the project will likely lose momentum, and you'll eventually become frustrated with it.

I try to write with visuals in mind, but save most of the full description for the storyboards. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand blah-blahs. Keep the visuals and action within what can actually be accomplished in the available time, budget and technical capabilities.

Designing your production fits in here somewhere. I might start designing while I"m doing the storyboards, but before that I try to get a first pass of the boards done with as little distraction as possible. Thumbnails are all you need for a first pass (remember 'broad strokes.') Just like with the above stages, it's important to get that first pass out as quickly as possible and not worry about making it pretty during the process. Once you're done with your first pass, you can come back and work on editing and improving it. At that stage, you can choose to make it pretty if you wish but keep in mind that clarity is important if you're going to work with a team. If you give a team good clear instructions, they can work on making it pretty. (Of course if you're also working to please a client, making the boards look 'pretty' probably should take greater priority.)

If you're looking for technical information about screen writing, like proper formatting and terminology, all that info can be found online. Just do a Google search for screenwriting reference, format, standards, etc. Also do a search for specific screenplays--there are many websites that have TV and movie scripts you can download and study, including animated productions.

Hope this helps.

G.

[braj]

Thanks Greenlaw. Yeah I'm working alone basically. One thing I am finding handy is a multitrack recorder on my smartphone, I can work in audio and feel way more inspired, I got a scene pretty complete in 15 minutes the other day. I guess my biggest issue is brain damage, it is hard to do anything when your brain is broken. My attention span and endurance are both pretty poor. It would be so much easier if I had a manager and assignments.

[Greenlaw]

Taking audio notes is good!

Taking notes in any form can be very useful. I actually go 'low tech' for my notes. I like to keep a small notepad in my pocket to scribble notes in. These notes are usually just fragments of ideas and small doodles that often go nowhere but sometimes they wind up becoming comic strips or bigger projects. I find using a physical paper pad and pen more useful than, say, a smartphone or iPad app, because I can write or doodle in it more immediately than I can in a device, and move on. As a result, I wind up generating a ton of notes that I can mine later on.

Then, when I'm not busy or if I'm not feeling especially creative, I'll browse through all these notepads I have on a book shelf, and chances are good that I'll stumble on an idea I think is cool or pretty funny.

Funny thing is, half the time I don't remember making the note or doodle--it's like somebody else did it for me. Talk about brain damaged.

G.