"If you can't tell what's happening by the way the character moves, you're not animating." MIC DROP! Omg, this just made everything so clear for me. It's like all animated films should be made silently first and then you just add the music, dialogue, and sound effects!
What films/shows pass this "silent" test, do you think?
2 people like this
I grew up on Chuck Jones cartoons! They are a major influence on all my screenplays. Whenever I write a scene, I have to picture what the characters are doing, regardless of what they may be saying at the time.
I advise all my "mentees" that after they write a scene, they should go back and read it without the dialogue. If they can follow the action without anyone speaking, then visually the scene works.
1 person likes this
The "Show don't tell" rule in screenwriting is even more important in animation.
I just revised a short based on that principle Bob Harper Anthony Moore me too! Although, reruns LOL! I wonder how many younger generations have seen Chuck Jones cartoons? Are you teaching, or do you have mentees through another medium?
1 person likes this
Love his work. Bob Clampett, Chuck Jones and Tex Avery where my favorite from Warner Brothers. I would have to say my greatest influence in animation is Ralph Bakshi. You have to tell it as it is.
1 person likes this
There's the airplane test adage, where you watch the screen with no sound -- if you can discern the story, the filmmakers did their job. This holds true for all film, but with animation, there is often a rush to claim that anything for a young audience, cute animals etc., should be animated. Now more than ever content dictates form (be it features, series, limited series, docs). If you set out to write for animation as opposed to "family" you would be wise to be well-versed in Chuck Jones and MGM's Tom and Jerry etc. These are not "kids" content. They are stories that could only be told via the incredible acting of the animators.
1 person likes this
Karen - I'm not a teacher. I've met many new writers through Stage32. Several have asked me to read their work. After receiving my feedback a few asked me to continue to aid them in their journey. I've even had Zoom meetings with a couple for one-on-one instruction on how to improve their screenplays. I'm no expert but I have won a few contests and it brings me a sense of accomplishment to try to bring a new writer up to my current level, while I reach for my next one.
Obviously, the animator is a Pantomime artist :)
3 people like this
If you want to learn how to convey a story visually without words, then find collections of Sergio Aragones Mad Magazine cartoons and Spy vs Spy, plus Tom and Jerry and Pink Panther cartoons. And Chuck Jones' greatest examples were the Roadrunner cartoons.
1 person likes this
I did a chuck jones inspired test once in after effects - https://vimeo.com/261071407 - I should really do more stuff like this. Actually this music video I created was done in after effects as well - https://vimeo.com/8626434
Wow, great work Hagop Kane Boughazian! I'd love to know more about how you did the music video in AE. Would you start a post about it? This looks very similar to the "pre-vis" I was thinking of as a short film/proof of concept, so I'd love to also know how many people were involved and how long it took to make. Ya know, just curious :-D
Often this unwritten language is lost when animated projects are scripted and sent overseas for production. There's a vital requirement for cultural context. What might read as a funny gesture in one country may not in another, and may indeed be offensive.
1 person likes this
Mark Chavez I would say that is mostly true for dialogue, but I find physical humor translates pretty well. This is why the humor of Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan have done so well - they don't require dialogue, which would give it the misunderstood "cultural context". We all suffer from gravity the same way, after all LOL!