I've been spending a lot of time thinking about environmental storytelling while developing an animated feature.
Some of my favorite films make the world feel alive before a character ever speaks. Small details in the background, architecture, props, lighting, and everyday routines tell us how people live.
When you're watching an animated film...
What makes a world feel believable rather than simply beautiful?
I'd love to hear examples from your favorite films or your own projects.
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Great topic, @Joshua! The environments and how the writer, director, animators, etc. tie them into the story, like the environments in the basketball movie Goat.
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@maurice absolutely agree, Lol I love his roommates in the beginning. Thousands of kids. He's got mouths to feed. That's what I really tried focusing on in my story was worldbuilding. If you can make the world around the story feel lived in, I feel like the viewer feels invited to be enthralled by your story.
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Goat is so fun, @Joshua! It reminds me of the live-action movie Rookie of the Year. Worldbuilding is fun and really important. I like to do a lot of worldbuilding for a script, and sometimes I save some of the worldbuilding for a possible sequel/spin-off.
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That's a really cool comparison that I hadn't made before but I totally see now! In regards to writing, 100% I do the same thing. When the world is real, it is much easier to write. I often will write my story bible before I even start a story. That way I know the characters, the setting, the mythology, majority of the secrets before those who live in it.
Writing a story bible first is a great idea, @Joshua! I like to know those things ahead of time too. It starts as an outline, then I turn it into a story bible or feature treatment that I use to pitch the project.