Tips for Screenwriting for Animation, and Why Now Might be the Time to Try it

Hi all,

As you know, right now producers are all looking for ways to create new content while sticking to social distancing guidelines (and sticking to a tight budget). 

How can you deliver what they’re looking for? Consider animation writing. It’s in the zeitgeist right now. See if it’s something you think you’d be good at… and enjoy.

Animation is comparatively cheap to make, ’COVID era friendly,’ and not just for kids anymore. Adult cartoons like Bojack Horseman (one of my favorites!) and Big Mouth prove you can create animation for all types of demographics.  

Animation stories are developed pretty much the same as live action, and the script format is virtually identical. But if you do want to consider ‘making the jump’ there are some key differences that are important to understand.  

Here are 3 reasons writing for animation might be right for you, and 3 things to consider when writing animation vs. live action:

Why animation might be right for you:

1. Your Imagination Needs More Visual Freedom

It’s hard to imagine shows like Futurama, or Bojack Horseman being pulled off with live action. The hair and makeup costs alone would be astronomical, not to mention the endless CGI demands. In animation you can write huge visual choices into your script without having to worry about the budgetary concerns of live action. Yes, animation still costs money. But even the most complicated animated scenes would be a fraction of what it would cost to do, say a live action ‘action’ sequence (the actors, crew of explosive technicians, stunt coordinators and performers, medics…You see my point). Some stories need to be animated in order for the quality of the production to match the big imagination of the writing. So if your latest script features talking animals, huge spaceship battles, or flying cars, animation might be right for you.

2. You Just Happen to Know (or Be) a Talented Artist

Do you know an extremely talented digital artist? How about a fantastic illustrator? If you do, and it seems like you might make a great team, why not collaborate on a small animated short film and see where it takes you? Or if you’re a proud multi-hyphenate who happens to be as talented at visual arts as you are at writing, maybe animating your own stories is your true calling. It could be…

3. You Love Writing in Collaboration

If a group development process, where there are lots of “cooks in the kitchen” sounds appealing to you - then writing for animation might be a great fit. Top animation companies, like Disney and Pixar, are known for their scientific approach to developing scripts. They usually develop a script over 2-3 years, dissecting each scene and character to produce the best quality story possible. Animated scripts go through many focus groups, and test screenings (with writers often working well into production).

Animation vs. Live Action:

1. It’s All about the Visuals

In live action scripts you’re usually told to pare down your scene descriptions to as few words as possible. In animation it’s all about the visuals - often very unique visuals we’ve never seen before, so they can’t be described in few words. Let’s look to one of the all time classic cartoons, Tom & Jerry. If Tom & Jerry were done as live action the scene description might read: ‘Jerry (the mouse) runs away from Tom (the cat) and the director interprets from there. The animation version of that same description might be: ‘Jerry runs from Tom and leaps over the open manhole in his path. The force of the impact causes the manhole cover to flip up in the air. It comes down with a tremendous CLANG! Right on the noggin of Tom who is running in pursuit - - it flattens Tom like a pancake. The pancaked-cat vibrates on the ground, just like a spun half-dollar.’ See what I mean? It’s more words, but it gives you an accurate, complete visual image. This doesn’t mean every description you write should be a giant paragraph, you still need to be succinct, and leave room for the visual artists to put their stamp on it - but it does mean painting a clear picture.

2. Direct on the Page

In live action the director is usually the one who ultimately sets the tone for a show or movie - interpreting the script to conform to their “vision”. In animation the script is typically more literally interpreted. Meaning if an animation writer doesn’t describe something precisely it probably won’t appear on screen. It might sound like a nightmare to you to have to visualize your script like a director, but it can be a great lesson in figuring how to accurately infuse humor and emotion into your visual descriptions. Who knows you might get so good at ‘directing on the page’ that you eventually make the leap from animation to live action directing (believe it or not Academy Award-winning writer-producer-director, Paul Haggis, was once a cartoon writer).

3. Visuals First, Dialogue Second

Dialogue is still important in animation, it plays a major role in most animated series, and features. But there are a lot of animated features and animated shorts with long stretches of minimal dialogue or no dialogue at all (a great example of this done right is the Pixar short Bao, or the first five minutes of the movie UP). Animation is visuals first, dialogue second. That being said, the dialogue still needs to feel integral and necessary, make every line count.

In many ways animation is a different beast than life action… but it can be a lot of fun.

Do you write for animation? What’s your best advice for emerging animation writers? Let me know @CaroleKirsch!