Animateducated: ANIM

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Story, Storyboard and Animation Principles Anim-380

This is a refresher course about 3 important elements needed for any feature or short film; Story, Storyboarding and Animation Principles.

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Week 6:

Week 5

Class 10: Thursday, Feb 15

Variations on Linear Structure

1) Parallel Structure: More than one event is going on at the same time during the story.
Ex: In the Big Snit, inside a big snit about a scrabble game, while a world wide nuclear war is occurring.

2) Circular Structure: The Character or Story ends up more or less where it began.

3) Bus Stop Structure: Where a secondary character arrives and leaves during various parts of the story.
Ex: Bad Luck Blackie, the Black cat keeps given bad luck to the dog.

4) Ping Pong or Zig Zag Structure: The Character moves back and forth between similar attempts of resolution. New characters arrive as the old ones leave.
Ex: Gopher Broke, the squirrel shows up, then the chickens and finally the crows.

Homework 05: Find a short film which uses one or more of these linear structures in the story line. Include the title of short, link to short and a written description about the scene(s) and the structure(s) that is/are used. Label your file: YourName_HW05_Structure

Class 9: Tuesday, Feb 13
DUE: HW04: Premise of short film and link.

Storyboard Assignment Change:
Page 1-2: Page 1 to 2 page. Ending after: Cut Back to : Bad Guy at Table description and Bad Guy's line, "Lookee at the new Waitress." This is the last image we will see if you choose Page 1 and 2.

OR

Page 3-4: Page 3 Start with Page 2:
CUT TO: IN KITCHEN DOORWAY
GOOD GUY in a Woman's APRON, holds a tray of hot food. He stands staring at BAD GUY.
Ends with: Page 5:
CUT To: BAD GUY stands in front, in between his two thugs in the background.

OR

Page 5-6: Page 5 Starts with Page 4:
CUT TO: KITCHEN DOORWAY.
POMPEY, stands steady in the Kitchen doorway, aiming his rifle on his arm at BAD GUY, ready for action. WAITRESS stands to Left of Doorway, she glances at the rifle and then back at BAD GUY.

All of Page 6

Intro to STORYBOARDING

Telling your story visually as if they were already projected "on the screen."

A single Storyboard panel contains,

·       Screen Direction referring to Camera Left or Camera Right.

·       Camera Height, the physical position of the camera.

·       Camera Lenses information

The Story Point is the purpose of the shot or scene.

·       Answers the "Why" question

o   Why did the character enter the scene?

o   Why is the character afraid?

o   Why did the car explode?

·       Every panel you draw should have a purpose for the story.

Goal of any artwork is to evoke an emotional response, the Storyboard Artist is also controlling TIME. Emotions can build from the beginning of your story to the end to create a moving visual experience.

Emotions are referred to as Beats, stepping stones in a story to create an overall emotional response from the audience.

The more you know what techniques evoke these emotions and when to use them is a skill that's built through experience.

Your pretty pictures are not enough, they need to be designed to move an audience EMOTIONALLY to engage them in your story.

VISUAL APPEAL
Appeal as defined by Disney animators Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnson, " Quality of charm, pleasing design, simplicity, communication and magnetism" in an image. Animators should strive to create images that will be interesting and compelling to audiences.

A drawing that is complicated or hard to read lacks appeal.
Poor design, clumsy shapes, awkward moves, are all low on appeal.
The live Actor has charisma, the animated drawing has appeal.

Appeal in Animation design https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=73&v=_SplEuWp0Yw

NormanRockwell Paintings

Start with a Frame and then fill it with content.

WORKING WITH SHAPES

LINES:

· Horizontals give the feeling of calm-static.

· Verticals also feel calm, but feel more active than horizontals

· Diagonals feel more active than either verticals or horizontals

View: Theme: Stories of Love

In a Heartbeat: ( 4:00) young love

A Quoi Ca Sert L'Amour (3:02) Fast Romance

The Big Snit: (9:53) old love

Read more about Appeal: http://johnkstuff.blogspot.co.uk/2008/12/disney-principles-appeal-1.html

Week 4

Class 8: Thursday, Feb 8

DUE: ASSIGNMENT 1: STORYBOARD from SCRIPT: THUMBNAIL ROUGHS!

Meet SPECIAL GUEST: Seth Boyden (Blue Sky)

https://vimeo.com/user11605223

Live in Concert @ Anim380 1:30pm - 4pm class

Here are more of his student films(click to watch)
Abduckted
The Recipe
Hoof It

Class 7: Tuesday. Feb 6

DUE: Homework 3: Favorite Character Design
Take a character design you like and use that design onto your character. Here's a good example.

Building a Story: Problem Solving, Story Idea: Developing the Premise

Character, Genre, Time and Place, POV

Class 7: Tuesday, Feb 6th

Strategies for building an Animated short story

1. A Theme or Concept

2. A Character(s)

3. A Location

4. A Situation

5. A Rising Conflict

6. An Ending (the Pay Off)

SOLVING PROBLEMS IN STORY

Every story is unique and has its own individual problems when creating it. To create a good story, it takes time and a lot of thought.

Most common pitfalls in Story development.

· To avoid solving a problem in the story, more story elements are add. More characters , more conflicts, more props, etc.

· Continually changing the core of the story. reinventing it as a brand new story.

Every time you start a new story, even a variation on a theme, you will have a new set of problems that need to be solved. As you solve these problems, your story will change.

Story Development requires a process where you need to generate options, explore possibilities, ask a lot of "What if" questions and being strong enough to cut out ideas that you love, that don't help the overall story. Developing a story takes a lot of revising until you have a simple one to tell.

In the first Toy Story, Woody started out as the protagonist who ruled over the other toys until they all rise up and over throw him. Just like how his character design changed from an unlikable ventriloquist puppet to the more appealing Cowboy character that he is today.

Here is one sequence which turns him into a real jerk. Luckily, Pixar revised and changed the story to an accident where Buzz falls out the window instead of being pushed out it by Woody. https://youtu.be/GOxJpGI8SWc

This is so true: Creating stories begin with anticipation and passion that at some point meet with hesitation or frustration before breaking through to find the inspiration that makes the story work. Know that it is worth the work and pursue your story.

And now,

The Log line and The Premise

A screen story's log-line should tell the reader who must do what in order to prevent what from happening.

Tangled
A naive young woman wants to see the world and find true love before her evil stepmother captures and re-imprisons her.

A LOG-LINE is presents the “what’s-it-about” of a story – the Set-Up, Conflict, and Resolution - and should include all of the following:

•Reveal the protagonist’s SITUATION

•Reveal the important COMPLICATIONS

•Describe the ACTION the protagonist takes

•Hint at the CLIMAX - the danger, the 'showdown'

•Hint at the protagonist’s potential TRANSFORMATION

•Identify SIZZLE: sex, greed, humour, danger, thrills, satisfaction

•Identify GENRE

•Keep it to three sentences

•Use present tense

The PREMISE is one or two sentences describing your character, situation and conflict. The set-up for what happens in the story.

A good premise is a thumbnail synopsis of your (screen)play.

Romeo and Juliet The premise is: "Great love defies even death."

King Lear The premise is: "Blind trust leads to destruction"

Macbeth The premise is: "Ruthless ambition leads to its own destruction."

Othello The premise is: "Jealousy destroys itself and the object of its love."

The use of a premise applies to all storytelling in all mediums, including: comic books, television shows and films.

Premises are the "spirit" of the story or the answer to, “What was the moral of that story?”

A good premise is a thumbnail synopsis of the idea behind the story, and MUST contain the following:

1. The CENTRAL THEME, idea or dramatic ISSUE.
2. The defining ACTION, movement or conflict
3. The FULFILLMENT of the idea or value.

The Breakfast Club (film) is a film about surviving an entire day stuck in a place with a group of people with whom you would never want to be caught dead.

The premise is a promise concerning the sort of story you intend to tell that will not be broken so long as the story "proves" the premise.

A PREMISE GROWS OUT OF THE ACT OF DISCOVERING THE STORY THAT WANTS TO BE TOLD…

A premise is a guide to how well every part of the story supports or resonates with every other part of the story. It may be a stepping stone or a catalyst in the quest to dig ever deeper into the story’s possibilities and to find something new and unexpected there. Your premise should point the direction and vividly illuminate the ultimate goal and meaning of the actions of the characters.

Deep down, the premise is we really are all the same just as much as we are individuals.

Each premise is a separate story.

A premise is not in the form of the question; a premise is the writer’s answer.
The premise should not mention specific characters nor situations of your movie idea. It’s a core belief that will inspire those things.
It does not have to be about peace or love if that’s not who you are.
It is not simply a situation. It’s the author’s attack on one.
It never mentions the story’s title or genre.
No clichés. You’ll never stand out as a writer by saying something a bunch of other artists have already said before you.

Story Structure:

Title: Early Bloomer
Theme or Concept: Some of us grow up faster than others, but its going to happen to us all.
Premise: A green tadpole is taunted by her slightly smaller friends as she begins her transformation into a frog.
Genre: Coming of Age
Time: Anytime
Place: Underwater
Point of View: The Green Tadpole
Story Structure: Linear

Find the Exposition, Inciting Incident, Rising Conflict 1,2,3, Crisis, Climax and Resolution in the film.

REVIEW: Early Bloomer (3:43)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMdKHZXLWr8

For the original master of defining a strong, dramatic premise, we look to Lajos Egri’s The Art of Dramatic Writing, published in 1946.

READ THIS: https://www.awn.com/animationworld/writing-tv-animation-premise

Homework Assignment 04: Write a Premise to one of the shorts I have shown in class, see the Anim380 page for links OR you may find a short animated film on your own. Please include the name of the film, provide a link to the film, so I can view it.

Make sure you label this: Yourname_HW04_Premise as a word file.

Week 3

Class 6: Thursday, Feb 1

ASSIGNMENT 1: Script to Thumbnail Drawings

DUE: FEB 8th

REVIEW THUMBSNAILS WIP on TUESDAY

Design Your Character(s)

· Based on Character Profile(s); Personality Traits

· Audience: Do they Like or Dislike the Character

Not Clear = Lose your audience, waste time trying to explain the character

· IDEAL: Engage Audience by constructing ...

o Empathy, Concern or Curiosity about the Character

Character Human or Not Human

IF Animal, Alien, Robot, etc:

Character must have recognizable traits, so the Audience can relate and respond to them.

Character Designs

Based on Shapes: Aladdin

o Circles - Organic, innocent, simple, youth

o Squares are Human Made and Solid, boring

o Triangles: Can represent Strength or

o Sharp Angles & Diagonals suggest Danger or Evil

Upside down Triangle shape for Shoulders

Round Circle shapes for Jolly Sultan character

Symmetrical, Sharp Angles for Jafar

Putting simple shapes together creates other shapes representing your

character visually.

DESIGN CONTRAST between Characters.

View: Design Contrast between two different characters

Next Door by Pete Docter

The DancingThief by Meng Vue (2:35)

Actions , Gestures and Additional Attributes

These details must also support the character design and story.

· Big Headed Kid needs to be hanging from the Monkey bars. Above character has tiny arms and head that would get in the way.

o Can't change the Story, Problem from Design.

If Character has flowing Hair, loose clothing, big belly or large feet

o These are additional attributes needed in model/drawings

Location:

Sets the stage for the animation
Determines the mood of the piece
Supports the Story

Here are two stories using Props and Location to help support the story.

Props:

Are the things in the environment. If its the Characters bedroom, they are the things in the Character's life. Ariel collected props from the surface. Props give information to who this character is, visual backstory and the help set up the current situation.

Homework 3: Find a favorite Character Design(s) and describe why you like it.

Now redesign your Character in that design. Submit as a Jpeg file showing your favorite design and your new

Character Design. Here are a few examples...

Here is my character project for Senior Research Seminar. I drew our main character, Zelly, in the style of Fionna from Adventure Time. I also used Princess Bubblegum as a reference for Zelly's hair, since they look a little similar. I like that the character designs in Adventure Time are so simplistic, it gives the animators the creativity to use some pretty crazy expressions when they need to.

I chose the style from the Cartoon Network show Steven Universe. I like this design because they use shape and size to reflect the character's personality and allow that design to change as the characters do. Also their design is flexible enough to allow for a lot of comedy and emotion while still keeping their characters easily recognizable. The design for their magical characters are based around different gemstones. When I thought about my magical character, I imaged her as a cluster of bubbles, so i tried to incorporate that shape into her design (the round bumps of hair). And I drew my human girl too for contrast.

That's all!

Read: Chapter 3 Space pgs 37 - 61; The Visual Story by Bruce Block

and

https://cedricstudio.com/2010/04/interview-with-character-designer-dan-haskett/

DUE: TUESDAY, Homework 3 and Thumbnails of WIP(work in progress) of Assignment 1: Script to Thumbnails

Class 05

DUE TODAY: Homework 2: Character Archetypes

In Class: Everyone will be given the same script and assigned 5 shots to create 5 rough drawings. Keep in mind scene direction, making sure you are not crossing the 180 degree rule, etc.

Once the drawings are completed, we will put them up in order to see how the story fits together.

Script breakdown into Thumbnail Drawings

BEFORE YOU DRAW ANYTHING!

Script Analysis: Read the Script first. You need to understand the section you are working on and how it relates to the rest of the story. Re-read the script again until you understand the scene(s) .

· You should know how all the characters are feeling internally about what's happening and how they are outwardly acting upon those events.

· What are the overall themes that the screenplay is trying to get across and how this relates to the particular scene?

Break down the script into Beats / Take Inventory / Gather references

Break story into beats: Helps you prioritize what is important to show in a scene and what to leave out.

Scan thru the script and take inventory; the people , places and props that need to appear in the scene you are drawing.

Research is very important when working on final boards: Do you know how to draw all the things that appear in the scene? You can fake it in Thumbnail stage, but you need solid research after that. Collect photo references or shoot your own.

SCRIPT NOTES/PLAN VIEWS

You need to figure out how to tell the story visually in FILM TERMS, you may mark up your script with notes and thumbnail sketches.

You can figure out what shots work best for a scene at a given moment.

· Close up or wide shot?

· A high angle or a low angle?

· Should a reaction shot be inserted here?

· How should you show a camera move mentioned in the script?

You need to know where is everything is located in your scenes. An overhead plan can help you figure out the staging of this and where your camera will be place to cover each shot. You can also show this plan to your director to make sure they agree with your camera choices.

The following script has been divided up into 5 shots per student. Everyone will have 5 shots to produce as thumbnail drawings. You may talk to the person who has the scene before or after if you need to. Otherwise take time to read the entire script and then focus on your assigned scene.

Think about Staging, Camera choices, 180 degree Rule and where everything is in your scene. Take your time

Watch Beginning Sequence from Hidden Figures

Show after IN Class 20 minutes

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiwBpkyjrmQ

ASSIGNMENT 01: Make Thumbnail Drawings of Assigned Script, DUE: Class 8 Thursday Feb 8th

Class 03

Due: Hero's Journey: A breakdown of your chosen movie. Here are a few examples.

Angelica Cress

Nikki Williams

Senior Research Seminar

January 20, 2018

The Hero’s Journey: Field of Dreams

● Ordinary World: Ray is a simple farmer who lives with his family in Iowa.

● Call to Adventure: One evening, Ray hears a voice in his corn field, telling him “if you build it, he will come”.

● Refusal of the Call: Ray hesitates to build a baseball field only because a voice told him to.

● Meeting the Mentor: The voice motivates Ray to do things throughout the film that will help him.

● Crossing the Threshold: When Shoeless Joe Jackson appears on the field that Ray built, we enter the world of the supernatural/unknown. Only Ray, his wife, and his daughter are able to see him and the other baseball players on the field.

● Tests, Allies and Enemies: Ray meets a baseball team on the field that only he and his immediate family can see, an author from the past, and a doctor with a dream of playing baseball with the professionals. Ray’s brother-in-law, Mark, keeps an eye on their financial situation because Ray had to tear down a lot of his crops to build the baseball field.

● Approaching the Dragon’s Den: When money is tight, Ray runs the risk of losing the farm in order to maintain the baseball field.

● The Ordeal: Mark insists that Ray sell the farm, but he and his family refuse. Ray’s daughter tries to tell her dad that he doesn’t have to sell the farm, but she falls off the bleachers of the field and chokes on a hot dog she was eating.

● Seizing the Treasure: Archie, the boy who wanted to play baseball with the pros, rushes to help Ray’s daughter. He saves her, but now that he stepped outside of the field, he can’t return. However, he did fulfill his dream. It is then that Mark can see the people on the baseball field. Ray’s daughter and the author tell Ray that people will come and pay to watch baseball games on the field, and they don’t have to sell the farm. Ray agrees.

● The Road Back: Ray’s life will now involve maintaining a baseball field, and he will be able to keep his farm and be with his family.

● Resurrection: Now everyone can see the baseball players, and Mark sees that the idea of people coming to watch baseball games on the field is a good one.

● Return with the Boon: One more player appears on the field, and it turns out to be Ray’s father. He plays catch with him for the first time while many people arrive to watch a baseball game on the field. The end.

Rules of the Playground
Having trouble with your story? Check out these rules...

RULE 1) Story is King

· The Story ties the entire production together.

· Every production element is purposely designed for the good of the story.

The character design must support the style and function in the story.

· In the story, your character is revealed and that you communicate with your audience.

Without story, all you have is technique.

· An audience will forgive poor technique, they will never forgive a poor story.

RULE 2) Keep it Simple

Types of Stories that work in a Short.

· Simple Single Situations

· One Conflict that intensifies

· A single memorable moment

· Slices of life

· Demonstrations of personality

Types of Stories that do not work in a short.

· Hero's Journey

· Epic Tales

· Uncharted Territories or Complicated Concepts

All your screen time will be spent in exposition, explaining where we are or how it works.

· Little-Known Facts

If you base a story off something that your audience isn't aware of, they probably won't understand your story.

RULE 3) Know Your Concept, Theme or Meaning

· Stories have meaning

· The Concept: The basic overriding theme or meaning of the piece

· Not the Premise or the Plot

· For any Concept, there can be many different narratives that communicate it.

RULE 4) Avoid Cliche

A cliche is a concept, character, symbol or plot device that is so overused that it is no longer original.

· Concepts:

o Love conquers all

o Technology Bad

o Nature Good

· Characters

o Robots

o Aliens

o Ninjas

o Pirates

o Superheroes

· Symbols

o Butterflies

o Open Windows

o Chessboards

o Sunsets

o Gravestones

· Plots:

o It was all a dream, or was it?

o Country mouse (other animal) in the city or vice versa

o A child's imagination (usually with monsters or imaginary friends) takes her on an adventure.

o Little kid learns something that makes him grow up.

o A lonely or negected kid makes a robot friend

o A character must choose between two pathways or doorways

RULE 5) Create a Memorial Character

o Shrek, Hogarth, Nemo, Woody - we remember them all. Why?

o Relatable to them

o They have flaws, making them unique and accessible

o They are appealing in design and their personality

o Are Characters we care about.

RULE 6) Emotion Drives Action

How the character reacts to the situation he is in.

o The story is told through the actions of the characters.

o Actions never just happens, its the result of thought and emotion.

RULE 7) Show, Don't Tell

" Actions speak louder than words"
or in our case: louder than signs, voiceovers or dialogue

"Telling" means the use of exposition = description without engaging the Emotional
or Sensory experiences of the Character.

"Showing" means to make clear, by the appearance, behavior,action or reaction,
emotional experience of the character.

RULE 8) Create Conflict:

o Conflict = Drama

Conflict is not a weapon, a fight, a car chase...

o The Results of the character in opposition

Character vs Character

Characters need opposing goals.

If both characters want the same thing, there is either:

No Conflict

You can tell the story with one character

Character vs Environment: CARN

The character must struggle against the environment.

Character vs Self

Hardest thing to animate is Internal Conflict.

Watch Eureka (the need to think of an idea, to solve a problem)

RULE 9) Know Your Ending:

You must know how the film will end first.

The End = The Punch Line or the Payoff

Endings must transform the character, the audience or both.

RULE 10) Entertain Your Audience:

o Audiences are entertained when they a visually, intellectually and emotionally engaged.

o  Take them on a journey and bring them back safely.

o  The best shorts are the ones that have little bits of adventure, sorrow, tenderness and laughter.

o  How will your audience feel and what will they remember after watching your film?

RULE 11) Use Humor:

o Most people think of Tex Avery, Chuck Jones, Sight gags and visual puns

o But Humor can be parody, satire or pathos

RULE 12) Do Something You Like:

o Choose a story you like, that you want to work on for months. Use ideas from your own life. Nothing can replace personal experience to infuse a scene or a short.

And

For every rule, there is an exception to the rule. Learn the rules first and then break them. This takes time and experience.

View:

June: https://vimeo.com/204080652/6ddd5018fa

The Animator and the Seat: https://youtu.be/bowqK0Nkf0M
Gopher Broke: https://youtu.be/CE5HNyVJGos
The Hill Farm: https://youtu.be/R9qWzPeADoY

DUE: CLASS 4: Hero's Journey plot points.
CLASS 5: Archetypes from chosen feature film.