Animation 20/30 Write a Script

Write a script


Step 1: Develop an Idea.

If you do not have an idea you must generate one. Your script must be unique to you but if you need inspiration then you can think of a comic, a joke,  or a story that you like. Keep your idea simplistic as you may have to create this story once you have written it. Think of how any cartoon, movie or TV show only has a few characters and the whole story or series takes place in only a few locations. All good stories have a beginning, middle and end. If there is an unexpected twist it helps keep the audiences attention.

Grade 11: Your story can only have one character and one location.
Grade 12 your story can have 3 characters and 3 locations.

Step 2: Start your script.

Title:

• The Great Escape

Scene: (location, Inside, Outside, and descriptive details)

• INS: Large Fish Tank

Description:

• Billy swims around the tank looking at the outside world. He wonders how he can escape the confines of his tank and experience the larger world.

Dialogue:

• If the story has one character it can be an internal thought process. If the character doesn't speak then they may make expressive sounds. For example a birds chirp.

Directions:

• instructions for the character that describe their emotion, feelings or actions.

Camera Angles:

• Instruct the camera operators in shooting the scene

Example Camera Angles

• Close-up: A close-up shot is when the camera gets really close up on someone or something, like a person’s face or a telephone on a table. 
• Long-shot: A long shot is a camera angle that takes in all the characters of the scene and a view of the scenery. Say your characters are standing in a field or a mountain. This is when you will want to use this shot. 
• Overhead (or bird’s eye view): This is a shot from the point of view of a bird or someone up in the air. These dramatic shots can add a lot to your movie. 
• Worm’s eye: Also a very dramatic shot. This is a shot from the point of view of a worm. Think about looking up at a huge building when you are really up close to it. Use these shots for menacing monsters or villains. 
• Extreme close-up: Use this shot when you want to get up front and personal into a shot. Maybe you want to focus on the eyes of a person who is glaring or in distress. Maybe you want to focus in on a character’s smile or frown. Maybe you want to focus in on the violence of a tragic scene. 
• Pan: This is when the camera moves across the whole scene quickly, from left to right or right to left. 
• Silhouette: This is where your characters are in shadows and can see their side profiles or shapes of their bodies. If you are doing say an eerie cartoon or a gritty noir type cartoon, this might be a good type of shot to use.