and they’d better belong to your star! Be sure to be clear to the executive readers and the
artists that follow, explaining even the things that are to be a surprise for the audience later.
Design your set with style, using an economy of words. Add camera directions picturing what
the camera sees. Choreograph your action and your camera movement, but do it simply
without breaking the budget. Know what can be done economically in a traditional 2D show
and what can be done in a CGI show. Is there stock animation or stock backgrounds that
the producer wants used? Can complicated action happen offstage and still be effective?
To stage for the budget:
CLOSE ON MOUNTAIN PETE
MOUNTAIN PETE
Look out! It’s an avalanche!CLOSE ON FALLING ROCKS
A few rocks fall into the shot.
CLOSE ON CLUELESS CHUCK
One rock hits Clueless Chuck on the head.
In this low-budget version of an avalanche little animation is needed. But our imaginations
supply what we don’t see.
Be Practical!
The action must work for the production people as well as the audience. Set the stage well
first. Know the room. Make the most of your props. Add sound effects, special wipes, special
music, and so on as needed. Try to add only the kind of effects that show uses. Ask! If there’s
a sign, be sure that one of the characters reads it out loud or the accompanying picture tells
the story. Young kids can’t read, and international viewers may not be able to understand
English. Not all cartoons get dialogue rerecorded in the language of the country where it is
shown.
Keep Up the Pace!
Use the essence! Break up the action and increase the pace with cuts. Cuts keep the story
moving. Individual scenes should be very short, especially for TV. Action. Reaction. This is
your first big use of dialogue. Every line should work to build the story. Keep sentences
short. Use strong verbs. Make it flow, but don’t make your sentences so smooth that they
lull you to sleep. Follow the gag ratio of that series, or ask if you can write more. Exagger-
ate! Visual, not audio, gags work best in animation, especially in an international market-
place. Is this a series with lots of smart dialogue? Build your gags, milk them, and top them.
Did you set up expectations and then spring a surprise? Repeat a gag only if you can do a
twist. Timing is everything! End with a bang and a gag!
204 Animation Writing and Development