average roughly one page per minute of screen time. Normal length varies from about 75
to about 110 pages. Most theatrical animated features have a running time of approximately
seventy-five to ninety minutes. The direct-to-video features run about ten minutes shorter.
The Motion Picture Academy in the United States requires an animated film to be at least
seventy minutes to qualify for feature awards.
At many studios in the United States an initial story treatment, rather than a finished script,
is given to storyboard people (or storymen), who take it for further development visually. A
treatment or outline breaks down the basic story into scenes. The storymen may then develop
character, further plot out the story arcs, and develop scenes from this treatment. At some
point the story might go back and forth between a full script and visual development, with the
creative executive supervising the process. Just how much the storyboard artists contribute
depends on the studio; some studios let the board people develop and change a great deal, and
some don’t. A writer may be writing drafts of a script at certain stages after meetings with the
storymen.This development can easily take a year or longer. Some sequences may go into pro-
duction while the rest of the film is still in development. Sometimes an entirely new writer or
team of writers is hired to polish a final script, improving dialogue and making the film funnier.
Disney’s sequels to Peter Pan,Dinosaurs, and Fantasia 2000were each in story development
for several years. Often the developed film hardly resembles the original treatment or script.
And changes may be made throughout the production of the film.
Management at DreamWorks prefer a finished script before going into production.
Jeffrey Katzenberg usually gets involved personally with the writer on rewrites. He closely
monitors the storyboarding process and reserves the right to revise until practically the final
mix. On Sinbadthe visual development influenced the story, as the designs of Tartarus
changed the concept of that domain. The character of Eris evolved so much that new casting
was done, and the character was rerecorded with a new actress.
DreamWorks has also been experimenting with animatics. They include not only what’s
indicated in the storyboard but also intercuts or different angles so the editor has a choice,
resulting in a finished film that looks more like a live-action film in its cinematography.
The Disney method, traditionally, was to go into the early stages of production using only
a treatment.The treatment was further broken down into sequences.The sequences were given
to teams of writers and storyboard artists, where they were tweaked until they were the best
that they could be. Of course, this process sometimes improved each section to the detriment
of the whole. But there might be many pitch sessions during the story process as the teams
pitched sequences, brainstormed gags, and solved story problems. Pitching your sequence of
drawings with enthusiasm became an art in itself. The best story elements survived.
There is no single way to approach the feature story. Each studio, and even each feature,
is different, and old ways are always subject to changes as the business of animation changes.
The Direct-to-Video or DVD Feature
For direct-to-video or DVD features the process is closer to that of TV animation due to the
budget restraints. The lower budget may justify targeting an audience that’s not as broad as
that for the theatrical feature. Who is the audience for your studio or your original project?
Aim specifically for them. Original projects with no marquee value are very difficult to sell to
the large companies. Before development, consider what might be needed. What is each
studio’s niche? Where are the gaps in their product? Differentiate your project from what is
276 Animation Writing and Development