 Sustainability Victoria - Recycle Right social media campaign. Not a lot is written about directing animation - especially for shorter forms like TV commercials, motion graphics, explainer videos and social media videos. Whatever the medium or duration the goal for the animation director is the same - to tell a good story. Unlike the film director who can shoot a lot of takes, B-roll, and even invent unscripted shots on the fly, there's no such luxury in animation. The animation director gets one take, exact duration, no B-roll, no optional shots. Arguably the animation director's job is harder than the film director because she has to get it right the first time. Here's a brief look at what's involved for the short form animation director: Script editing - what ends up on the screen is the director's responsibility, so if the director thinks the script needs adjustments, then better to make them here, before it goes any further into the production pipeline. This is not a reflection on the writer - who has already done the amazing job of creating something from nothing. All scripts are flawed - they are after all not a final work - but an unfinished film - the final draft is the one that ends up on the screen. The director might continue to make script adjustments at every step of the animation production process. Visual Style - Sometimes the visual style may already be established in a previous film or dictated by a style guide. Other times the director in collaboration with the designer will arrive at a visual style. The director will pitch the visual style to the client, and when approved will oversee the asset build to make sure it stays on-design. Storyboard - In animation, this is where most of the directing happens. Good storyboard artists are not just good at drawing, they understand the language of film and are really directors in their own right. However, sometimes in shorter animation forms like TV commercials and web videos, storyboard artists may not always be across film language or story. These artists might need direction to interpret the script - they may even need a thumbnail storyboard from the director. Board artists for example who mostly work on TVC's are sometimes not across narrative storyboarding as well as TV series board artists. The storyboard is where you find out what's wrong with the script - unforeseen problems usually emerge at storyboard stage and so refinement of the story is on-going as the film gets closer to the screen.  Cambridge University Press - web marketing video. Vocal casting - the project may need to have vocal actors or voice over artists cast. The director will usually be involved in the selection of vocal talent, and will make recommendations to the client. Sometimes the project has vocal talent already assigned - perhaps from a previous film or commercial. In case you haven't already discovered this - voice over artists are usually not actors - so don't expect they will be able to perform a character, just because they have a voice. Characters need vocal actors. Animatic - The animatic (sometimes call a leica reel or story reel) is where the director finds out what's wrong with the storyboard. Sequencing the storyboard panels on a timeline is a quick (cheap) way for the director to see if the transitions, timing, staging and continuity are all working seamlessly to tell the story in the best way possible. Skip the animatic stage at your peril - finding and fixing problems here is way, way easier than fixing them in animation. Animation - If the pre-production process has been thorough, the animation stage is simply execution. The story heavy lifting is mostly done by this stage and the director should be mostly focussed on performance (or in the case of motion graphics - the choreography). It's not really the director's job to be looking at technical details like lip sync, turns or walk cycles - an animator should already be across these skills, or in a larger studio an animation lead will guide less experienced artists before presentation to the director. But if there are technical mistakes present, the director will find them and ask for a retake. The director will be mostly looking at the animator's interpretation of the performance - is it on-brief, on-character, optimal for the story. The director may identify some late improvements to the story as the process nears the finish line - hold a shot longer, adjust a camera angle, remove a shot, insert a new one, and so on.  Moonee Valley City Council - pedestrian safety social media campaign. Sound - the director will usually make the final calls on music choices, sound design and the sound mix, before presentation to the client.
Self-directing animators - often in a smaller studio, artists might play multiple roles - the storyboard artist might also be the animator for example, or the writer or producer might also be the director. Some animators self-direct, some don't. A self-directing animator will never say "…but I was just following the storyboard". Instead he will fix the issue or bring it to the director's attention. Animators in smaller studios are often self-directing because they might be the sole animator on a project, and may not have a director, so they have to be across the whole story. Unlike animators in a large studio, who are only focussed on the shots allocated to them, and probably don't even know the full story. All animation projects - no matter how big or small, need a person to take creative ownership of it - to take it from script to screen, and to be responsible for making the story or message as good as it can be.
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 Client GSK - product Ribena Here's an older post that still gets a lot of views - thought it was time to polish it a bit and put it on top of the pile. The agency likes what you do - that's why they've called you in to take a brief, but they need to be confident your vision for their TV commercial is aligned with what they want. They might ask you to write a Treatment. A Treatment is a pitch - a selling document to win across the agency and client to your vision for their ad. It's your opportunity to show that you totally understand the advertiser's requirement and that you are able to deliver it in the most compelling way. 1. Listen up Ask a lot of questions so that the brief is crystal clear. Try to gauge how flexible the agency is about the story and visual style. This is important - the amount of creative freedom you have on a TVC can vary. Some briefs will be very specific, with little room for additional creative input. While at the other extreme the agency will have one of those "no idea" briefs that's gonna rely on your creative chops to flesh it out and make them look awesome. Understand who your audience is. Find out what the client likes - and doesn't. Find out if it's gonna roll out on social media as well - this may influence your storytelling. 2. Is the ad Story or Spectacle? If it's story then it should have a beginning, middle and end, with at least one character. The objective of story is to engage the audience with a plot that resolves at the end with the advertiser's message embedded. If it's spectacle there is no story - the ad is eye candy that relies on attracting the audience's attention with appealing visuals and sounds. In a spectacle the audience is a spectator, unlike story where the audience is a participant. Story doesn't need visual extravagance to engage the audience - but if you're not telling a story then each shot has to be more interesting than the previous one to keep your audience on board. 3. Get your story essentials in place All stories must have a CHARACTER that the audience can identify with. The character should have a GOAL - he/she/it wants something. Finally there should be CONFLICT - an obstacle to the character getting what she wants, which must be overcome. STRUCTURE is equally important. The beginning is where the character is introduced and the setting is established. Then a problem or incident moves the story to the middle part, where obstacles are overcome. Finally the story resolves and the character is much happier now that (thanks to the product) the problem is solved. Cue the logo and park it for the last second. If your TV commercial has these basic story elements in place, you're in good shape.  Client Indofood - product Trenz Glaze 4. Brainstorm Ask yourself these questions - will it fit into the duration you have to work with? Can it be funnier/scarier/more dramatic/whatever? Can I withhold some information from the audience until the end to give them a surprise? Is the main character appealing enough? Raise the stakes - what will happen if he can't get what he wants? Will the audience connect with him/her/it? Could I add a prop or setting that makes the story more interesting? What about the technique and visual style - how can I make it look original/quirky/retro/ whatever. Search for images and videos for inspiration. Identify a theme - a single word that embodies what the story is really about - this can be a useful guide to keep you on track. 5. Getting it down Start with a brief recap of the objective of the commercial, and how your treatment will get the desired result. Reassure the client how this commercial will integrate with existing content and branding. Give the impression you know the product and what it stands for - but don't over analyse this - the client knows their product way better than you do. Write with confidence and with intention to influence - make it a good read - inject it with your personality - don't be too formal. Next take the reader through the story beat-by-beat (a beat is the smallest element of a story). Write in such a way that the reader can visualise it. Don't get technical with descriptions of camera angles or visual effects - just tell the story as it is. If your treatment is a spectacle, then keep the description brief because a MOOD BOARD (see next point) will better describe what you want to say. Write about how your proposed visual style will give the commercial a unique look, and make it stand out. Mention the colour palette - the three main colours that will dominate the commercial to give it a certain look or mood, and how it fits with the brand. If there's a special technique you are proposing, this could be the place to get a little technical (don't overdo it) about something unique you are bringing to the spot that's going to make it special. Write about the sound. Is there a VO (voice over)? Why - and what kind of voice? Will there be music - what kind? Will the music drive the commercial or will it be used subtly, as sound design, to accent story moments? How will the sound and the visuals integrate to work together? Explain how it will also work across social media - if that's part of the media plan. There should be only one main message in a TV commercial. Your client might insist on trying to squeeze 10 product benefits into 30 seconds - this never ends well. An agency worth their salt will back you up on this one. And keep it brief - one or two pages. Finally, close with a short summary to wrap up your treatment and drive home that you and your team are going to make this commercial a hit.  Client Sarah Lee - product Ambi Pur Car 6. Make a Mood Board
A Mood Board is a montage of images you have borrowed from the internet, that create an impression of the visual style, colour scheme and brand values that you want to bring to the commercial. Your mood board might be one or more full pages of your PDF document. It might be projected at a pre-production meeting. The design of the document itself is a statement about the aesthetic you are bringing to the project - so make it look good. Author: Steve Bristow lectures in Story and Screen Language, has screen credits as a Director, Creator and Story Editor, and has produced or directed hundreds of TV commercials and web videos. Is there a missing 13th principle of animation? Why does this fundamental truth about animation fly so much under the radar? Let me explain…  The animator's goal is to make a connection with the audience - a connection so strong that the audience with empathise with - or share the feelings and thoughts of a character. Wait a minute…thoughts?…feelings?…only living things can think, right? So that means before any serious entertainment can take place, the audience must believe the character is alive. Okay so what is it specifically that animated characters do that makes an audience believe they are alive? Is it the quality of the motion - will an audience 'connect' with a perfectly crafted walk cycle? Is it a compelling pose - will an audience empathise with a well executed expression? No - and here's the thing - a character is only truly 'alive' and therefore able to connect to an audience when it thinks, or at least…when the audience believes the character is thinking And don't take my word for it - Ollie Johnston said in his famous book "It is the thinking that gives the illusion of life". While the overall performance is important - the face is the most powerful indicator of what a character is thinking or feeling. A strong facial expression in itself can convey an emotion, but not thinking. So here's my proposed 13th principle - the thing that conveys that a character is thinking is… CHANGE OF EXPRESSION The central concept of facial animation is that for each single thought there is one expression, and while it can change in intensity it will not change in feeling. When a character gets a new thought or has a realisation about something, she will change to a new expression, indicating that thinking has taken place. So...change of expression = thinking = life! Here's the essentials to make thinking (and therefore life) happen… 1. KNOW THE CHARACTER Before you can make a character think, you must know her. If you thoroughly understand the personality of the character, then you will know how she thinks, and combined with the emotional cues within the dialog you will be able to make decisions about what those changes of expression could look like. 2. STRONG POSES In the same way that animators create strong poses for characters, and the changes from key pose to key pose propel the audience through the character's performance, the face must also move through strong poses or expressions. 3. BREAK DOWN THE SCENE TO FIND THE EXPRESSION CHANGES If there's dialog, listen to the track. A typical scene might be a few seconds long. During those few seconds identify the thoughts driving the dialog. Ask yourself these two questions - how many thoughts are there in the dialog, and where are the changes of thought? These are the places where the expression will change. Example 1   Example 2   Maybe you already do this intuitively. So look for opportunities to show a change of expression when you are storyboarding or animating, and your characters will come alive.
By Steve Bristow Images from Sherazade The Untold Stories, initially developed by Hahn Film. ©2017 Hahn Film | Chocolate Liberation Front | Toonz Entertainment  Condensing a complicated message into a minute or so of compelling web video is a tricky business. Here's some tips that will have you writing like a pro.
1. Write for your audience Who are you talking to? Plumbers, students, migrants, accountants…whatever. The "voice" you use will depend on your audience. Always try to put yourself in the shoes of the audience - what are they really interested in? How can you help them to get what they want / solve their problem / save them time or money? Don't write stuff your audience can't relate to or are not interested in. 2. The first ten seconds must be killer That's about how long it takes for online audiences to decide whether to abandon your video or not. It's the hardest part of the script, so write and re-write the first ten seconds until you're sure you are making a connection with your audience. Say something shocking, interesting, emotive, funny, clever or empathetic. If you still have them beyond ten seconds, chances of them hanging around for a while is good. 3. Don't write literature It's a visual medium - so write for the screen. As you write, always think "what will the audience be seeing when I say this?" Also ask yourself "do I even need to say this - maybe I can show it." Don't say it if you can show it - exploit the medium for what it's best at - showing stuff. Remember - you don't want to tell the whole story anyway - you just want to tell the essence, enough for your audience to "get it". Long flowery descriptions are for your brochure, not your video. 4. Brevity is King Studies show that online video abandonment is directly related to duration. More people will sit through a 60 seconder, than a 120 seconder. So the briefer the message, the larger your audience. Research by Wistia shows that audiences will even abandon a video just because of the length of the timeline - regardless of the content! Detach yourself emotionally from the script - keep only the really important stuff - be ruthless. 5. Structure it Since the beginning of storytelling, stories happen in three acts. Web videos are no different. The first act will set the scene, introduce characters, give context to what follows. The second scene is where the story unfolds and the audience gets all the information they need to understand the message. If there is a character, this is the part where she overcomes obstacles on her journey to get what she wants. The third act is where the story wraps up, the character has evolved (thanks to the product), and the message is driven home. 6. The ideal explainer video duration is 60 seconds OK I said it. Now I know you're thinking "there's no way I can say all this in 60 seconds." Yes online videos come in all shapes and sizes, and often 60 seconds is really not long enough. I'm just saying if you want maximum viewer retention; you want to get across one strong message with say three key benefits; you want the viewer to stay all the way to the end where your big finish and call to action is, then 60 seconds is the way to go. Most explainer videos run for 90 seconds - okay that's doable but not ideal. Beyond 2 minutes and most of your audience have moved on or are comatose. BTW - the writer's rule of thumb - about 150 words gets you a screen minute. 7. Say it with animation Animation is awesome. It crosses cultural, age, gender and whatever barriers with ease, and is the medium of choice for explainer video makers. Animation can show whatever the mind can conceive - I think Walt Disney said that. Animation can make even the most dull or complex subject matter look cheerful and easy-peasy. 8. Use Video Script format Pro's write in the Video Script format, so write like a pro and impress your video production company. Video Script format is a portrait-oriented page divided into two vertical columns (Google "video script" to see hundreds of examples). The left column is headed Audio, the right column is headed Video. Write the Voice Over (VO) in the left column, write the corresponding video description in the right. Separate each scene with a horizontal line. Only write one idea per scene. 9. Read it out loud I love this tip. If you read it out load you will discover things that sound clunky or long-winded. You will discover the mood of the script. You will discover places where you need to add a word for emphasis, or delete a whole line. You will discover that it's dry and doesn't sound like "talk". You will also discover (because you have your stopwatch running) that it's too long and needs to be shorter and more punchy. 10. Forget everything you just read Just start writing - don't worry about the grammar, the tone, the structure, the word count or format. Just get it all out - let it flow - however it comes. Then leave it for a couple of days. Come back with fresh eyes and discover how long, dry, repetitive, and horrible your first draft is. But hey, you have a first draft - congratulations! Now the writing can really begin because script writing is about re-writing….and re-writing…and re-writing. Now you can use this 10-point checklist to transform that first draft into a beautiful thing. Author: Steve Bristow lectures in Screenwriting at JMC Academy Melbourne, has screen credits as a script editor, has written scripts for corporate videos, TV commercials and web explainer videos. |
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