Story boards

Story boards you can print out here.

They have about every style and aspect ratio you could ask for.

Final Project

For the rest of the semester, you will be creating a unique and mature piece of work in class.  

The piece must include:

1. A work that has a theme or a story that is thought provoking or emotionally moving (funny, sad, etc.)
2. A work that has good form (good ending, climax, conflict, resolution, character arc, etc.)
3. Animation that is timed well (ease in and out, appropriate speed, not choppy)
4. Good use of art and design: nicely drawn backgrounds, characters, props; good use of color and composition

I would like you to work up a little "pitch" for your final animation project idea, 

and pitch it to me and the rest of the class on Tuesday (3/26)

come up with a schedule of completion by thursday

storyboard

dialogue

character design

film footage

backgrounds

audio 

final

Here some further details on the final project.

The course culminates in the development of your own animation piece.

This can be done individually or in groups of two or three students.

In the case of a group project, the duration of the piece should be at least on minute.

Other than that, remember to keep it as simple and short as possible.

Pixar's 22 rules for storytelling by Emma Coats

1. You admire a character for trying more than for their successes.
2. You gotta keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not what’s fun to do as a writer. They can be very different.
3. Trying for theme is important, but you won’t see what the story is actually about til you’re at the end of it. Now rewrite.
4. Once upon a time there was ___. Every day, ___. One day ___. Because of that, ___. Because of that, ___. Until finally ___.
5. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
6. What is your character good at, comfortable with? Throw the polar opposite at them. Challenge them. How do they deal?
7. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
8. Finish your story, let go even if it’s not perfect. In an ideal world you have both, but move on. Do better next time.
9. When you’re stuck, make a list of what WOULDN’T happen next. Lots of times the material to get you unstuck will show up.
10. Pull apart the stories you like. What you like in them is a part of you; you’ve got to recognize it before you can use it.
11. Putting it on paper lets you start fixing it. If it stays in your head, a perfect idea, you’ll never share it with anyone.
12. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
13. Give your characters opinions. Passive/malleable might seem likable to you as you write, but it’s poison to the audience.
14. Why must you tell THIS story? What’s the belief burning within you that your story feeds off of? That’s the heart of it.
15. If you were your character, in this situation, how would you feel? Honesty lends credibility to unbelievable situations.
16. What are the stakes? Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
17. No work is ever wasted. If it’s not working, let go and move on – it’ll come back around to be useful later.
18. You have to know yourself: the difference between doing your best & fussing. Story is testing, not refining.
19. Coincidences to get characters into trouble are great; coincidences to get them out of it are cheating.
20. Exercise: take the building blocks of a movie you dislike. How d’you rearrange them into what you DO like?
21. You gotta identify with your situation/characters, can’t just write ‘cool’. What would make YOU act that way?
22. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there.

Student Exhibition due Mar 22

The work for the student exhibition is due March 22nd.  if you have any time based work you may give it to me anytime before that date and I will make a DVD for it.