Blue Lemon Animation

Wednesday, October 11, 2006

Notes from Dreamworks Presentation

Story
- the story is driven by a unique and interesting character, and the plot is a result of that character's motivation and behaviour
- flawed characters are more interesting, because the audience can identify with their struggle
- pace yourself, it takes time and you need to maintain energy to stick it through
- don't be afraid to take chances
- explore who the character is, and the subtext of their actions
- don't second guess yourself, other people can do that for you

"Be prepared to kill your babies" - things will change by the end, embrace change and don't cling to your present ideas.

"The first draft is shit" - you may have to re-write the story 50 times or more. The initial thoughts and ideas you have will always be stereotypes. You have to dig down to the new and fresh ideas by re-writing and simplifying over and over and over and over... it never ends, until you decide to settle. You know you've hit it when the audience finds more relevance in your story than you do.

"Keep it simple" - don't worry about design, just ideas.

"Commit to the idea" - once you've decided the subject, stay with it until all the details are ironed out. Don't (as we've learned) change your subject in hopes of finding a better story.

"Be prepared to generate" - you only get out what you put in. The more you have, the more you have to choose from.

Inspiration
-improvise
-sketch
-read books
-watch movies + commentaries, sketch thumbnails
-watch silent movies for clear staging tips - Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Harold Lloyd
-Observe life

Helpful Resources:
http://sevencamels.blogspot.com
Books; Ray Bradbury - Zen in the Art of Writing, Stephen King on Writing, Disney's Illusion of Life

Some other helpful links:
http://theartofglenkeane.blogspot.com/
check out "writing tips" at http://jameshudnall.com/toc.htm

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