Atlanta Film Festival Panels: First Up-Screenwriting for Animation

The Atlanta Film Festival is up and booming this year with the majority of panels happening at 7 Stages in bustling Little Five Points, Atlanta. I attended a few panels this year so I'll be making a few posts covering them. I'm not promising a complete overview-you kinda had to be there, BUT I'll be able to emphasize the major points from my notes.

First Up:

Screenwriting for Animation 

with Matt Jenkins and Stephen Mank

• we start with possibly the most important factor to take into account when considering animation for a project: "Why is it animated?"
• second most important factor, driven home throughout the panel by Matt Jenkins: it's all about the budget
• every animator has a pet project-keep that in mind because it might lead to favors and you-owe-me-ones in the future
• the last 10% of all projects is the most grueling but no matter what, even if you have to scale back a project, GET IT DONE! 
• crowd scenes and multiple locations cost money-use sparingly and only if absolutely necessary
• there is a constant push and pull between story and budget (if you haven't already gathered that)
• the more you can handle all aspects of the production simultaneously-the more organic the process becomes
• funny writers are the best to work with-keep it light
• funny scripts make animators excited about a project
• solicitation of scripts is a big turn-off THOUGH giving them visuals and storyboards, something visual, isn't that frowned upon--it's a lot easier and less painful to read visuals than a script
• trading work is the law of the land, like I said-every animator has a pet project and throughout film and animation you can trade work on someone's project for work on your own
• when pitching an idea-know who's paying for it and where the money is going
• you should also know in a pitch where the end result is going (syndication, film festivals, internet, etc)
• as emphasized in an earlier post-it is not uncommon to work on projects for free when you first start out to gain experience
• just to drive this point into the ground-get someone to think you're FUNNY!
• internships are the best way to get into the business
• voice-acting helps with the writing and pitching process because you can help others visualize