Animation vs Film??

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Hi all,I think I'm about to be approved for disability so I'm about to have a lot of free time on my ands. This is scary to me so I'm trying to figured out what to do. I've become competent at an animation package and I've written a screenplay, that made the finals of a popular writing contest so I'm thinking about trying to animate it. The script, to me, is a handicapped man's fairy tale, and so, lends itself to animation. But than I'd give up the raw reality of film.My question is, just for discussion, how do you know if a script is appropriate for animation. The prime example here is Princess Bride; why wasn't it animated? Another example might be Polar Express. Why was it animated in it's entiritey?For discussion.Chris

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]Hi all, I think I'm about to be approved for disability so I'm about to have a lot of free time on my ands. This is scary to me so I'm trying to figured out what to do. I've become competent at an animation package and I've written a screenplay, that made the finals of a popular writing contest so I'm thinking about trying to animate it. The script, to me, is a handicapped man's fairy tale, and so, lends itself to animation. But than I'd give up the raw reality of film. My question is, just for discussion, how do you know if a script is appropriate for animation. The prime example here is Princess Bride; why wasn't it animated? Another example might be Polar Express. Why was it animated in it's entiritey? For discussion. Chris[/nq]
Well, there are some stories that could easily go either way. Cinderella has been done as an animated cartoon and as a live action movie.
But the point is if you make the decision to do Cinderella as an animated cartoon, you take advantage of the things that you can do in an animated cartoon that can't be done (or at any rate can't be easily done) in a live action movie like talking anthropomorphic mice.

The reality is, much of the reason that certain things end up as live action or animated has as much to do with the process of how movies get made than the essential suitability of a particular project for one medium or another.
There are very different "development tracks" for live action movies than for animated movies simply because there are only a handful of places that make animated features and they tend to develop projects internally.
So it's not as if someone starts off with a book and then thinks - animation or live action, which way do we go?
Polar Express is sort of an oddball exception because it started as a book of drawings and the producers were really looking for a project for a new animation process (the same one they used on the recent Beowulf movie) and the two seemed to go together (personally, I thought the result was kind of creepy.
The fact is, there's an odd kind of merger underway between animation (at least computer animation) and live action.
The first version of Lord of the Rings was animated yet much of it was actually derived from live action and rotoscoped or just printed into the animated film with less than stellar results. Which is why it ended up only half of a movie.
The recent version of Lord of the Rings was live action yet substantial portions of it were computer generated. All of Gollum. The spider. Those giant elephants (whatever they're called) substantial portions of the battle scenes it's all computer animated.

And now, with Benjamin Button, we've really reached a place where you can generate a completely believable computer generated human face and you really can't tell the difference.
So on a certain level, the question of animation vs. live action has almost become moot.
The real question is what do you want to show? How realistic do you want it to be?
Do you want it to be photo-realistic? Do you want it to look like The Incredibles? Do you want it to look like Beowulf? Do you want it to look very abstract?
What aesthetic look are you trying to achieve?
And more importantly
How much time do you have? How much money do you have?

Because that translates into computing power and computing tools and mastering the skills you need to achieve the look that you want.

NMS

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[nq:1]Hi all, I think I'm about to be approved for disability so I'm about to have a lot of free ... why wasn't it animated? Another example might be Polar Express. Why was it animated in it's entiritey? For discussion. Chris[/nq]
Neal's (NMS) answer is excellent. There are many variables in this field, and none of them is cheap or fast.
Don't get too ambitious out of the gate. If you set out to make a feature length animated film as elaborate as The Princess Bride, you'll never manage it on your own, or in less than five years - in the meantime the pros in the field will be working on assignments that are tied to toy manufacturers, studios, money and power - because they have a track record and are known. And your script may just not be that good, and your animation almost certainly can't compete.

One thing you might want to consider is making a short animation film on your own. You'll learn a **** of a lot - including whether the script is really suited to the medium - and you'll have something to show for the effort - literally. There is a market for shorts. They can also open doors when they get shown at festivals. And some of those doors lead to people with money.
At this point, I'd advise you to use your Rolodex and your degree of separation to talk to people in the field. Animators are usually pretty friendly and willing to share their knowledge - of the business as well as the craft.

Acting should be bigger than life. Scripts should
be bigger than life. It should all be bigger than life. ? Bette Davis

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I'm a fan of animation, and I will give you my two cents. I'd start with graphic novels/ comics. Plus, animated people - esp children - can be really creepy, so I'd stick to Aesop's model and have animals do the dirty work. I loved Monsters Inc but that little girl was creepy - just because - meanwhile the monsters were delightful. Meanwhile there's lots of good handicapped examples in the media - Dark Angel, Farrelly Bros, - you can have fun with it.

And remember the guys who did the Matrix showed up with many many pages of pics and stuff, in addition to the script. Yes, it's live action, but still. I do agree with MC in that you can make some shorts and go on the festival circuit. And remember how the South Park guys got their start - they made a profane Christmas card video - Jesus vs Santa? - sent it to all their contacts - next thing you know, they have a network deal.

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[nq:2]Hi all, I think I'm about to be approved for disability so I'm about to have a lot of free time on my ands. Â This is scary to me so I'm trying to figured out what to do. Â I've become competent at an animation package and I've written a screenplay, that made the finals of a popular writing contest so I'm thinking about trying to animate it. Â The script, to me, is a handicapped man's fairy tale, and so, lends itself to animation. Â But than I'd give up the raw reality of film. My question is, just for discussion, how do you know if a script is appropriate for animation. The prime example here is Princess Bride; why wasn't it animated? Â Another example might be Polar Express. Â Why was it animated in it's entiritey? For discussion. Chris[/nq]
[nq:1]Neal's (NMS) answer is excellent. There are many variables in this field, and none of them is cheap or fast. ... life. It should all be bigger than life. â?¹ Bette Davis- Hide quoted text - - Show quoted text -[/nq]
WOW, I'm really impressed. Such great answers in so short a time. Yes, I was thinking that I would start out with one central, yet relatively easy scence. I also like the idea of using the animation as a pitch. I have a moderate speech impairment and I've always wondered about doing a real script pitch.
Thanks.
Chris

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Hi all, I think I'm about to be approved for disability so I'm about to have a lot of free ... is Princess Bride; why wasn't it animated? Another example might be Polar Express. Why was it animated in it's entiritey?[/nq]
Hi Chris,
I'm not sure whether congratulations are appropriate on your being approved for disability, but I'll assume you've ruled out the whole Lourdes thing and are happy with your direction...
What's great about animation is that, in theory, you can be a one-person production studio your only limitations are time and the lead in your pencil. And the web provides an easy way for you to develop an audience for your work. My daughter was obsessed for a while with a short series called "Making Fiends" (http://www.makingfiends.com/) which was a one-woman production and is now getting commercial attention.

Great animation starts with a great script think Toy Story, The Incredibles, Wallace & Gromit, Bambi or Shrek. So you want to have that nailed down before starting principal photography (principal sketching?).

After that, if you're just starting out, the whole one-person shop thing can really come into play, and you might decide to create an animation for no other reason than being able to execute the entire thing from soup to nuts on your own. If you go with live film-making think of all the stuff you have to pull together lighting, cameras, clapper-boards, locations, actors, best boys and key grips, miniskirted production assistants, a folding crafts table, a coffee pot, an authoritative scowl...

FWIW, "Polar Express" was done as an animation because it started out as a children's book by the great colored-pencil artist Chris Van Allsburg. They wanted a film that looked just like his amazing pencil renderings (I knew Chris Van Allsburg casually, and my wife took classes under him at RISD... He has a lot of clout with his publisher and a lot of say in how his books are rendered as films).
I don't know what went into the calculations for "Princess Bride", but I'd guess that it's all about who picked up the story for production. Maybe the animation arm for Disney put in a bid and lost out to Fox / Act III. I can easily picture it as an animation instead of the brilliant live-action film that was produced.
Alan Brooks

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Who remembers that animation from the 1900's that was posted here a while back?
It was very, very ahead of its time and featured a cartoon character that was popular at the time.
I can't think of the name now.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Who remembers that animation from the 1900's that was posted here a while back? It was very, very ahead of its time and featured a cartoon character that was popular at the time. I can't think of the name now.[/nq]
Probably Winsor McCay's dinosaur film... was the dinosaur called Gertie? Think so. YouTube should be forthcoming with those keywords.

Acting should be bigger than life. Scripts should
be bigger than life. It should all be bigger than life. ? Bette Davis

Animation vs Film??

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