Half Title
Title Page
Copyright Page
Contents
Figures
Preface
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Chapter 1: Why Animation?
The Business of Animation
Master the Craft of Writing
Tools Not Rules
Why Animation?
Fantasy
Thinky Time #1
Hyper-reality
Thinky Time #2
Money
Thinky Time #3
A Brief Word about Visual Style
How to Get the Most Out of This Book
Bonus Material
Chapter 2: Goals
1 Goals Require Desire and Action
2 Goals Are Specific
3 Goals Have a Time Frame
Goals in Summary
Thinky Time #4
Chapter 3: Obstacles
External Obstacles
Internal Obstacles
Bonus Material
Thinky Time #5
Chapter 4: Central Character
Identifying the Central Character
The Importance of One Central Character
A Plots and B Plots
Central Character Case Study: Family Guy “Absolutely Babulous”
Thinky Time #6
Chapter 5: The Three-Act Structure
The Importance of the Three-Act Structure
How Does the Three-Act Structure Work?
The Changes in Direction That a Story Takes
That Work as a Cohesive Whole
In Order for the Characters to Have Completed a Satisfying Story Journey
When to Break the Rule
The Three-Act Structure in Animation
Chapter 6: Act Two
The Functions of Act Two
To Show Our Central Character Actively Pursuing Their Goal
Raise the Stakes for Our Central Character
To Increase the Pace of the Story by Showing Our Central Character Facing Increasingly Difficult Situations and Overcoming Them
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The End of Act Two
Challenges of Act Two
A Word of Warning
Chapter 7: Act One
The Functions of Act One
It Introduces Your Central Character and Most of the Other Main Characters That Will Recur throughout the Story
It Sets up the World of Your Story
It Reveals the Main Problems That Exist in the Character’s Life and Creates Sympathy for Him or Her
It States the Main Goal of Our Character and the Specific Goal of Act Two
Challenges of Act One
Chapter 8: Act Three
The Functions of Act Three
To Be the Most Exciting or Dramatic Part of Your Story
Provide a Satisfying Ending That Makes Everyone Glad They Watched Your Movie or Show
Bonus Material: A Cure for Coincidence
Challenges of Act Three
Chapter 9: Three-Act Structure Case Studies
Three-Act Structure Case Study 1: Zootopia
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Overview
Three-Act Structure Case Study 2: Paw Patrol “Pups Go for The Gold”
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Overview
Summary
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Chapter 10: Emotional Connection
Give Them Skills and Abilities
Make Them Funny
Bonus Material
Get Your Character on the Screen as Soon as Possible
Unwavering Resolve
A Little Niceness Goes a Long Way
Jeopardy, Hardship, or Adversity
Bonus Material
Chapter 11: The Emotional Goal
Defining the Destination
Establishing Where the Character Is Emotionally at the Beginning of the Story
Creating the Stepping-Stones
Showing Both New Behavior and Old, Negative Behavior
Summary
Chapter 12: Emotional Goal Case Study
Shrek
Bonus Material
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
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Chapter 13: Character and Archetype
Commedia Dell’Arte
Archetypes Today
A Step Behind
Bonus Material
Long-Suffering
Dreamer
Pompous or Arrogant
Uptight
One-Track Mind
Zanni
The Villain
Servants of Darkness
The Trickster
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Chapter 14: Anthropomorphism
Centric on a Sliding Scale or How Anthro Does your Character Morph? or The Goofy/Pluto Conundrum
Bonus Material
Making Your Anthropomorphism Relevant
Creative Variations
Chapter 15: Putting Your Character Together
Physicality
History
Speech Patterns, Mannerisms, and Catchphrases
Skills and Ineptitudes
Likes and Dislikes
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Chapter 16: Comedy
The Drop
Drop in Expectation
Drop in Status
Drop in Normality
How to Use the Drop
Slipping on a Banana Skin
What Type of Drop Is This?
Does This Fall into More Than One Category of Drop?
Who Is Being Dropped in the Scene?
When the Drop Is Too Much
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Chapter 17: Comedic Situations : or What We Can Learn from Sitcoms
A Situation Comedy is a Comedic Situation
Bonus Material
Family in Sitcom
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Chapter 18: The Script
Directing on the Page
Bonus Material
Being Professional
Chapter 19: Dialogue Workshop
The Dialogue Exercises
Dialogue Workshop # 1: Getting Down the Basics
Objectives and Obstacles
Dialogue Workshop # 2: Character Motivation
Character
Dialogue Workshop # 3: Voice and Attitude
Bonus Material
Action
Bonus Material
Dialogue Workshop # 4: Keeping it Visual, Increasing the Action
Making it Brief
Dialogue Workshop # 5: Making it Brief
Summary
Chapter 20: Writing for an Existing Show
Length
Target Audience
Bonus Material
Type of Animation
Plotlines
Characters
Bonus Material
Bonus Material
Act Structure
Sets
Bonus Material
Set Pieces
How Important Is This Information?
Chapter 21: Writing for an Existing Show Case study
Bob’s Burgers
The Premise of the Show
Length
Animation Style
Why Is This Show Animated and Not Live Action?
Plotlines
Identifying the Main Protagonists of the Series
Bob Belcher (Male, 46) He is well-meaning, sensible with a sunny perspective but is always struggling to make ends meet. He is patient and kind but will lose his temper if anyone demeans or harasses him, chiefly Jimmy Pesto, owner of the nearby Jimmy Pest
Linda Belcher (Female, 45) Linda is Bob’s wife. She is enthusiastic and supports her husband ferociously in whatever he does. She is flamboyant and extrovert, talkative, and loves theater. Bob and Linda have a happy marriage. Although Linda does have a to
Louise Belcher (Female, 9) Louise always wears bunny ears, which could trick you into thinking she is sweet and innocent. In fact, Louise is aloof, cunning, and a bit of a trickster. She has a dark sense of humor and loves to create chaos. For example in
Gene Belcher (Male, 11) Gene is the middle child, and is Bob and Linda’s only boy. He loves music, can play countless instruments, and has written musicals. He is highly creative but has a short attention span and a gross sense of humor (his jokes normall
Tina Belcher (Female, 13) Tina is a hopeless romantic who is obsessed with boys, which is unfortunate since she has terrible social skills (a good comedic combination). Although she is obsessed with sex, this is mostly age appropriate, and the show does n
The Supporting Cast
The Locations and Sets
Set Pieces
1 Episode Titles Bob’s Burgers titles quite often pay homage to movie titles, songs, or well-known phrases with a slight twist. The episode we will be looking at shortly is called “The Ring (But Not Scary)”; other examples include the following:
2 The Opening Credits: The Store Next Door The opening credits always depicts Bob’s Burgers and the stores that are either side of it. We then see a FAST FORWARD MONTAGE that shows the history of Bob’s Burgers’ various catastrophic reopenings, via fallen
3 The Burger of the Day Another running gag in most Bob’s Burgers episodes is the “Burger of the Day” written on the chalkboard behind the counter. These use puns and wordplay and sometimes relate to the plot. The burger is always $5.95. Some examples are
4 Montages Bob’s Burgers uses montages quite a lot to summarize the action and compress time in the episode.
5 End Credits As the end credits play, the show usually finishes with a song that is unique to that episode.
The Ring (But Not Scary)
Plotlines
The A plot: The children have lost an engagement ring (that Bob was going to give Linda for their anniversary) at a water park. Their goal is to find the ring and save their mom and dad’s marriage.
The B plot: Linda is trying to apply eye drops to her psychotic sister, who has pink eye from letting her cat sleep on her face.
Act Structure
Set Pieces
Bob’s Burgers: A Summary
Chapter 22: Collaboration
Collaboration Means Cooperation and Concessions
Bonus Material: The One-Off Funny Idea
Listening
Diplomacy
Concessions
Bonus Material: It’s Not Your Fault.
Chapter 23: Creating the Short
Why Make a Short?
Bonus Material: Making an Independent Short
Finding the Right Tool
Create an Emotional Connection with the Character
Give Your Character a Goal
Thinky Time #14
Bonus Material
Short Film Case Study: “The Meaning of Life” by Don Hertzfeldt
Chapter 24: Breaking the Format
Case Study: Frozen (Central Character Inconsistency)
Central Character
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Case Study: Toy Story 3 (a Four-Act Structure)
Act One
Act Two
Act Three
Act Four
Coda
Don’t Try This at Home
Master the Fundamentals
Big Movies, Big Teams
Chapter 25: How to Launch Your Career
Bonus Material
Writing Episodic Television
Writing a Movie
Writers’ Groups
Networking
What to do While You’re Trying to Get Your Big Break
Chapter 26: Final Word
Appendix A: Script Format
Scene Headings
Action
Character
Dialogue
Parenthetical
The Beat
The Incomplete Sentence
Directing on the Page
Shots
Transitions
Effects
The Montage
Appendix B: Sample Script Bible
Film and TV Program References
Thinky Time Guide
Index