005 - The Writing Process

I really wanted this project to have a solid foundation. A central idea or concept that would underpin all subsequent decisions and design choices. It should be a cohesive and 'complete' piece of work.



I therefore sought to write a screenplay-style script as though I was writing a piece for film. My thinking was that if I'm going to be creating a short film animation then I may as well get involved in the whole process from start to finish. To be the 3D Modeler, Animator, Director, Producer, Mo-Cap Choreographer etc. but also the Writer.

So I spent some time researching the conventions of writing for film. Reading over numerous guides, looking into character and plot development. I read some full-length film scripts (including one from my favorite film, Quentin Tarentino's Kill Bill Vol.1) to try and learn this whole new style of writing for the screen.

It really is a different style of writing. I'm used to creative writing in the form of essays and short stories. Even academic writing. But writing for the screen is a different beast entirely. You literally write what you want the view to see on the screen, at any given moment, no more, no less. At first I found it strange but then found it unusually liberating. It forced me to think about my project in different way. You can't write how a character feels, for example, but you can allude to how they feel by changing what we see on screen. It's that good advice 'Show, Don't Tell', but in a more literal sense. It also leaves the final work more open to interpretation.

I know my final written output from this exercise was only three pages long and definitely wont be winning any Oscars but the process itself brought out so many ideas.

The resulting script was then used to directly inform the story boarding part of this project. Some ideas have changed or had to be cut from the original scripting phase which I'm fine with. A project like this naturally evolves over time.

To be honest I probably spent far too much time on the writing. Having said that I know that there are ideas existing in this project that would not exist if it were not for me going through this deep and rigorous process. I'm glad I did it and would stress the importance of spending time with words.