How to Produce a Hit 3D Animated Feature
Copy from HenningK
A friendly guide
First of all, take a deep breath and relax! It's not as hard as you think. Chances are, if its 3D and animated, it will be a real blockbuster without much else going for it. All you need to do... is get it done! You see, the 3D animated feature is not like other genres: its charmed, and its hold on the audience will never ever go away. No matter how much we overuse the form, kiddies and adults will always be enchanted because computer animation is the greatest thing ever to happen to film ever. Far from a mere novelty (as some hopeless film conservatives have called it), the technology of computer animation has opened up a cinematic universe of LIMITLESS imagination.Now, to ensure that your 3D animated feature is as lucrative as it is creative, here is a list of guidelines to work within. By following these guideslines, you'll keep yourself safely tethered to the tried and true orbit of mass public appeal. The last thing you want is to get lost in space!
1. Animals
First and most importantly, do not attempt a movie about human characters for 5 reasons.a) this is computer animation, and people are not going to pay to see people running into things, saying funny phrases, and learning life lessons. They want to see animals doing it.b) human motion and emotion is really, really hard to animate right.c) that one movie, Final Fantasy, tried it and bombed.d) the Japanese are way, way better at it than us anyway.e) when you anthropomorphise an animal you turn the animal's world into a endless wellspring of sight gags. Just move the camera around a bit and you'll see a plethora of amusing objects that are recognizably human, but charmingly "animalized" (and therefore funny).
2. Pop culture
3D computer animation is a fresh new technology. People want the scriptwriting to be new and fresh too. Characters randomly spouting palatable street lingo and irresistably repeatable bytes of popular jargon will help inject your animated feature with a much-needed sense of hipness and vitality. Timely references to pop-cultural phenomena will make it seem like you wrote the script just last week! Remember: an organic, well-executed spoof of the Matrix is a key part of any computer animated feature.
3. Characters
Every animated movie needs an attractive cast of well-designed and colorful characters. They should be as nice to look at on a big screen as they are on a soft-drink cup.In terms of personality, each main character should be as generic as possible so that kids can easily relate to them. But be sure to make them seem more interesting by layering on one or two superficial eccentricities. These "personality quirks" can be as simple as a phrase the character likes to say often, or as complex as a food the character likes to eat often.The large cast of secondary, or supporting characters should also be very simple. Instead of personalities, each character should have one "thing" that they keep doing for the entire movie. Then, if the character suddenly does something else, it signals a turning point for everyone and the emotional climax of the movie.If you have a funny idea but it doesn't seem to fit, introducing a throwaway character for the purpose of one gag may be just what the doctor ordered. You never know: often the character with the least screentime ends up being the most popular of the whole show!
4. Dialogue
It is important not to confuse your audience of mostly children with verbose expository speeches or complex psychological exchanges. If your script includes either of these, consider rewriting. Keep dramatic scenes short and light: if you can't find a well-worn new-age buzz-phrase or pop-song that expresses how the character is feeling, chances are his feelings are not worth the trouble of expressing. You may feel stuck, trapped by the words you are incapable of writing. To get out of situations like these, a maudlin, teary-eyed gaze at a point just beyond the camera accompanied by a swell of music will usually do the trick. If one of your characters is a black-talking female, limit her vocabulary to these two phrases. "You go, girl!" and "Oh no you didnt!" If a black-talking male: "You the (relevant animal), baby!" and "Hey! Gimme some (relevant animal's high-fiving appendage)!"
5. Animation
Character animation should be as jerky and manic as can be achieved. Constant motion of the entire body is key if you want to convince the audience that these digital puppets are actually alive. Over-animating is like over-acting: it just can't be done!
6. Celebrity
Make sure your stable of voice talent has a few prize studs and phillies in it. This will attract the crowds and very many of them are talented as well. Robin Williams is top of the heap, a sure-fire winner in the male comedic lead. Movies have been made without him, but I wouldn't want to try it. For a child in the lead you'll want Dakota Fanning. For your black-talking animal, get either Eddie Murphy, Cedric the Entertainer, or Snoop Dogg. The female characters usually don't have to display any range, dimension, or comedic timing, so any lady celebrity will do. Also, make sure the pop music scene is represented by at least one arbitrary teen idol.
7. Adult Humor
Remember to include some gags for adults only so that the critics will say your movie is "fun for the whole family." There are only two suggested topics for adult humor in a kids' movie, and they are a) Double entendres and other far-removed references to sex and the male sex organ (but never the female, because this is not funny) b) Conspicuous references to famous scenes from other movies. Adults love this because it makes them feel culturally superior to children, who have not seen the movie in question. Usually the laughs are most uproarious when the adult is least familiar with the original material and when the reference is least warranted.
8. The Fart Joke
Kids love their butts and everything that comes out of them. Poo is going too far though. The fart joke (by which I mean one of the characters farts audibly and another calls it "nasty" while waving a hand in front of his nose) should only be executed by a "nasty" supporting character... ideally a pig or skunk. Perhaps the character has been unpopular up until this point in the movie, but now the power of his farting (or some other personal hygeine or glandular problem) ironically saves the day somehow. This makes it seem like even unpopular kids have a purpose.
9. Love
Two of the characters should fall spontaneously in love. To make it more of a surprise which two, make sure you lay the ironic groundwork. If the character is female, she should be kind of an uptight feminist caricature at the beginning. Love will then come along and completely mellow her out. If the character is male, he should have a really immature attitude about love at the beginning, and then the female will come along and teach him what its all about.
10. Tidy Conclusion
All loose ends should be tied up quickly as possible in the last scene of the movie. Usually this is accomplished by fading out, fading back in, and having a main character stroll merrily past all the supporting characters (sometimes in one shot) saying one last "What's up?" and verifying that they are all indeed... happy. The characters that have fallen in love should now be surrounded by a brood of babies: the father should look beaten and tired, but resigned to his fate.The movie should end on a zinger that is also a callback to something in the first few scenes that also hints at the main characters having exactly the same adventure all over again. The end of the movie should be like the "end" of a circle: it should say "Everything's changed, but really its just the same. Forever." And in the sequel, it will be!
Congratulations! Reading these guidelines has qualified you in 7 states to produce a 3D animated feature. Be sure to make note of it on your resume. Of course, these are only guidelines: they were made to be used, abused, subverted, and outright ignored. Your own imagination is the true guide. But be careful too: you should know that originality is a siren-song, luring would-be producers away from the safe waters of mediocrity and into the turbulent sea of smashing success and crushing failure. Yes, the technology of computer animation has opened up an endless ocean of new ideas, but after 10 years of exploring, we have pretty much established and codified all the good ones. I sincerely hope this helps. Good luck!
