Animation

That's the plan! Hope you are having a wonderful start to the New Year Sydney S.

I just signed up for this :O

Hi there, just had the first class this morning and it was a great energy, I'm excited for the rest. Evan mentioned giving us some handouts/examples of pitch decks. Is there a repository somewhere or should i expect an email? cheers :)

Hi James Lagrimas! Is this the location of the lounge or is there a separate link for that?

Tim Rancie I was in his last class, and he sends out emails in a day or two.

Yes I did my first last month and it was pretty useful, just have two things in mind that I was told and really helped: 1- have clear stakes, not abstract or simbolical, something that will literally destroy not only the status quo but the life of the main characters and 2- Make the producer feel the movie in their head, if they can read it and see the movie or series in their minds, like imagining scenarios and all of that, you've got it. I will try a second time soon, but for now that's what I learned from my last interaction, though I'm not sure yet if the producer or agent taking the pitch will actually do something with it, it's a good experience to enhace your creative intents with a story. Good luck!

Hi, Jerome Shaw. Stage 32 has two written pitch examples (one for a show and the other for a movie). Stage 32 also has a verbal TV pitch beat sheet and a verbal feature pitch beat sheet. You can get them by emailing success@stage32.com.

Here's three Lounge posts with pitch advice:

www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Pitch-Advice

www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Pitching-44

www.stage32.com/lounge/screenwriting/Why-Pitching-Matters-And-How-to-Mak...

The Pitch Practice in the Writers’ Room is the best pitching resource in my opinion. Pitch Practice is every Thursday night at 5:30 P.M. PST/8:30 P.M. EST. You can sit in and listen to members practice their projects and give them feedback. You can pitch your project too, but you have to sign up. The hosts, Noel Thompson and John Mezes, take names during Pitch Practice for people to pitch the following week. You have to sit in and listen at the practice one or two times before you can pitch. You can sign up for your first month free here: www.stage32.com/writers-room/plans-vip

The Pitch Tank in the Writers’ Room is an incredible pitching resource too. The Pitch Tank is where you pitch your script to an executive and get feedback. The Pitch Tank is once a month.

Stage 32 has a free webinar called "How to Write a 2 Page Pitch for Your Television Series" (www.stage32.com/education/products/free-stage-32-webinar-how-to-write-at...).

Stage 32 has a free webinar called "How to Create a 2 Page Pitch For Your Feature Film" (www.stage32.com/education/products/how-to-create-a-2-page-pitch-for-your...).

Stage 32 also has a free pitch webinar: www.stage32.com/education/products/pitching-tips-from-the-pros-your-blue...

Maurice Vaughan Thanks so much, That genuinely made my day.

It was a long road getting this made, so reactions like this really matter.

Hope you enjoy it when you get the chance to watch.

You're welcome, Serhan Yorganci. I tried to look up Square Heads on Apple TV through the Amazon Prime Video app, but I couldn't find it. Do I need to watch it on the Apple TV app?

Congratulations on getting your movie intro a platform, that must be awesome haha, I can't really give You advice since I've never recieved coverage for a movie, only scripts and something that I've learned is that everyone react different to a piece of media, that's why I usually take the advice that seems more objective or structure driven more that the subjective one, like pacing, structure, maybe dialogue, but again, I'm just a random still haha. Good luck with your projects and enjoy this victory.

Alex Olguin Thank you, I really appreciate that. You’re absolutely right, everyone responds differently, so I also try to focus on the more objective, structure-driven feedback. Thanks again for the kind words, it means a lot.

Serhan Yorganci Congrats on getting your film on Apple and for the coverage at AWN. In the past, the coverage I have received has given the project and me legitimacy within the industry. I used it as you are using it now, as conversation starters on your other platforms, like Stage 32, LinkedIn, and Facebook. I don't know that trade coverage leads to sales, but it never hurts to be exposed to more viewers, wherever that may be.

Indeed it is Maurice Vaughan, I might rewatch it soon. It aged incredibly well.

I just added Paranoia Agent to my watch list, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh. Thanks. I'm looking forward to checking it out!

Good stuff Maurice Vaughan, I think you'll enjoy it. Let me know what you think!

Ok, I will, Banafsheh Esmailzadeh.

That was pretty surreal. I like surrealism it has this odd aura.

That's a really cool music video. New genre to me, but I'll have to check it out more.

Isn’t it just, Michael Dzurak? I remember AMVs were more of a thing in the early 2000s and they were pretty simple compared to this. I can only imagine how long this one took to put together.

Maurice Vaughan I would also add backup. Place on a physical hard drive but always backup to the cloud. Keep me posted on how it goes.

Charmane Wedderburn of course! Hope it helps you in your journey!

Great idea, Cyrus Sales! Thanks. I'll keep you posted.

Thank you, Cyrus — I really appreciate that.

It’s probably a lot of things, but one that I definitely feel like I need more of is focus. There’s so much I wanna do but my focus is not boundless ^^;

Using a reference is an incredible idea, Ashley Renee Smith! I'll keep it in mind when I start another animated script. Thanks for the idea and sharing the video!

Great post Ashley Renee Smith referencing is EXTREMELY important and often EXTREMELY overlooked. I fall guilty to it sometimes myself. Thank you for posting this as a critical reminder. I was animating a character dancing last night and it was just not working out and then I started to mimic the dance in the mirror and immediately saw what I was doing wrong. So, I am going to record myself later tonight when I get home from teaching and then use my recording as reference.

Ashley Renee Smith Personally, I use intuition most of the time, since my animation isn't meant to mimic realistic or natural movement. If I do reference something, it would be similar cartoons that also do not follow realistic movement.

Because, I'm doing bipedal anthropomorphic animal adult animations that it will never join the ranks of "Family Guy" or "The Simpsons" or even "South Park" as typical cynical, satirical, gory, and brutal humor about depression or anxiety or when characters is already feeling sad while others already laughing at them.

I'm not being arrogant or trying to destroy adult animations. I'm creating a "New" type of adult animation. The one it makes you feel happy instead of being bitter, feeling bright, and making decisions better and the jokes will be fresh and safer for anyone who can't handle the negative aspects of adult animations.

I am going to make it better when I'm going to add cussing and adult content, that's fine. I will not allowed to add mocking genres and creating stupid parodies that makes zero sense or makes fun of someone else's personality for no apparent reason at all or can't handle too much violence like cutting out blood or anything disgusting or even watching characters being passive and malleable jerks who makes fun on hopeful ones or their body parts and looks is just too much negative.

You don't understand the "Why Animation" part, Mike Boas. I'm destroying the typical barriers that everybody and I mean "Everybody" are fed up with seeing satirical, dark humor, gore violence, and cynicism. I'm not creating live-action comedies that it's positive tone. I'm creating a positive tone on adult animations that makes you feel relaxed and happy. This "IS " animation. I'm sorry if it didn't answer your question, but that's just how I speak or reply.

Chase Carmichael I really respect your vision and the conviction behind it. Creating adult animation with a positive tone without leaning on cynicism, satire, or excessive negativity is a bold approach, and it’s clear you’ve thought deeply about how to balance humor, cussing, and genre while keeping it uplifting. That kind of focus and resilience is exactly what drives innovation in animation.

Breaking conventions in adult animation isn’t easy, but having a unique perspective like yours can definitely open new doors and shift how audiences perceive the medium. Even if there’s pushback, staying committed to your voice and continuing to refine your concepts will speak volumes. Looking forward to seeing your ideas take shape.

I don't know how my post did not get posted but here I go again. I think this is a bold and clever choice. More and more people are looking for wholesome content that does not conflict with their morals and can still give them a humour jolt. I think you are doing the right thing, and you will stand out as a result. We need alternatives like this and it's definitely something I have been thinking about again.

Good on you for your conviction and vision on how you want to storytell in animation. Given how large the aspirational and inspirational market is, I think your stories will find a home!

Chase Carmichael There are plenty of anime that are for a mature audience that aren't focused on gore, sex, and cussing. You don't need to destroy any other genre or trope to create your vision.

But as far as everybody being fed up with seeing satirical dark humor, gore, violence, and cynicism, I would disagree. There is a reason why many of those shows have high ratings. As a satirist, it isn't my job or goal to be nice about what I am satirizing. But it's not everyone's cup of tea, and thankfully, there is plenty of room for all sorts of visions and voices.

Good luck with your mission!

Hi, Ernest Tabi. From what I've heard over the years, studios like to develop animated scripts in-house.

Stage 32 has a webinar called "Animation Business 101." www.stage32.com/education/products/animation-business-101

Screenwriting contests can get your project in front of agents and other industry professionals. Stage 32 is the Global Screenwriting Contest Hub (www.stage32.com/scriptservices/contests).

Ernest Tabi Absolutely, what you’re outlining is spot on. Writing is just one piece of the puzzle; studios really do look for creators who bring a clear voice, understand the production process, and can collaborate consistently. Building a solid portfolio, nurturing relationships, and showing persistence are all key.

It sounds like you’re approaching this the right way, developing your own original work while seeking the right studio fit. That combination of initiative and awareness will set you apart. Keep sharing your work, learning the ins and outs of production, and connecting with people in the industry. Opportunities often come from both skill and trust built over time. Would love to hear more about the projects you’re developing!

This is actually perfect timing for this post, as we are developing a webinar to talk about the current state of the market of animation (so much has changed!) and how to break in. Keep an eye on our webinars, as we will be posting it within the next couple of weeks! www.stage32.com/webinars.

Would building a pitch package a with concept art, documents with character profiles and even animatics would help? I'm asking because I have multiple ideas and I want to build strong pitch packages for each proyect. In fact I have on ready.

Ernest Tabi spot-on observations! What are you working on now?

Banafsheh Esmailzadeh Ghibli has a way of making food look unbelievably real and delicious. Honestly, I think I’d go with the ramen from Ponyo. The way it’s steaming and loaded with toppings just makes my mouth water. Kiki’s breakfast plate is a close second though.

I just went down the rabbit hole...it's impossible to chose! lol -- https://www.instagram.com/studio_ghibli_food/?hl=en

Jeff Aiuto, I am not an advocate for using A.I., but the "correct" approach would be to train your own model with a consistent set of material. Or you could try something like this that have a "style" option: https://perchance.org/ai-text-to-image-generator (though, there is no guarantee that this tool used non-copyrighted material for training, so use with caution).

I am not a huge AI fan myself, but AI has come closest to what I want to do. I have had these scripts written for years and I wanted to see if I could put something together myself that would bring the story to life. I did everything myself and learning from mistakes is key. I am about to begin a couple new episodes but am contemplating on what to use and how to do it next. One step at a time I guess :).

There are some easy to use tools from Reallusion like Cartoon Animator and iClone.

I have never heard of those. I book marked them and will research them. Thanks!

From your Bio page, you've been working on this idea since you were a kid. It's interesting to see how you've been trying different methods to bring it to life, first with the puppet, now with AI tools. As a proof-of-concept to show that these tools can be used to create 12-13 minutes of footage, it's a success. From a Project Manager standpoint, it proves out a workflow. From the storytelling perspective, well... it demonstrates some of the limitations of these tools at the present time. It's a little jarring that the narrator (does he have a name?) is animated in a different style than EJ, or rather, it's not clear if that difference is intentional, and if so, what you intend with it. Stuff like eyelines (who is this character looking at? who is he talking to?) and reactions of characters to other characters feel a little...floaty in this version, which hurts the setups and payoffs for the jokes. I guess the upside is that the tools let you iterate quickly to really hone in on the rises and falls and beats of each scene.

Laurie, beautifully said. Animation really is where writing becomes a living, breathing collaboration — the page evolving through boards, performance, rhythm, and emotion.

Roger Allers’ ability to pitch story as energy and joy is such an enduring lesson for writers — not just in animation, but in how we communicate story at every stage. Thank you for sharing both the craft insight and the human story behind it.

Thanks for sharing the info and video, Laurie Ashbourne! "In fact, the screenwriter often has to REWRITE the pages based on what the story artist creates- dialogue and all." I didn't know that. That's great to know as an animation screenwriter!

I think this is my first time seeing a story meeting for an animated film. Roger made the meeting feel so alive and fun! That's perfect for pitching some animation projects and live-action projects too.