Animation

Wow! That's incredible, Mike Boas! I can't wait to see Wildwood! I want to write a stop motion script. Maybe a one-page script and produce it myself. And maybe write a feature script to pitch.

Thanks for sharing Mike Boas . This was cool to watch. As someone who has done stop motion once or twice (novice on a good day). I'm always blown away with how much goes into stop motion. 9,000 individual feathers by hand is INSANE, but I love to see the passion and care that goes into stop motion.

I was a big Goosebumps fan growing up, Ashley Renee Smith! I like the Goosebumps and Fear Street movies. I think this is my first time hearing about Stinetinglers. I'm looking forward watching to series!

I think Horror and suspense translate well into animation, but I think they translate better into live action. I'm not scared of animated Horror and suspenseful animated stories.

As a fan of Goosebumps myself, this is super exciting! Animation feels like a perfect fit for Stine’s world — it allows for exaggeration and creative visuals that live action can’t always achieve, while still keeping that spooky, suspenseful vibe.

That said, nothing beats the tension of live action for a jump scare, but animation can bring a whole new layer of imaginative horror that might appeal to both nostalgic fans and a new generation. Definitely curious to see how Stinetinglers balances the chills with its animated style!

Maurice Vaughan, I completely get what you mean about horror and suspense feeling more intense in live action. There’s something about seeing human emotion, movement, and lighting that makes the tension hit differently.

That said, I think animation opens the door to a different kind of fear, the surreal and psychological kind. The horror isn’t always in realism, but in atmosphere and imagination. It’s why projects like Coraline or Attack on Titan manage to be so unsettling even without blood or realism.

That’s such a great perspective, Cyrus Sales, and I completely agree. Animation gives creators so much freedom to play with tone, color, and visual exaggeration in a way that perfectly suits R.L. Stine’s style of storytelling. It can heighten the “fun fear” factor without losing that eerie edge his stories are known for.

That was fun to watch, Pat Alexander. Thanks for sharing the video! I didn't know hidden VFX was a thing. I got an idea for an animated script while watching the video.

Hey Pat Alexander have you tried posting this in the Post-Production Lounge as well? I was considering moving it over there — I can see why it fits in Animation, but it might also get some good engagement in Post-Production. Just a thought!

Most people associate VFX with "spectacle" rather than "fix-in-post", so this is a great video showing the reality of VFX work.

Great, Tiffany Gatto. I'm about to check out your logline.

@Tiffany Gatto Right now the industry is stagnant in greenlighting kids content unless it is based on an IP. It's even more stagnant on greenlighting educational material, I'd suggest cr3ating it as an IP like a book or learning app series.

You can pitch them to producers on Stage32 or go to Kidscreen.Summit if you can afford it. There is also AFM.

thank you Bob and Kevin for the info. I will definitely do the research here :) Best, Tiffany

Kevin Jackson - insightful. I'm going to look into pitching here on stage 32.

I've heard about The Great North, Kevin Jackson. It's on my watch list. Hulu has it.

I think I’m more familiar with the art style than the animation itself. Personally, I’ve never heard of it either, but five seasons definitely makes me think it must be worth checking out!

Kevin Jackson thank you! We do traditional animation (hand drawn). I'm definitely going to implement Disney's early techniques with our junior animators. Is there anything you provide in pre-production to assist with line sharpness? This tends to be the biggest challenge, consistency with lines.

Jackie Tarascio You answered my questions lol. Thank you. You mind expanding on the squence and character leads? Are those specific roles to fill throughout the process? Thank you again for your insight and feedback.

Kevin Jackson Going to share this link with our team. Thank you!

Cyrus Sales I've been directing for quite a while, so it is basically instinct and communication with the team —no forms or guidelines—just knowledge and experience to draw from.

Cyrus Sales Here is another video that might give perspective. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DdUA_DeDaNY

That's a very good question. In an ideal world I would outsource everything. By ideal, I mean very good people, excellent communication.

Many years ago we were working on the VFX for Romeo and Juliet. The director was at skywalker ranch, we were Australia. We developed a system to send shots and then have two way control of the images and communication. Obviously, the tech has improved vastly since then. It should be possible to set it up like a in house team. Access to each computer, easy communication with individuals and the team. Easy briefing and followup. Access to the team for problems with my workflow and setup. A properly structured file system accessible to all. Transparent billing. etc.

Chris Schwarze, interesting, is this similar to Shotgun/ShotGrid/Flow/... and ftrack?

I haven't used any of those, we always used custom spreadsheets in house. My sense is that while you may adapt them depending on the project, a more immediate easy to adopt system would be the starting point (and finishing) for a lot of projects. (Maybe they are easier to use than my initial impression.)

But please make sure you have a structured file system. Losing elements, not using the latest revision, overwriting files being used elsewhere...

My studio is using Shotgun (the name changes every year since the Autodesk acquisition), which has a bit of a learning threshold, but is customizable to do whatever you want, and has a decent Python API. ftrack is very easy and intuitive to use, but not quite as flexible.

We always had to adapt to the production if we were a contract VFX house, so for a large project they sometimes determined the workflow.

We worked on our own project development with our in-house editors, VFX animation, colour grading, sound design. As it was all in-house we were able to use the workflow I mentioned above. On a few occasions since I didn't have my team, I used unknown to me outside people, with very average results. A studio in India, a 3D modeller in Morrocco. I found both via Freelancer if memory serves. Both recommended by the host. I was unable to readily track process and was at the mercy of the website service and reassurances by the remote team. Not a viable way to work. On the other hand, I have used people I knew and trusted remotely and that worked fine.

Thanks Laurie Ashbourne this was very helpful.

Kevin Jackson great question, this is all new to me. What exactly do you mean by animation markets? Never heard of this before.

What is Kidscreen, MIP Jr, Annecy? Learning something new here.

Cyrus Sales an animation market is similar to a film market like American Film Market, MIPCOM, Durban Filmmart, Berlinale etc. It's a convention where buyers and seller meet. So, picture filmmakers, sales agents, distributors etc. are all in one space, looking to negotiate.

Kevin Jackson thanks for clarifying. Learn something new literally every day in this industry.

That's great, Kevin Jackson! I heard of Mighty Mouse and Friends growing up. I'm looking forward to seeing Inspector Gadget, Baby Looney Tunes, Casper and Company, The Tom and Jerry Show, The Woody Woodpecker Show, and Popeye and Pals again!

the thunder cats and heman love the classics popeye so many to write down

I’m really excited to hear the classics are coming back! This has been a big topic of discussion within the animation community, especially since so many older cartoons haven’t been easily accessible on streaming platforms. I’m especially excited to be a kid again and rewatch some of the classics on Sunday mornings with a bowl of cereal. It’s great to see these beloved shows getting a chance to reach both longtime fans and a whole new generation of viewers.

I don't think I've seen that show, Kevin Jackson, but I'm looking forward to watching the new special!

Maurice Vaughan If you ever get a chance, check it out. Classic Jim Henson animatronics. Sparked the childhood imagination back in the 80's.

Kevin Jackson it's too early in the week to be getting emotional about my childhood lol. Thanks for sharing! Always nice to take a walk down memory lane.

You're welcome, G.R. Barnett.

Maurice Vaughan is the ghost an actual roach? The animation is a short, micro? animation. Something to go on social media, nothing too complex or crazy. We are focusing on more short form content for social media.

G.R. Barnett congrats on finishing the pilot for your animation series. Funding is always an interesting ride, I've been doing research this year into funding, pitching, etc. Sorry to hear about the hotel internet. Hopefully it all gets resolved. What is your series about?

Yeah, the ghost is an actual roach, Cyrus Sales. Ghost Roach is a micro-budget live-action short script right now. I was gonna turn it into an adult animated series, but I might keep pitching it as a short script or turn it into a feature script (live-action or animated).

Looking forward to seeing the Thanksgiving animation!

Maurice Vaughan a lot of different options to choose from, I look forward to future update on how things go with your animation. Absolutely, once it goes live on social I'm going to share it here as well.