I know for plays it's important for the actors to KNOW their lines. I'm working on a script for a cartoon but what I'm curious is so I leave some room for improvisation on dialogue and even for the artists and animators? I know some cartoons have a bit of improv involved in dialogue but how much? And what about with actually drawing scenes and animating characters?
I think perhaps you don't understand how cartoons work. A voice actor speaks the character's lines. I have several lined up through connections with local radio stations but what I'm asking is should they have room to improvise on some dialogue. I've never done this and am curious if anyone knows more than me on voice acting for cartoons
It depends what you're writing. If you are writing a spec script for an existing show, then each show has a very specific format for them. If it is a pilot of your own creation, then you are setting the standards -- but best not to be too creative, because anyone interested in producing a script will expect proper formatting etc. With most screenplays/teleplays you don't give any sort of camera shot/direction unless it is crucial for the development of the plot. With animated shows, however, you are allowed the liberty of throwing in cues to the animators on how a shot should be drawn. (Sometimes simply by putting in "Animators note: Put their direction here.") As far as dialogue goes, don't simply tell them to AD LIB or IMPROVISE unless it is truly something generic, like: "The crowd all Ad Lib OOOH and AHHH." For the serious dialogue, work it and fine tune it until it is perfect. Once you actually have a job in Hollywood as a staff writer you can get away with having an entire character's words be ad libbed by the actor. But that's once you've made it, and probably after talking it over with the rest of the staff and showrunners. The Simpsons did that on an episode where Al Brooks ad libbed heavy parts of his characters speech. Don't rely on that though. If you need more help, I suggest you check out a book called "Television Writing From the Inside Out" by Larry Brody. Cheers, brotha.
screenplays for animated films/tv shows are written and formatted the same way as live action ones... you need to study scripts of actual shows/movies... i see no good reason for anything like 'animators note:' with direction given therein... animated films/tv shows have directors, just as their live action counterparts do, so the director will follow the info you give in the action/description element of the script and add his/her own touches in the director's and shooting script, as is normally done... are you producing this yourself and will you be doing all of the drawing?... or is this a spec script you hope to sell?
Won't be producing but might be looking into animation studios that could be hired to do it. Something I could maybe even pitch them and if they think it's good enough make some kind I'd deal on. But thanks that's more info than I've found. Usually when I've been looking into it I just see scripts bit much detail on how it's done usually.
...unless you're independently wealthy, i don't see how you could afford to have it professionally animated... ... is it a short, or full length feature?... for tv, or film?... ...without an agent or a good track record as a screenwriter, i seriously doubt any animation studio will even look at your script, much less be interested in buying or optioning it... studio legal departments generally don't allow unagented/unsolicitedscripts from new and unknown writers to even be opened... ...you could query agents and studios, but don't be surprised if you get no takers... miracles do happen, but very rarely... if you want to know whether your script is ready to be submitted, i'll be glad to take a look at it... i've mentored countless aspiring screenwriters, so email me, if i can help... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com hugs, m
