Why are so many film ideas so hard to develop? We struggle and struggle, twisting the material this way and that, trying to bring it to life, all to no avail. So why do these ideas just lie there? Something essential seems to be lacking, but what?

The missing ingredient is often a simple but surprisingly powerful one: analogy. When an idea is supported by a strong analogy it's so full of life it seems to leap off the page. Not only that, but, guided by the analogy, such ideas are easier to develop.

In this series of articles we will look at the special role analogy plays in animation: how it works with the principles of animation writing; how it supports character and plot; how it helps to focus every element of the film toward communicating an idea. We will also examine how analogies are created and try our hand at creating some ourselves.

You walk into an art gallery and find yourself confronted with two wall hangings. One is an unframed metal grid rendered in gray and black. Behind it is the artist’s dissertation about the meaning of the piece: something about the risk of pretentiousness in modern art. The second is an almost identical grid set roughly in an ornate gold frame. Upon closer examination, you realize that the frame has just been propped there temporarily and what you are inspecting so carefully is a heating duct. Strangely you still find this second “piece” more compelling than the first.

What just happened here? The idea behind the first piece, as explained in the dissertation, is interesting enough, so why does the second one seem more engaging? Silly as it is, the framed heating duct actually communicates a pretty complex idea about the nature of art in the modern world, about context and function and relative value. In other words, it inadvertently deals with the same subject matter as the official piece of art.

So the difference between the two is not what is being communicated but how the communication is being achieved. The first piece tells you its message through its dissertation. Would you have understood what it was about without the written explanation? Maybe, but maybe not. The second piece communicates on its own terms, without any additional information. In essence, it shows you the information.

So show me, don’t tell me. This is an expression we use a lot in animation. The “show me” approach uses such elements as contrast, action and indirect language to communicate in a manner that engages our senses and involves both thinking and feeling. As such, it is a very powerful form of communication.

Any one of the above elements is a discussion in its own right. Such discussions often focus on performance. However, there is another element in the “show me” vocabulary that not only enhances performance but, more importantly, can be used to build the platform which will support that performance. Tucked away under the surface of much successful art and storytelling, we discover the foundation of the “show me” approach in the form of a seemingly simple tool: analogy.