Due to the reasonable populairty of one of my creations i've decided to continue the story. But i'm having an awful time with that very first scene. I've got about 6 different ways to open it, some more dramatic then others. But to you eager aniamtors/directors out there what is the hardest part of the story. The bit you believe you struggle the most with.
Its the character's internal struggle. The thing that drives them and makes the story even possible. From there the story (for me) begins to write itself.
Ontiaous
Black Anvil Designs©
The hardest, and also the most fun part, to my mind is coming up with the whole structure. What to set up to advance the plot, when to resolve it to create new possibilities, and how to work the protagonists' characteristic reactions into it?
It is, of course, very important to know one's characters - but I think it's equally important to get to know them better and better during the story. I'm not too fond of episodic stories which begin with a "normal situation", then normality gets disrupted and the protagonists react to the disruptive elements with always the same "set" of "characteristic" actions etc. to "restore normality" - and in the next episode that formula is repeated. To my mind, heroes and heroines should react, adapt, develop and get plunged into situations that require new approaches and/or reveal new facets of their characters. Nature hates a vacuum, and so does storytelling.
Why not give all six a go, and see which one works out better for you? You have a lot of options, that's better than not having any ideas at all. Right now I am just struggling with focusing and coming up with any new ideas.
Pat Hacker, Visit Scooter's World.
Well it's the fact that all 6intros tell the story in a similar way. It just the way each opens changes the whole theme of the film.The film has a sort of dark Satire to it, not amusing but it's a film aimed at kids. Some start off with action, some start off with the effects of the action sequence, some tell the story to whats happened previosuly. But i've always enjoyed telling the back story of a character trhoughout the film. Adds more mystery.
is the hardest part for me. how to fill the inside,
how to bridge everything that vindicates
the ending, how to complicate things and
how to get out of it convincingly.
how to execute a character arc.
how not to be boring logically
nor be insignificantly entertaining
Don't worry. All shall be well.
i come up with lots and lots of jokes and quirks very easily.
it's coming up with an original story arc that i struggle with.
for me the quality of the story lies behind a scientific premise and/or point(s) (usually soical) that you are trying to convey as an artist and as a story teller. coming up with generic plot points and twists that are inherent of the genres you work with or that cross most genres are lame and overused, and i tend to mostly just want to mock them, but if you want attention and people to like your work you must use them, which sucks. but as a culture audiences like to expect what's coming and figure out story development. to make your story or characters dumb, or at least a solveable puzzle, in order to empower the audience and make them feel smart is always a safe way to go.
You took the words right out of my mouth.
I knew the beginning, key parts of the middle and the end. I needed to balance it, to put the key events in the right place (pace wise) in the story. I had to make sure I didn't contradict myself or leave threads hanging. I had to make it more complicated, because an A-B-C story sucks. I had three characters, each with their own story, and they had to interact.
The basics of the story was easy. Polishing was the hard part.
I am looking at Pascal's shorts, they are to me, good examples of a driven story line.
WOO I decided on my intro and wrote a script for it. I decided to make this short film which i might start animating soon or might not start for another 20years very visual. There is speech but it's more driven by peoples emotions, well for the intro anyway. I'm very happy with it so far, shame Peter Gabriel doesnt have any spare time, i could really do with his musical goodness to back it up.
funny...
my point of view is that plot sometimes comes in the way..
so.. i guess , i'd say that the hardest thing for me is to keep it simple, and let the character breathe!
they tend to develop the story on their own if they're facing the right challenges,choices...
but, then again, that's just my take.
research my friend. pick the ones you like and discuss them with the target audience maybe or just people around and get casual feedback. usually gives you plenty of info to pick and choose.
you are lucky you dont have 6 endings :)
Story doesn't matter if the animation quality does not surpass Bambi.
I think the hardest part of writing a story is coming up with a good ending. Sometimes it's difficult to come up with something clever and unpredictable that won't lose its relevence to the rest of the story.
I have found, on the web, that there is a writer who is pushing something called the 9 act script. I have lost all of my web address but someone should beable to find his web site. From what he has said, his approach is emerging as THE way to write scripts.