SYLLABUS CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR TV ANIMATION INSTRUCTOR: PETER HANNAN PHOENIX COLLEGE, SPRING 2016 NOTE This syllabus is a living document and subject to change. COURSE OVERVIEW AND APPROACH This is an integrated lecture/lab course. There are no traditional exams, just exercises, projects, pitches, and writing assignments. It is designed to be a combination of fun and hard work. Through an extensive use of journals/sketchbooks, students will learn to honor the brainstorm, the doodle, and the unfiltered mind, as a way of developing ideas and properties for TV animation in particular, but more generally for publishing, film, and all sorts of media. The goal is to create unique and engaging characters and the worlds they inhabit, and to develop stories that are not generic, but instead, particular to those characters. The most important thing for you to bring to class is you. Lots of people can draw and write and come up with ideas, but no one else is you. Your background, interests, strengths, weaknesses, and sense of humor add up to a unique point of view. The aim here is for each student to produce work that literally no one else is capable of producing. MATERIALS Basically anything you need to draw and write in sketchbooks and create pitch materials. What each student needs and wants may vary and evolve as the course progresses. REQUIRED FOR DRAWING AND WRITING: Sketchbook(s) dedicated exclusively to this course. The kind of sketchbook is up to you, but don't use one that will wrinkle or fall apart if you splash a little watercolor on it or that will tear under the weight of taped or glued-in paper. 8.5” x 11” is a good size because it’s not too small, but most scanners can accommodate it. You may go through more than one. If you do, your grade will probably be higher than it otherwise would have been. REQUIRED: Drawing utensils, pencils (2Bs or softer are good, but it’s up to you. Don’t use anything too hard, because you need to make dark marks), a good eraser (white Staedtler Mars Plastic, gum, etc), a sharpener, and any/all of the following: pens, markers, colored pencils, pen/ink, watercolor, etc. REQUIRED: laptop with Final Draft and/or Microsoft Word (depending on availability of Final Draft for students, Word may be acceptable for everything). CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 VERY USEFUL, BUT OPTIONAL: Digital tools. Pitch materials should be as professional as possible. Students may or may not be versed in graphic design, scanning, Photoshop, InDesign, Quark Xpress, or other word-image programs. For this reason, when working in groups, PH will attempt to help students form teams that are well balanced, with individuals who complement each other in terms of talents and skills. That said, this is not a graphic design class and good pitch materials can be created using only Microsoft Word and Powerpoint. Access to a scanner and basic Photoshop and other design program skills are helpful, but not absolutely necessary. In addition to the sketchbook work, if you’d like to also draw or paint on Wacom tablet, iPad, or other electronic devices, that’s great. If you have Photoshop or other helpful programs on your laptop, you can use during class in addition to required traditional tools. COLLABORATION Some assignments will be of a collaborative nature and some solo. A collaborative spirit is expected at all times. DELIVERY OF MATERIAL In addition to delivering and presenting assignments and materials in class, all pitches, team pitches, and sketchbook work must be emailed to PH as they are due. STUDENTS IN THIS CLASS AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING: This class will expose me to work that has been created by others, including ideas, artwork, and texts that are not the property of myself or Arizona State University. I promise not to reproduce these materials in any manner except for my own personal use for this class; I promise not to represent these works as my own, or represent that I have any legal relationship with the property or the individuals who are the legal owners of the property. Any classwork or material I generate in relation to these works will only be used in conjunction with this class, or as samples of my own writing in support of my own professional development. INSTRUCTIONAL GOALS Students will demonstrate basic ability to generate their own ideas for animated and other creative properties and expand them into pitches or proposals. ATTENDANCE A lot of the work in this class involves in-class exercises, projects, and activities that will be done individually or in small groups. Therefore, attendance is essential. Students with CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 2 two unexcused absences will lose 1/2 of a grade level; students with four absences will lose at least one full grade; students with more than four absences may fail the class. Tardiness is marked if you are 10 minutes (or more) late. Three tardies constitute an absence. A student who leaves class early without PH’s permission will be marked absent for the whole class. Students are required to sign themselves in on attendance sheet everyday, with no exceptions. If you are not signed in you will be recorded as absent. Work missed must be made up and you are responsible for such work. Since some of the work is collaborative, each student’s attendance and performance directly impacts the experience of fellow students. This responsibility should be taken seriously. GRADING CLASS PARTICIPATION/COLLABORATION — 10% You must be prepared to present your work in an effective fashion. You must work well with others, give and receive constructive criticism and praise, and have a good attitude. ASSIGNMENTS (IN/OUT OF CLASS, GROUP/INDIVIDUAL PROJECTS, PITCHES, WRITING ASSIGNMENTS, WRITTEN EVALUATIONS OF OTHERS’ WORK)— 20% Some assignments are done in class, some out. All assignments must be handed in on time. Unless otherwise instructed, assignments must delivered to PH by email (peter.hannan@phoenixcollege.edu) by midnight the night before the class or as otherwise instructed at the time. SKETCHBOOK — 20% This is a very important part of this course. We will use techniques and directions to spark character and story ideas and often the students will be asked to focus on specific tasks and goals, but students should also do a good deal of drawing and writing for fun…relatively unedited, in a stream-ofconsciousness way. This class is about brainstorming, drawing, writing down ideas and fragments, cutting, pasting...an unfiltered generation of material that is then brought into focus, refined, redrawn and rewritten. Sketchbooks must always bring sketchbooks to class. Students will also be required to submit sketchbook via email periodically...dates TBD. SOLO PITCH — 25% Each student is responsible for developing and preparing all written and artistic content and for delivering the oral and physical presentation of his/her pitch. Pitching is an art, not a science, so pitch formats can vary, but pitch materials will basically consist of show overview, main character art and description, secondary character art and description, world/environment art and description, story premises and story outline. Students may do everything themselves or enlist the CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 3 assistance of another student in preparing pitch materials. Students who feel less capable in one area (writing, drawing, graphic design, etc.) can enlist another student to help them. But the enlisted student’s job is to help realize the pitcher’s vision and the pitcher is the boss. Tasks performed by the enlisted student must be derived from the pitcher’s intention and his preliminary work, i.e., rough sketches, rough draft of writing, etc. Pitcher must get approval of all tasks assigned to other student from PH in advance. Pitching students can use printed materials and/or original art, small or large format, PowerPoint, Prezi, etc., but the pitch must also be emailed to PH and to all classmates on the same day as the pitch. FINAL OUTLINE AND SCRIPT – 15% SOLO PITCH REVISION —10% Pitch revisions will be due at pre-scheduled times in the last days of the course. Each student will share his/her changes or revisions with the class and their revised pitch must be emailed to PH in PDF form ahead of time. EXTRA CREDIT Extra credit will be offered and potential extra points will be explained at that time. No extra credit will be accepted unless all other assignments have been completed. Grading Scale: 98-100+ ---A+ 92-97 ---A 90-91 ---A88-89 ---B+ 82-87 ---B 80-81 ---B78-79 ---C+ 72-77 ---C 70-71 ---C60-69 ---D 59-BELOW --F LATE POLICY Late assignments will be subject to penalty of up to 50%. All assignments MUST be turned in by their respective due dates and also compiled on disk by the final class session unless otherwise specified. SUBMISSION POLICY All work should be free of spelling, grammatical, punctuation, and typographical errors. This is a lab/studio and writing class. Professionalism is important. Always proofread your work multiple times. Writing is always about rewriting, revising, and CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 4 improving. Make certain to date and save all earlier drafts of projects. HOW TO DO WELL IN THIS CLASS Effort is very important. Also important: focus, enthusiasm, and attitude. Work hard and have fun. While working with others, be respectful when expressing a difference of opinion. This course is meant to foster free-flowing ideas (within reason) and students should be confident that although their work will be critiqued constantly, it will be done in a respectful way and in the spirit of helping everyone do their best possible work. Unsportsmanlike critiquing could adversely affect the unsportsmanlike critic’s grade. While using the Internet will be essential for certain class projects, your laptop, phone, iPad, etc, are only to be used during class in conjunction with classwork. Using such devices for anything but classwork could adversely affect your grade. SYLLABUS STATEMENT General Education Assessment The faculty and staff at Phoenix College believe that your college education should not only include learning content, but also developing important life-long skills. We call these general education outcomes. The 5 general education outcomes we have identified that should be developed throughout your college career are: Writing - develop effective writing skills to communicate. Numeracy - learn to use numerical concepts and data effectively. Critical Thinking - learn to apply critical thinking skills to solve problems, make informed decisions, and interpret events. Oral Presentation - plan and deliver an oral presentation to a target audience. Information Literacy - learn to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively, ethically, and legally. In this course, we will be focusing on • Writing - develop effective writing skills to communicate. • Critical Thinking - learn to apply critical thinking skills to solve problems, make informed decisions, and interpret events. • Oral Presentation - plan and deliver an oral presentation to a target audience. • Information Literacy - learn to locate, evaluate, and use information effectively, ethically, and legally. COURSE BY WEEK WEEK 1, THURSDAY, 1/21 CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 5 • INTRODUCTIONS PART ONE: WHO IS PETER HANNAN AND WHAT IS THIS COURSE ABOUT? Lecture presenting PH’s work (animation, books, sketchbooks, paintings, writing, cartoons, roughs, finals) and course overview. •Screen selected CATDOG episodes. • START ASSIGNMENT IN CLASS: CATDOG TRAVESTY (SOLO) Look at the CatDog series and throw away everything you know about it. Through art and writing, completely reimagine the show. Start this in class and finish before next class. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • FINISH CATDOG TRAVESTY • WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO? Bring in examples of your own work that you consider successful, significant, funny, or interesting. This could be a project you've completed or are working on or any creative work that shows why you’re in this class. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 2, THURSDAY, 1/28 • INTRODUCTIONS PART TWO: WHO ARE YOU AND WHAT DO YOU DO? Each student presents something they've done in the relatively recent past...something they are proud of. Students introduce themselves to instructor and fellow students. •EACH STUDENT ALSO PRESENTS THEIR CATDOG TRAVESTY. Discussion, feedback, Q&A. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. • SHORT PH LECTURE: MORE THAN THE SUM OF YOUR PARTS Not only write what you know, write what you are. • THE FAMILY SHOW (SOLO): Draw and write about you and your family from memory. Make yourself the main character in a TV series about your family. You and your family can be portrayed as humans, animals, or inanimate objects brought to life. Annotate your drawings with observations, descriptions, and details of each family member's personality. If you had to reduce each person to an easily understandable essence, what would it be? What's funny or weird or poignant or heroic about these people? Think of ways to describe them through drawing and short bits of writing. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: •FINISH WORK ON THE FAMILY SHOW •Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 3, THURSDAY, 2/4 CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 6 • STUDENTS PRESENT THE FAMILY SHOW. Q&A. • STUDENTS VOTE ON FAMILY SHOW PITCHES. Possible extra credit. • RANDOM IDEA GENERATOR (TEAM PITCH 1) Students are divided into teams, draw elements (names, character types, settings, conflicts) out of a hat. Create an animated TV series based on these elements. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • Random Idea Generator Teams work outside of class to prepare pitches. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 4, THURSDAY, 2/11 • RANDOM IDEA GENERATOR teams present pitches. PH and other students act as executives…reacting, asking questions, giving feedback. Pitchers must answer for their work, defend, explain, sell, convince. All teams must email pitches to PH and other students on the same day. Q&A. •STUDENTS WRITE SHORT EVALUATIONS OF RANDOM IDEA GENERATOR PITCHES. Class discussion. Students vote on Random idea generator pitches. Possible extra credit. • SHORT LECTURE • TEAM TRAVESTY (TEAM PITCH 2): Choose teams sandlot style. Redevelop existing animated or live-action television series as new unique animated series with different context, different tone. Teams work on TEAM TRAVESTY. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • Teams work outside of class to prepare TEAM TRAVESTY pitches. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 5, TUESDAY, 2/18 • ALL TEAMS PITCH TEAM TRAVESTY. PH and other students act as executives…reacting, asking questions, giving feedback. Pitchers must answer for their work, defend, explain, sell, convince. All teams must email pitches to PH and other students on the same day. Q&A. • STUDENTS WRITE SHORT EVALUATIONS OF TEAM TRAVESTY PITCHES. Class discussion. Students vote on Random idea generator pitches. Possible extra credit. • SHORT LECTURE • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 7 • All write evaluations/critiques of Travesty pitches. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 6, THURSDAY, 2/25 • SHORT LECTURE • LIVE-ACTION-TO-ANIMATED (SOLO). WATCH TBD LIVE-ACTION FILM IN CLASS. Use characters and relationships as inspiration for creating animated characters. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • FINISH LIVE-ACTION-TO-ANIMATED. •Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 7, THURSDAY, 3/3 • STUDENTS PITCH LIVE-ACTION-TO-ANIMATED. Q&A • STUDENTS WRITE SHORT EVALUATIONS OF LIVE-ACTION-TO-ANIMATED. CLASS DISCUSSION. Students vote on Live-action-to-animated. Possible extra credit. • SHORT LECTURE • WAY-BACK MACHINE/BEAUTIFUL WEIRDO (SOLO). Travel back in time in search of childhood memories of the funniest, weirdest, most trouble-causing, laugh-inducing, beautiful, horrifying, engaging, adored, reviled friends and enemies to inspire characters for animation. Create character based on this beautiful weirdo. Invent another secondary character. Write a story premise using these two characters. •Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • FINISH WAY-BACK MACHINE/BEAUTIFUL WEIRDO. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 8, THURSDAY, 3/10 • STUDENTS PRESENT WAY-BACK MACHINE/BEAUTIFUL WEIRDO. STUDENTS Vote on Way-back Machine/Beautiful Weirdo. Possible extra credit. • STORY BLITZ. CHOOSE ANY OF THE BEAUTIFUL WEIRDO PITCHES OTHER THAN YOUR OWN AND WRITE A STORY PREMISE AND OUTLINE USING MAIN CHARACTER AND SECONDARY CHARACTER. Consider feedback given by all during critiques. Make sure story ideas utilize uniqueness of main character(s). If you want, you can tweak the show concept if you feel it would make property and story potential stronger. Any tweaks should be explained up front. Each student CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 8 pitches his or her outline and premises to class. Everyone discusses which stories work best and why. STUDENTS VOTE ON STORY BLITZ. Possible extra credit. • SHORT LECTURE • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • START WORKING ON FINAL SOLO PITCHES AND DEVELOPING MAIN CHARACTER. PITCH MUST INCLUDE: SERIES TITLE, COVER PAGE WITH ART AND LOGLINE, SHOW OVERVIEW, MAIN CHARACTER AND WRITTEN DESCRIPTION AND ART, SECONDARY CHARACTER DESCRIPTION AND ART, WORLD DESCRIPTION AND ART, THREE STORY PREMISES, AND ONE STORY OUTLINE. IT’S GREAT IF YOU GO TOTALLY SOLO, BUT IF YOU WANT, YOU CAN CHOOSE AN Assistant to help with YOUR final SOLO pitch. This person can help you with some aspect of pitch. If you feel more confident with the art portion and want to enlist the help of a writer, do that. If you feel more confident with the writing and want to enlist the help of an artist, do that. The assistant can act as a sounding board, discuss, give you feedback, but his or her primary role is that of a crewmember, there to help you implement your ideas and realize your vision. You are the creator and executive producer in this relationship. You will be graded on the overall success of the pitch materials and pitch performance. Bringing in an assistant will not be held against you. But do not use existing artwork from an existing property and simply change the character names and descriptions. That will be detrimental to your grade. Pitching students may use printed materials, original art, small or large format, PowerPoint, Prezi, storyboards, etc, but the pitch must also be emailed to PH and students on the same day as the pitch. Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. THURSDAY, 3/17 NO CLASS, SPRING BREAK WEEK 9, THURSDAY, 3/24 • CONTINUE WORKING ON FINAL SOLO PITCHES. • SHORT LECTURE • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • CONTINUE WORKING ON SOLO PITCHES. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 10, THURSDAY, 3/31 CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 9 • CONTINUE WORKING ON FINAL PITCHES. Write premise and outline. Revise, do more character art if needed, do what ever you need to do to make the pitch great. • SECONDARY CHARACTER EXPLOSION. Mine sketchbooks, draw more. Create characters with distinctly different looks and personalities from your main character(s). How do supporting characters help create stories? What are the relationships between characters? If time permits, watch TBD animation. • Create a world FOR YOUR CHARACTERS TO LIVE IN...a world unique to these particular characters. •Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • WORK ON FINAL PITCHES. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 11, THURSDAY, 4/7 • ALL STUDENTS PRESENT FINAL SOLO PITCHES Non-pitching students play an important role while others are pitching. Attendance and thoughtful participation are mandatory and graded. Reaction, critique, discussion. PH and students act as executives...reacting, asking questions, giving feedback. Pitcher answers for work, defends, explains, sells, convinces. Q&A. ALL STUDENTS WRITE EVALUATIONS OF PITCHES. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • ALL STUDENTS FINISH EVALUATIONS OF PITCHES. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 12, THURSDAY, 4/14 • DISCUSS/EVALUATE EVERYONE’S FINAL SOLO PITCHES.EVERYONE WRITES PREMISES FOR EVERYONE ELSE’S PITCHES. DISCUSS PREMISES. • EACH PITCHER CHOOSES ONE PREMISE TO TAKE TO OUTLINE. • STUDENTS WORK ON OUTLINES AND THEN GO TO SCRIPT. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • FINISH OUTLINES AND GO TO SCRIPT. EMAIL FINAL OUTLINE AND FIRST DRAFT SCRIPT TO PH AND ALL OTHER STUDENTS. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 13, TUESDAY, 4/21 CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 10 • STUDENTS WILL HAVE ALREADY READ EACH OTHERS’ OUTLINES AND SCRIPTS. MORE IN-CLASS TIME GIVEN TO MAKE NOTES ON HARD COPIES OF SCRIPTS PROVIDED BY PH. DISCUSS. STUDENTS VOTE ON OUTLINES AND SCRIPTS. Possible extra credit. • STUDENTS START REVISION/ PUNCH-UP OF THEIR OWN SCRIPTS. Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • STUDENTS FINISH REVISION/ PUNCH-UP OF SCRIPTS. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 14, THURSDAY, 4/28 • STUDENTS PRESENT REVISED SCRIPTS. Students perform scripts. They enlist classmate(s) to help voice roles. CLASS GIVES FEEDBACK. STUDENTS REVISE FINAL SOLO PITCHES BASED ON FEEDBACK. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • REVISE FINAL SOLO PITCHES BASED ON EVERYTHING LEARNED THROUGH OUTLINE AND SCRIPT PROCESS. • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. WEEK 15, THURSDAY, 5/5 • STUDENTS PRESENT REVISED FINAL SOLO PITCHES. Q&A, DISCUSSION. STUDENTS VOTE ON FINAL SOLO PITCHES INCLUDING REVISIONS. Possible extra credit. • Screen selected TV animation, movies, and/or short films. ASSIGNMENTS FOR NEXT CLASS: • Draw/write in sketchbook. Additional guidelines will be given in class. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. FINAL CLASS (NO EXAM), THURSDAY, 5/12 7:00-9:00 • FINAL CLASS ACTIVITY TBD. BALLOTING ON FINAL PITCHES, SCRIPTS, REVISIONS, ART, WRITING, AND OTHER CATEGORIES. Possible extra credit. It’s a wrap. ASSIGNMENT FOREVER: • Draw/write in sketchbook. Absorb culture, read, observe people, watch movies, think about life, and watch cartoons. Additional guidelines will be given to you by you. CREATING/WRITING CHARACTERS FOR ANIMATION, HANNAN, SPRING 2016 11