Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen Jim Story: former Disney Feature Animation Story Artist Instructor of Story at University of Central Florida, Orlando Q: What background skills do Storyboard artists need to be successful? What would you tell a student to do to prepare themselves for this profession? Jim Story: Let’s put drawing skills aside for the moment, for me it’s most important to be an interestedCopyright observer of the Taylorworld and theand life goingFrancis on around 2013 you. Story’s boil down to human personalities in relationships, if you don’t have any insight into different types of personalities or how human’s interact by way of analytic experience, reading and observation then it will be difficult for you to create interesting characters through their behavior in relationship. Think of it as if you are an animal behaviorist writing about a troop of baboons without ever having observed the social structure of baboons. They are primates, I am a primate therefore I can write about them. Experience and observation has to be thought about, analyzed and broken down into motivation, action and reaction, then it can be translated into ammunition you can use is creating believable characters in believable relationships. Character is made evident by behavior – posture, walk, clothing, and little pieces of business that are unique to the character and give the character dimension. Observation supplies us with this kind of “business” we can give to a character. For example in Sylvain Chomet’s Belleville Rendezvous, Madame Sousa (who wears glasses) has an endearing habit of pausing, staring open-eyed for a moment Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen thinking, and then very quickly shoving her glasses back up her nose with her index finger and acting. This is a wonderful film to view over and over. It is entirely a Visual Story as there is no meaningful dialogue. Secondly, your brain is a computer, and the old saw “Good data in, good data out” holds true. “No data in, trash and junk out” is the result of not paying attention to this truth. A strong understanding of what story is about – that is what it does for us Copyright Taylor and Francis 2013 beyond entertain us - and story structure is essential. Visual Structure goes hand-in-hand with Story Structure. See and read story in the form of film, plays and novels, then analyze what you read and see. Look at drawing, painting and illustration and analyze them, they can give you compositional, stylistic and dramatic input. Q: Training? Jim Story: I didn’t have formal training; my apprenticeship was served at the movies, reading comics and the funny papers. Now there are lots of schools both public and private that provide training. Some studios provide internships but require a high skill level before being accepted and there is a great deal of competition the a few openings. Research the school programs carefully before selecting. Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen Q: Books? Jim Story: Books about story, both written and visual can provide the basis to help your analysis. Some that I think are important and use in my teaching: Joseph Campbell, Hero with a Thousand Faces Robert McKee, Story Bruce Block, The Visual Story Copyright Taylor and Francis 2013 Q: Lectures? Jim Story: Both Robert McKee and Bruce Block have lectures that you can attend. Q: Websites? Jim Story: ASIFA Hollywood – www.animationarchive.org National Film Board of Canada (Animation) – www.nfb.ca/animation Yale Film Analysis – classes.yale.edu/film-analysis/index.htm Animation World Magazine – mag.awn.com Q: Other Sources or kinds of experiences? Jim Story: Museums of all kinds (human art and artifacts and natural artifacts) are both a source and an experience. Travel, widely or locally, see environments experience places and draw while you are there. Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen Q: Are there special characteristics that you find professional story artists have in common. What makes the successful ones successful? Jim Story: The story artists I’ve known are of all types. Some are good with humor, some with drama, some with action; some are extroverts, some are introverts but all are students of life, people and film. Success is made from talent, drive, opportunity and your skills as a visual storyteller. Copyright Taylor and Francis 2013 Q: Is great story telling ability or humor something one can learn or is it an innate skill that some people have and others do not? Jim Story: You can learn the principles of storyboarding and depending on your motivation, you can become very good, but it is a gift that artists have in varying degrees. Whether you have a little or a lot, like everything else it depends on what you do with it. My name is Story but that hasn’t genetically endowed me with extra-liberal amounts of storytelling mo-jo. Q: What is your top ten list of “must see movies” to help a person understand good film/animation-film construction and story telling? (to make one a better storyboard artist) Jim Story: Being Visually Literate in both live action and animation is extremely important for a story artist. Film preferences are largely subjective. Here are the top 11 Animated Films of all Time voted by ASIFA members And compiled in 2001. Notice there is only one feature (Allegro Non Troppo) Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen on this list. Allegro Non Troppo, Bruno Bozzetto Cow, Alexander Petrov Creature Comforts, Nick Park Dnevnik Diary, Nedeljko Dragiç Jeu Des Cudes Elbowing, Paul Driessen Girl’s Night Out, Joanna Quinn Copyright Taylor and Francis 2013 The Man Who Planted Trees, Frederic Back Satiemania, Zdenko Gasparoviç Street of the Crocodiles, The Quay Brothers The Street, Caroline Leaf To this I would add these recent features that are personally meaningful to me. They rekindled my faith in the future of animation: Spirited Away, Hiayo Miazaki Belleville Rendezvous, Sylvain Chomet Iron Giant, Brad Bird I also recommend a through study of the history of animation, now over 100 years old, and in particular Canadian (the Canadian Film Board has a wonderful site) Western and Eastern European animated film and Asian animated film. For live action, see the AFI’s 100 Film List. Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen Q: Do you have any favorite sequences – what are they? Jim Story: Shamus Culhane’s sequence of the Dwarfs marching home from the mines singing “Hi-Ho” from Snow White. It was the sequence that galvanized my 8 year old mind and turned me to a life of the imagination. It still is amazing: eight different personalities; eight different walks; eight different pieces of business all choreographed so it seems to be absolutely natural. The sequence in Chomet’s Belleville Rendezvous when the three sisters meet Madame Copyright Taylor and Francis 2013 Sousa under the bridge as she is playing the spokes of a bicycle tire and the sisters go into a very funny rendition of the title song. This brilliantly sustains a believable serendipitous moment that sweeps you up in the seeming spontaneity. This is what every story event should be like. Q: Have you looked at any student storyboards? What do you think is most often lacking in them? Jim Story: I have seen many as I’ve been teaching storyboarding for the last four years. Here below are a few of the most prominent student stumbling blocks: 1. A tendency to “lock down” the camera and to view everything at the same size as if it were on stage. 2. An inability to be expressive with pose and with facial acting. 3. An inability to use visual contrast in line and tone producing story drawing that are “hard to read”. Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen 4. A lack of visual interest by way of camera angle or staging that results in flat drawings. 5. An inability to use acting as to involve the viewer and to motivate the camera. 6. A lack of understanding of the role of visual continuity. These stem from weak drawing skills and not having been really engaged in looking at film or reading and thinking about its visual construction. Copyright Taylor and Francis 2013 Q: What were some of the big “lessons” you learned when you first began as a “new hire” story artist? Jim Story: Biggest Lesson Learned: When you pitch a board, don’t describe what’s there, it should be self-evident if you have done your job. Supply what’s not there- the animation, energy, voices, sound effects. Q: How much freedom do you have to interpret how a scene is to be presented? Jim Story: That varies with the state of the story. I’ve begun before scriptwriters were hired, with just the scenario and I’ve worked from a script. I’ve not been bound to the script and there is some back and forth between writers and artists. Q: Are you encouraged to explore unique and adventurous solutions to story telling problems or are you given very specific guidelines and expectations. Jim Story: At Disney, the door was always open to a different take on a scene or sequence. Sullivan, Alexander, Mintz, and Besen Q: Can you describe your process? Do you thumbnails, what drawing materials do you use? Do you do key shots first and then work in between or do you work “straight ahead”. Jim Story: I like to begin with lists of things. I write down possibilities and thoughts and thumbnails until I have an approach firmly in mind. I then, write the continuity down drawing for drawing as fast as I can as I play the movie in my head.