Walt S Handout

Note from Aimee:

This article was given to me by one of my animation teachers.Often times animators and storyboarders in the industry are able to get handouts from some of the artists who are great teachers. This is an example of such kind of handout that gets circulated among the artists gradually. It took me quite a while to retype and scan the images from this handout. Please don't reproduce this on the internet without permission. (if you'd like to print it out and give it to another animation student, however, PLEASE do!) The entire article from here on out is a set of notes by Disney lead animator Glen Keane having to do with communicating with your audience. I included the images in approximately the same spot as they were on the original hand-written article.

Animation- Why Animate?: love to draw; tell a story; see it move; make it move; express yourself; entertain

Communication - A good measure for success- How well am I communicating my idea?

Entertainment- What is it?: It makes us laugh, cry, question, dream, imagine, react, admire.; But for it to entertain it must capture; It must rivet you to the screen; It must demand your attention; It must hold the audience

A question to ask: Are the various elements of my story, subject matter, character, etc, genuinely captivating?

Or can the audience take it or leave it?

How do I capture an audience?
How do I hold them?
How do I keep their interest?

Anticipation - A key ingredient

Definition: (1) Look forward to, expect, (2) realize in advace, foresee, foretaste.

It will cuase audiene to expect and look forward to the pay off.

Milk the moment. As long as you have not released the tension the audience is with you, don't waste the moment but milk it for all it's worth.

Avoid running ahead- Make sure the audience is with you. Don't lose them.