07 Jul Animated Ideas Boot Camp2
Understanding this would mean we can successfully tell our stories to the world simply because we understand the rules. Animae Caribe 2016 Animated Ideas Boot Camp is a platform for bringing creative minds together to tell alternative stories.
In the Caribbean we have a plethora of tales to tell, the challenge is that we have not fully grasped the right way to tell it. In the days of oral storytelling we excelled at this, as this art form was passed down from our forefathers. We did this well, and continue to do so with fantastic storytellers like Auntie Thea from Trinidad & Tobago, the late Jamaican storytelling Queen Louise Bennett and the wonderful musician storyteller from Ghana Eugene Oppong Kyekyeku. However the medium of visual storytelling is a different cup of tea.
These are some tips from expert storytellers at PIXAR
1. Keep in mind what’s interesting to you as an audience, not as a writer.
2. Simplify. Focus. Combine characters. Hop over detours. You’ll feel like you’re losing valuable stuff but it sets you free.
3. Come up with your ending before you figure out your middle. Seriously. Endings are hard, get yours working up front.
4. Discount the 1st thing that comes to mind. And the 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th – get the obvious out of the way. Surprise yourself.
5. Give us reason to root for the character. What happens if they don’t succeed? Stack the odds against.
6. What’s the essence of your story? Most economical telling of it? If you know that, you can build out from there. Excerpt from PIXARTOUCHBOOK.COM
NOW! Add a bit of Caribbean colour, a dash of sunshine, an intoxicating cocktail of Caribbean humour and a dash of sugar ‘n’ spice… and VOILA! There you have it. I always say to my students, lets understand the rules completely then you will understand how to break them creatively. Looking forward to telling our stories at Animated Ideas Boot Camp at AC16. www.animaecaribe.com
Camille Selvon Abrahams
Consultant in Digital & Trans-Media
Creative Director Animae Caribe Animation Festival
cabrahams@animaecaribe.com
www.animaecaribe.com or www.fullcircleanimation.com
