Ask Dr. Format: Getting Animated

DAVE TROTTIER has sold or optioned ten screenplays (three produced) and helped hundreds of writers break into the writing business.  He is an award-winning teacher and script consultant, author of The Screenwriter’s Bible, and friendly host of keepwriting.com.  Read more tips on the Ask Dr. Format page.

Dr. Format

JUNE 2024

GETTING ANIMATED

QUESTION

I am working on a script for a film that would contain several short animated segments. How should these be worked into the script? Is there a standard format for this?

ANSWER

Handle it with a special scene heading, just the way you'd handle a DREAM or FLASHBACK or MONTAGE that you need to work into the script. For example, here's one possible way:

ANIMATION -- SILLY BILLY MEETS THE MONKEY MAN

And then describe your scene or sequence of shots, just as you would with a MONTAGE or DREAM SEQUENCE.

We often forget that there are basic principles behind formatting. These aren't just a bunch of arbitrary rules. So don't be afraid to extrapolate from some known principle if you come up with a new screenwriting situation. What if the above were a dream? Handle it like this:

DREAM -- SILLY BILLY MEETS THE MONKEY MAN

or...

EXT. AMAZON JUNGLE - DREAM

Silly Billy and his friends hike the jungle trail. Suddenly, the Monkey Man drops out of a tree.

...And so on.

What if you have an animated dream? Just call it that, an ANIMATED DREAM, in your special scene heading.

If it is a full scene, use this scene heading:

EXT. AMAZON JUNGLE – DAY - ANIMATION

And then write out the scene just as you would for any other scene.

Simply apply fundamental formatting principles. As screenwriters, we must understand formatting to fully understand spec writing. This is something I really get animated about.

NOTE: The new 2022 printing of Dr. Format Tells All will be available sometime in January. If you want to be totally up-to-date, order the book at keepwriting.com and then email me directly (dave@keepwriting.com) that you want the 2022 printing. I hope the new year will be a productive one for you.