Site Search
Join Muvizu
Messages in this topic - RSS

Home ? Feedback ? Scriptwriting competition

the topic is closed
03/05/2011 09:32:25

toonaramaMuvizu mogulExperimental user
toonarama
Posts: 661 		All
Just thinking (based on Vince's previous posts regarding where he wants to see Muvizu going) that you already have a number of people who have demonstrated that they can use the software expertly enough to produce broadcastable output but to take it onta the next level perhaps what is missing is a killer script and some top quality voice acting.
It goes without saying that Dreeko and others can supply the latter but the script could be trickier.
Should Muvizu perhaps consider either running a script writing competition (possibly in conjuction with established web resources) or commissioning a scriptwriter to produce a script then either running a competition or producing a collaborative production?
Just a thought and keep up the great work
Thanks
Mick
permalink
03/05/2011 11:23:22

Emily
Emily
(Account inactive)
Posts: 346 		Hi Toonarama,

Thanks for the suggestion, and yes, you're right, we are indeed in need of a 'killer' script.
Combine great writing with skilled use of the app and it's sure to produce some very watchable material - as 'Beware the Pie' and 'Ghost House' (to name just a couple) have demonstrated.

It's true that we need more gems like these, and you might be glad to hear that we do have a competition along these lines planned, but the details haven't been confirmed. When this has been finalised (and it might be quite a while away) it will be announced in our 'News' section. At the risk of sounding like a broken record - we're still working our fingers to the bone with the engine upgrade.

So, it seems that great minds think alike - or - is it fools seldom differ, I can never remember...but yes, in due course.

TBC!


Em
permalink
03/05/2011 20:17:16

mystoMuvizu mogulExperimental user
mysto
Posts: 471 		This is a really good idea!

I am finding out first hand that writing a "killer" script is not as easy as it may seem. My usual way of producing an animation is to come up with an idea, create a few characters, make up a set for them and then to just start animating. This is called "straight ahead" animation and it has served me well for a long time. You don't need much of a script, just an idea of what is going to happen in the scene.

Straight ahead animation is great for doing quick gags or jokes. An example would be the "fart joke" animations I created. Not really a need for a detailed script to figure out the outcome of those. LOL

Now I am trying to create an animated series with an ongoing storyline. Something to where each animation tells a part of a story and then leads into the next animation in the series. I am finding that although I am capable of creating the script it's not really my area of expertise. In my opinion writing a good script requires as much talent as creating the animation if not more. Having a talented script writer would come in very handy at this point in the project.

I have a feeling that some time in the future a talented group of people are going to collaborate together and create a "killer" series with Muvizu.
permalink
04/05/2011 16:54:20

clamtom
clamtom
Posts: 15 		Hi, everybody.

I'm not a screen or script writer, but I do write books and have for decades. I've been hanging out here at the forum for a couple of months.

The Muvizu clips I see produced here are often very good technically, but almost all of them suffer from one problem (IMHO): They are too long.

When you write, tell the story in the shortest time possible. I've seen seven-minutes vids that should be a minute and a half. Otherwise excellent, but simply too long.

Think of it this way. You are appealing to two types of viewer; those who love Muvizu and those who don't care about Muvizu at all, they just want to be entertained. Write for the second group. They are an unforgiving group--if they aren't entertained in the first few seconds, they will leave.

I think up to this point, most everyone here is trying to learn how to animate and how to squeeze the most out of the software. That's perfectly fine and must be done--but once you're ready to start writing at a higher level, keep 'em short until you've learned your craft and gained a fan base.

The good news is, I see some potentially great writers here. I look forward to seeing what you all come up with in the near future.

Tom
permalink
04/05/2011 18:19:27

inlimbo
inlimbo
Posts: 70 		I would say the length of project depends on what kind of movie you're trying to make. At the same time it's good to note that if you write your scripts in script format (on software like the free celtx) that one page is roughly equivalent to one minute of screentime.

If you are writing a sketch, which muvizu might be best suited for at the moment, then 3 minutes max should be the goal. A minute and a half might yield a great economical sketch, but be careful being too short. If you rush or cut things that should be there that's another undesirable extreme.

If you are writing a more traditional story, and it's a short, then 4-10 minutes is a good range. There really is no limit in any genre. All guidelines and suggestions for duration can be broken for the right piece. If you write a good 90 minute feature length script, we will all watch. Maybe for streaming purposes it would be good to break it up, I don't know.

__
edited by inlimbo on 04/05/2011
permalink
04/05/2011 18:31:38

inlimbo
inlimbo
Posts: 70 		I also forgot to mention there are different goals for a sketch versus a traditional story.

There is some overlap, but if you had a competition you should have at least those two different categories.

This is a gross oversimplification: In a more traditional story, the protagonist is trying get what they want, and has to overcome obstacles to solve this problem. In sketch the characters aren't solving a problem, unless they are the straight character, they are wallowing in absurdity. Their absurdity becomes more and more pronounced until it hits a crescendo.

It's the difference between Monty Python and the great short Kiwi:
permalink
04/05/2011 22:13:16

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Kiwi is great, inlimbo, thanks for that, and it also shows quite well what clamtom was saying - pacing. Every shot is (just) long enough, and never hangs around for longer than necessary.
permalink
04/05/2011 23:41:30

DanimalMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Danimal
Posts: 477 		inlimbo wrote:
In a more traditional story, the protagonist is trying get what they want, and has to overcome obstacles to solve this problem


Oh and please don't forget the most crucial element to this simple plot structure: the audience has to want to see the protagonist get what they want. If it's just some unlikeable slob doing random stuff to get something, no one cares and your audience is leaving. If you need an example of this fatal mistake, watch pretty much any American-made movie in the last 10 years or so.
permalink
05/05/2011 00:32:23

inlimbo
inlimbo
Posts: 70 		Thanks for your post. I can't entirely agree with you on American movies. The following American movies are just a sample of outstanding pictures from the States:

The Hurt Locker
No Country for Old Men
True Grit
and
The Fighter

I completely agree with the heart of your post. "The audience has to want to see the protagonist get what they want." There are many factors that go into this, but mostly the audience has to empathize with the main character(s), even if they are a criminal. One of the many ways to do this is to show vulnerability in the character. Their honesty of emotion is what can draw us into them. It doesn't matter if they come from a different walk of life than we do. If they have faults and behaviors like us, and also react and FEEL like we do then our eyes are glued.
permalink
05/05/2011 10:05:40

KerryK
KerryK
(Account inactive)
Posts: 176 		Danimal wrote:

Oh and please don't forget the most crucial element to this simple plot structure: the audience has to want to see the protagonist get what they want. If it's just some unlikeable slob doing random stuff to get something, no one cares and your audience is leaving..



my most perfect example of this is Paranormal Activity. I watched it. I wasn't at all scared. In fact, I was rooting for the demon. The guy was a total ar*ewipe dbag and the girl was smash-her-face-in annoying. I couldn't wait for them to die (SPOILERS!). I really had zero sympathy for either of them cheered the evil demon. And no, it's not just because I'm a little weird - I really, really disliked them. Excellent point Danimal.
permalink
05/05/2011 12:55:10

DanimalMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Danimal
Posts: 477 		KerryK wrote:
my most perfect example of this is Paranormal Activity.]


The one that comes leaping to mind for me is What Happens in Vegas, though again there's hundreds to choose from over the last decade.

Here's a movie where two people are competing for money. They're both shallow and loathsome and the last thing in the world I want to see is either of them win and become rich. I'd rather see a piano fall from the sky and squash them into oblivion. The story doesn't work, the comedy doesn't work, it's just a mess.

I hear you on rooting for the bad guy too. I did that when I saw Prom Night (the remake - yes, you can laugh at me, I understand). I cheered every time he offed one of those self-absorbed little brats.
edited by Danimal on 05/05/2011
permalink
05/05/2011 22:43:39

ziggy72Muvizu mogulExperimental user
ziggy72
Posts: 1988 		Danimal wrote:
Oh and please don't forget the most crucial element to this simple plot structure: the audience has to want to see the protagonist get what they want. If it's just some unlikeable slob doing random stuff to get something, no one cares and your audience is leaving. If you need an example of this fatal mistake, watch pretty much any American-made movie in the last 10 years or so.


America makes the most bad movies, and the most good movies, because they make the most movies overall. The problem is our (European) idea of an loveable loser is different from the American idea, so to us they are just unlikeable slobs, like you say. Beavis And Butthead - 'nuff said
edited by ziggy72 on 05/05/2011
permalink
05/05/2011 23:16:14

inlimbo
inlimbo
Posts: 70 		I agree with Ziggy on most bad and good movies come from America.

Although, to be fair, Beavis and Butthead fall into the category of sketch in my humble opinion. Even though they fill out half hour episodes or even their feature length movie, they are really a series of sketches tied together. It is also a sub-category of sketch, parody. The very characters themselves are poking fun at half of America. Within the stupidity there’s also a lot more nuance there than you might expect.

By the way, analyzing where bad movies went wrong is very helpful, and analyzing where good movies go right is even more instructive. What are your favorite movies, and why do you think they worked?

__
edited by inlimbo on 06/05/2011
permalink
06/05/2011 12:12:58

Luscan
Luscan
Posts: 176 		I need to admit something.

I love bad films. It's a problem I've been trying to deal with for years now but if there's one thing I know (and sometimes it seems like there really is only one thing I know) it's bad films. It's a really risky business because it can leave you scarred, bitter and with a LoveFilm account history that's more terrifying than anything Stephen King's ever written. The goal is always the same though: find a film that's so bad it's funny. Recommendations for anyone looking to descend into madness would be to start with anything by Uwe Boll or Ed Wood and work your way down from there. They're the ones that are known for taking film making to a whole new level but there are gems a little further down.

As for characters and characterisation it's kind of a tricky subject. Some of the best characters in books and films have been, frankly, rather nasty pieces of work. The villain that you want to see succeed is quite difficult to pull off in serious drama but it's a lot easier to pull off in comedy.

Dick Dastardly, for example, is a liar, a cheat and pigeon fancier (all traits of a villain) but you always sort of root for him to win the race or catch the pigeon.
Who here didn't want Wile E. Coyote catch Roadrunner at least once? Come on, be honest...

Sympathetic villains in Drama can be a lot harder but you can usually make them doomed in their pursuits. Shakespeare's Richard III is a real piece of work - he has his brother locked up in the tower of London and then offs him. He then marries the guys widow, ends out killing two young prices and at the end before he himself is given his comeuppance he's still thinking about himself and how he can save his own skin.
Thing is, though, that you want to see if he'll get away with it. There's even a bit in the very first, opening soliloquy where he turns to the audience (breaking the fourth wall) and says "I am determined to prove a villain, And hate the idle pleasure of these days. Plots have I laid, inductions dangerous, by drunken prophecies, libels and dreams, to set my brother Clarence and the King in deadly hate one against the other.
He's telling the audience what he's after (to become King of England) and how he's going to do it (making up stories about his brother to the King) and then he tells you why he's going to do it (People have thought of him as a villain for a while now so if they want a villain they're gonna get one!). Because he's letting the audience in on his plan the audience kind of... want to see what's gonna happen next. They want to see if this cheeky chancer with an open palm on one hand and a knife in the other's gonna get away with it.


tl;dr - It's all about the writing.


edit - Holy Wordbomb, Batman!
edited by Luscan on 06/05/2011
permalink
06/05/2011 13:00:02

DanimalMuvizu mogulExperimental user
Danimal
Posts: 477 		Luscan wrote:
Dick Dastardly, for example, is a liar, a cheat and pigeon fancier (all traits of a villain) but you always sort of root for him to win the race or catch the pigeon.
Who here didn't want Wile E. Coyote catch Roadrunner at least once? Come on, be honest...


I think those would both fall under the umbrella of sketches as well, and sketches in which we're supposed to see one absurd villain scheme after another fail.

And villain's can most cetainly be sympathetic. Hans Gruber in Die Hard was one you enjoyed watching, and even felt good when he broke into the vault and got the money. He had motivation and worked to make it succeed. He wasn't cold and evil just for the sake of being a bad guy, he had a plan and wanted to make it work.

I was referring more to cretins who you wouldn't like if you knew them in real life. They're supposed to be the hero but they're actually a lowlife bum who makes your skin crawl. It ruins the story because since the major dynamic is their success, and you don't want them to succeed, the entire movie fizzles.
permalink
the topic is closed

Home ? Feedback ? Scriptwriting competition

About

Media

Legal

Muvizu

Muvizu is easy to use 3D animation software that allows anyone to create high quality animations quickly and easily. Muvizu’s animation engine is ideal for storytellers, animators, teachers and businesses looking to engage, enchant and delight audiences with animated content.