There are
different approaches to the management of the scripting process of an animated
series, and some people like to make a distinction between script editor, story editor, and
head writer. My ideas were formed
while developing a series in Los Angeles for Hanna Barbera, and then acting as
story editor for a series for DIC. Those
experiences were very positive. Whatever some of us in Europe may think of the
style and content of some American shows, my experience is that they are
managed with total efficiency. My French
colleague, Bernard Deyriès, would say that the Americans learned this from the
French, and point out that DIC originated in France.
The success
of any animated show depends on choosing the right story editor, and giving him
or her enough responsibility to get the job done. In my book, that job is to maintain a level
of quality and consistency throughout all the scripts in the series, and to
make sure that the scripts are delivered on time and budget. This inevitably means that the story editor
should choose some, if not all, of the scriptwriters.
Choosing the writers.
Inevitably, the story editor
never chooses all the writers. Sometimes
the financing structure will dictate that a certain percentage of the writers
need to come from one country, or state.
The various broadcasters, distributors, etc, will have their own ideas
about which writers they want. Sometimes
ideas come with writers attached.
This is not always a bad
thing. When we acted as story editors (I
work with my writing partner, Andrew Offiler) for The Hurricanes we were given a list of both
American and British writers whom the broadcasters wanted us to use. Some of these were experienced writers with
feature film credits, who had an interest in football. Stan Hey brought his wry humour to several
scripts; Dennis O’Flaherty, an American who had written a Wim Wenders film,
wrote some very funny and imaginative stories; the late Brian Finch wrote some
episodes with a pared down, gritty drama.
Other scripts, by well known writers, were less successful. One covered seventy pages of scribbled long hand.
It is really important that the
story editor is a very competent writer, with a real understanding of the
series, and the support and confidence of the editorial team. Faced with a script that leaves a lot to be
desired, the story editor can either send it back to be rewritten, or re-write
it himself. If the deadline is tight, or
if the story editor feels that the writer is going to need to a lot of
hand-holding to make the script work, then it is going to be better for him to
re-write the script himself. In this
situation, of course, the story editor would not take the writer’s fee, but he
might save himself a lot of time and grief.
In the American system story editors are paid a decent amount
of money.
Sometimes, scripts re-written in
this way can work out extremely well.
When we acted as story editors for a series called Billy The Cat I once received a script from a writer which
consisted of two very lengthy scenes, packed with dialogue. It was obvious that he did not have a clue
about narrative structure, and had not taken on board the instructions in the
bible. The dialogue, though, was
terrific. Rather than send the script
back and forth, I decided to re-write, constructing a more telling narrative,
but keeping as much of the dialogue as possible. This worked well, and the episode was one of
the most successful.
Of course, you don’t want to be
spending all your time rewriting other people’s scripts. In our series, we try and use a team of
established writers who we know can be relied on, and others who may not have
written for animation before. New
writers bring new ideas to your show.
They keep it fresh. Over the years, we must have given dozens of new
writers a start in the animation industry.
It is important to the industry going forward that we all seek out new
talent, and encourage the stars of the future.
When we worked on The Hurricanes, we allocated a
percentage of the 65 episodes to new writers on the basis of the ideas they
pitched. We essentially said that if
anyone could come up with a storyline which everyone liked, we would commission
a script. This wasn’t as easy as it
sounds. The storyline pitch had to be
approved by us, the broadcaster and by DIC.
Some writers came up with idea after idea without getting one
accepted. Others had their first pitch
approved. This is a good system for
trying people out. If the writer ultimately
deliver a script that you need to rewrite, then you probably are not going to
welcome any more ideas from him or her.
If the writer comes up with a script that works, then you have unearthed a new talent,
someone who you can call upon for scripts in the future.
It is quite usual for even
experienced writers to have to pitch storylines speculatively before they get
commissioned. From a producer’s point of
view, this is an efficient and cost-effective way of making sure you are not
paying for material you are not using.
When we write for series produced by other studios, we may be told that
they have reserved a certain number of scripts for us, but this is always on
the understanding that we can come up with storylines that are acceptable to
the editorial team.
Next week: The Role Of The Story
Editor (cont)
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