TVL 2: Animation & Scriptwriting Reviewer

Planning & Design: Idea generation, scriptwriting, character design, storyboards, concept testing, budgeting, and feasibility checks.

Pre-Production

Creation Phase: Layout design, key animation, in-betweening, background art, 3D modeling, surfacing, and character rigging.

Production

Finalizing Phase: Video editing, sound effects (SFX), voice-over sync, color grading, visual effects (VFX), and final exporting.

Post-Production

Replace a character, setting, or material.

Substitute

Blend two separate ideas or genres together.

Combine

Borrow or adjust concepts from other works.

Adapt

Flip the plot, roles, order, or perspective.

Reverse / Rearrange

Change color, size, shape, or scale.

Modify / Magnify

Use objects in unexpected ways.

Put to another use

Simplify by removing unnecessary details.

Eliminate

A visual diagram starting with a central topic and branching outwards into related sub-ideas, themes, and character traits.

Mind Mapping

Obtaining ideas, opinions, or solutions by soliciting contributions from a large group of people or an online community.

Crowdsourcing

Presenting an animation concept/script to a test group before full production to evaluate interest and catch issues early.

Concept Testing

Financial limitations. Determines team size, software, quality of animation, length, and production timeline.

Budget

Assessing whether the project can realistically be completed considering budget, tech, time, and skills.

Feasibility

Determining what the market/audience wants to watch or learn from (e.g., educational vs. pure entertainment).

Demand & User Needs

Analyzing existing shows/films in the same market to ensure your project stands out with unique elements.

Competition

Directly dictates animation style! • Toddlers (2-5): Simple shapes, bright primary colors, slow pace. • Teens/Adults: Detailed figures, complex colors, fast pacing, dark/mature themes.

Target Audience

Starts with INT. (Interior) or EXT. (Exterior), location name, and time of day (e.g., INT. BEDROOM - DAY).

Scene Heading ALL CAPS

First time a character appears in action lines, capitalize their name completely (e g LEO (10))

Character Intro ALL CAPS

Draw an imaginary curved guide line first to show energy and direction of posture (e.g., Max shivering uses a curved, slouched spine).

Line of Action

Break characters into simple 3D shapes (spheres, boxes, cylinders) before drawing details to give form and depth.

Basic Volume Shapes

Ensure pose is recognizable even as a solid black shape. Clean up line work by eliminating ambiguous lines and tangents.

Clear Silhouette & Clean-Up

• Circles/Soft curves: Friendly, cute, safe (used for Max & Leo). • Squares: Solid, reliable. • Triangles: Dynamic, sharp, or dangerous.

Shape Language

Drawing character from multiple angles (Front, Side, 3/4 View, Back) to maintain size consistency across animators

Model Sheet (Turnaround)

Sheet showing character's facial changes (e.g., Max: scared, hungry, happy, wet face) to guide animators.

Expression Sheet

Editing cues between scenes like FADE IN: (start), CUT TO: (instant change), and FADE OUT. (ending).

Transitions

Shows emotion or manner of speaking (e.g., (whispering) or (crying)). Placed between character name and dialogue.

Parenthetical

Character is physically present in the scene location but not visible on camera.

O.S. (Off-Screen)

Narration or voice from a character not in the scene or speaking over imagery.

V.O. (Voice-Over)