Speaking of writers, I’m
friendly with Gordon Bressack, writer on many animated TV series (“Pinky and
the Brain”, “Animaniacs” to name only two) and co-creator/co-producer of
“Captain Simian and the Space Monkeys”, the first series I directed on back in
1994-1996. In the late 90’s Gordon invited me to take part in a panel he was
moderating at the Writer’s Guild in Los Angeles California. I forget who my
fellow panelists were, but we all represented a craft function in the animation
industry. The panel was meant to be informational to the membership on how best
to interact with people in the industry they might be working for/with:
directors, producers, voice directors, artists were represented on the panel.
The most interesting point in the event came
when Gordon posed the question,
”What is the thing that
irritates you the most in a script?” My answer was, “When a scene is set in a
stock location and the writers haven’t bothered to check existing background
(or character) designs to make sure the actions they write will work within the
existing environment”. I was surprised by the response from the assembled
membership. I was informed that, frequently, freelance writers weren’t supplied
with the stock design pack and were basically working blind. By evening’s end
it was clear that writers, whom I’d previously resented because I perceived
them to be higher on the pecking order than I (a mere animation artist), had
their own tales of disrespect. It was a very enlightening evening.
This is page #12 from Dark
Horse Comics #15, “The Mark: What Goes Around”, written by Mike Barr, drawn by
Brad Rader, published in December, 1993.
This is page #12 from Dark
Horse Comics #15, “The Mark: What Goes Around”, written by Mike Barr, drawn by
Brad Rader, published in December, 1993.
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