John
Aug 19, 2022 22 tweets 9 min read Read on X
#animation #cartoons #storyboarding #storyboard #comics #art #directing #Filmmaking #entertainment #tutorial #MASTERCLASS #writing #screenwriting
PITCHING A CARTOON SHOW
By John Fountain

Let’s talk about pitching a cartoon show, shall we?

CHAPTER 4: Anatomy of a Pitch Document Image
First, allow me to say what should go without saying:
Everything here is copyrighted and trademarked by John Fountain 2022 - all rights are reserved. None of this may be copied, distributed or reproduced SAVE FOR PURPOSE OF REVIEW without permission from the author!
I have an absolutely BEASTLIKE attorney in Los Angeles who would love the chance to go after someone - I’m putting this stuff up for educational benefit - DO NOT F*CK WITH IT!

And if you see someone f*ck with it, please let me know.

On with the lesson… Image
You need to think of your Pitch Documents as the clothes you wear on a blind date.
You want to dress nicely, but you don’t wanna show up in a tuxedo, either. You want be casual enough to let your personality show, but still be sure your pants are clean and shirt isn’t wrinkled. Image
First impressions are key - consequently, the cover to your pitch document should - again - be SIMPLE, but eye-catching… it will be THE image that burns into their brains when you set it in front of them.
What’s most important about the cover is that it makes the reader DESPERATE for more, which is why I always make a ‘teaser page’ BEFORE the cover… it ostensibly says, “Brace yourself! This is gonna be awesome!”
(NOTE: WHAT FOLLOWS IS AN ACTUAL PITCH DOCUMENT OF MINE!) Image
You need to look at every single “thing” you lay out as a message… and your first message should be “Beg me for more!”

But, in addition to that, your message should be practical… they should know IMMEDIATELY whether they’re about to see a comedy, action, drama, etc.
The MAIN cover - with the show’s title - should practically give them everything they need to know. I’ve pitched shows before and I knew just by showing the cover that a deal was gonna be made. Image
Once you’re past the cover and you get into those pesky old “words,” you’re officially a dancing monkey. It is up to you to make the words come alive - which is why I recommend keeping this part of the Pitch Document EXTREMELY brief. Image
The fact of the matter is, if your show is COMPLETELY off the mark for what they’re looking for, you don’t want them sitting there counting the seconds while you give your pitch. You just want to give them the most BASIC understanding of your idea.
Additionally, you don’t want to spend six months slaving over volumes and volumes of appendices only to be told “We’re not interested.”
This is why I have devised a specific formula for composing text:

1) Grab them with a single sentence.

2) Keep them with a SHORT paragraph (or two) that explains everything in a nutshell.

3) Keep the remaining text as descriptive but concise as possible and wrap it up fast!
At this stage, you just want to get into the CONCEPT (I.e. the “heart and soul” of the show”) and the SHOW (I.e. balance of action/comedy, target audience, length of episodes, etc.). Image
Additionally, for the love of god, break your paragraphs up so that the poor soul who’s probably thinking about where they’re going to get lunch isn’t staring at a giant block of tiny, impossible to read print! Image
Once you’re past the concept and the show, I have found that it’s good to end on MORE VISUALS to burn into their brain so that they walk away from the pitch with little choice but to ponder the imagery left behind. Image
The purpose of pitch materials is to help them “see” something that doesn’t exist. Some would argue that this is why you should make a fully produced “teaser trailer” and while I see the wisdom in that, I prefer to give them a better idea how and where the jokes and/or drama are. Image
Which is why, with a comedy, I like to create single-panel “gag comics” to help get that across. Image
One more quick note: Your Pitch Document should reflect the TYPE of show you’re pitching… obviously, a pitch for an action series will differ slightly from your wacky comedy. What follows are GENERAL RULES that can be applied to all genres. Image
Now that we’re “dressed” for our blind date, the next lesson will be on how to CONDUCT ourselves on it.

And that’s a whole bag of tricks all its own.
Thanks for reading! Please give whatever feedback or input you may have in the comments - and, please, PLEASE retweet, share, and tell your friends about this endeavor.

COMING MONDAY:

NEXT INSTALLMENT - How to Leave ‘em Wanting More

Zig-a-Zig AH, party people! Image
As usual, this tutorial is sponsored by MY STUPID YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

I justify taking the time to do stuff like this by hoping you will consider subscribing and/or buying original artwork. I'll keep doing it either way... but it would be nice.

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More from @FountainCartoon

Jan 5
This actually highlights yet another aspect of John K’s whole “schtick” was his assertion that if you liked anime, The Simpsons or anything other than Ralph Bakshi or Tex Avery you were a giant dunce.

I’ve never understood “animation partisanship.”

Cont.
Animation is such a unique storytelling medium I can’t imagine why you would ever limit yourself that way.

It’s like saying “I will eat nothing but hamburgers forever.”

Cont.
I can understand a certain style not “speaking” to you… I feel that way about jazz (insert “BEE MOVIE” gif here)… I don’t “like” jazz but I can appreciate it as art.

Cont.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 29, 2023
#animation #cartoons
Television animation is an industry that openly hates itself.

What do I mean?

It's an industry that - very often - is run by people with absolutely no interest in what it makes.

cont. Image
Most of these pencil pushers are just former "executive assistants" who kissed the asses of their bosses who did the same before them.

They didn't go to film school or study storytelling in any capacity.

cont.
They justify this madness by saying, "But I'm the average viewer - so if I don't get it, neither will they!"

Except that they're NOT the average viewer.

They stopped watching cartoons when they were 6 and stopped thinking about them ever since.

cont.
Read 13 tweets
Oct 14, 2023
#Animation
I haven’t immersed myself in #HazbinHotel or #HelluvaBoss the way I probably should’ve by now… I’ve seen a few episodes and I definitely get the massive appeal, but beyond its obvious charms, it gets something really “right” that I wish more productions did…

Cont. Image
The character designs for both shows look very intentionally “fun to draw”.

I feel like a lot of shows do the opposite… drawing ‘The Wild Thornberrys’ was like a punishment.

A lot of animated shows try so hard to be “unique” that they bog down the production…

Cont. Image
…and, consequently, 99.999% of everyone’s time is spent trying to appease the goddammed “model sheets.”

You get told all kinds of dipshit rules like “Oh - by the way, never EVER show the character from behind” …

Cont.
Read 12 tweets
Mar 6, 2023
#drawjennysunday #mlaatr #mylifeasateenagerobot #Nickelodeon
DISCLAIMER!!! READ THIS!!! SERIOUSLY!!! AND DON'T JUST READ IT - INJEST IT!!!

The following story outline is both FICTION and FAN FICTION!

None of these events happened... these are FICTIONAL CHARACTERS...
cont.
Not only is it fictional, it is PURELY speculative on my part!
Someone asked me once, "How would the whole Jenny/Brad/Sheldon thing work out if @RobRenzetti let you run with it?" and what follows are the results.

So... let me be clear:

cont.
Rob hasn't read it, he hasn't approved of it, for all I know he knows nothing about it, he may read it and hate it, he may be mad at me for even doing it (please don't be mad, Rob... it was just for fun)!

Point being:

cont.
Read 41 tweets
Mar 6, 2023
I’m really excited about sharing this with you all…

But here’s the thing:

I’m getting a lot of comments like “You should do this” or “You should do that”…

One of the great things about working on a show like #mlaatr
Cont…
…is that it took on a life of its own.
It was a functional “reality.”

Those types of shows are the easiest to write for BECAUSE they pretty much write themselves.

Here’s what I mean…
…when I would put Jenny in any given situation, I had do have Jenny behave “AS SHE WOULD”… and not “as I want her to”!

So, when I wrote the outline, I wrote it as I thought it “must” happen… not necessarily how I “wanted” it to happen.

Cont.
Read 4 tweets
Jan 16, 2023
#animation #film #storyboard #directing #ScreenwritingTwitter #art #drawing #cartoon #cartoons #CartoonArt #storytelling #storyteller #Animations #animation2d #animation3d #tutorial #Students #filmstudent #animationstudent
STORYBOARDING 101

with

John "F" Fountain

cont. Image
First...
This tutorial is being sponsored by MY PRECIOUS TIME.
I want to keep creating free stuff, so I'm not using paywalls, but if you'd like to support me - LIKE, SHARE, SPREAD THE WORD & SUBSCRIBE TO MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL!

on to the tutorial...

youtube.com/channel/UCFkuF…
INTRODUCTION

Storyboarding is hard.

Really, really, REALLY hard.

Twenty-Five years ago I went in for a job interview at Klasky Csupo for a character design gig and met with Mitch Watson - a producer for their new show, “The Wild Thornberrys”.

cont. Image
Read 237 tweets

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