Script Writing
Script writing, sometimes called Screenwriting, involves creating an outline of all of the events taking place in an animation. This means detailing all of the audio such as dialogue, sound effects and music score. It also details all of the visual events or features appearing or taking place throughout such as fades, transitions from one scene to another, characters appearing, descriptions of the landscape etc.
In the commercial animation (and movie-making) world the script will be the first opportunity to accurately express the storyline and plot of an animation. A well-written script really helps to 'sell' the idea to prospective directors or studios who may be interested in the idea. This aspect of the pre-production process is really a very specific role which requires particular writing skills to do successfully - a reminder of the collaborative process typical of animation production.
When making a short animation a script may not be so essential to its success but as an excercise the screenwriting process is another way to focus thoughts and details.
The above image shows a closeup section of an example script, you can download a two page example of an actual animation script in PDF format.
