HILARY J. BADER INTERVIEW:
WRITING
ANIMATION FOR THE WEB
By Shannon Muir
Originally
published at Suite101.com
***
Animation on the Web
initially looked poised to take the industry by storm. Startups like Icebox.com rose to the
challenge of providing content but did not last. Some avenues for animation on the Web have weathered the storm,
including the original offerings from WB
Online. One of the popular features at WB Online is Gotham
Girls, detailing the adventures of the women of Batman's
Gotham City -- Batgirl, Catwoman, Poison Ivy, and Harley Quinn.
Hilary J. Bader works as
the principal writer for Gotham Girls. Recently she graciously answered some questions for me about
writing Animation for the Web.
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SHANNON MUIR: How do you come up with ideas for Gotham Girls?
HILARY J. BADER: Since the Webisodes
are so short, (3 to 4 minutes) the
scripts don't take me much time to write, however, it takes me a few days to
come up with an idea that I can set up and pay off in just three minutes. Mostly I toss the characters into bizarre
circumstances (in my imagination) then if something comes out of that, I flesh
it out. When I'm in the midst of coming
up with a story, everything I see is fodder for that story. I get my car washed, "Hmm. What if Harley and Ivy ran a car wash."
I go to the dentist. "Hmmm. What
if Barbara Gordon had a toothache when..." You get the idea. I go
through dozens of ideas before I find one or two that seem to hold up as
stories.
SM: Is there any difference
in the script for a web-based animation like Gotham Girls versus
a TV half-hour such as Batman Beyond?
HJB: Because it's animated
using the computerized animation method known as) Flash animation and
not normal cell animation, I try to simplify the action somewhat. In some ways it's closer to a comic book
than a cartoon. You try to make your
point using fewer images, or make a point using a single strong image. You'll notice there are a lot more still moments in a Flash animated
work. Although I'll put in stuff I
don't think they'll be able to do, sometimes the Flash Animators amaze me and
find ways to pull it off.
SM: Does the fact a story's
being done in web animation put limits, if any, on your storytelling?
HJB: Not on the
storytelling. In fact, since there is no
network censor you have a bit more freedom. The limits are due to the time constraints. Most Webisodes run for a maximum of three to four minutes. This is the norm for several reasons -
number one being it would take anyone with a dialup modem a lifetime to
download a long cartoon. But at the
same time this limit opens up more possibilities. You get to make a single point and, for me, that makes the point
come across much clearer.
SM: What are your thoughts
on the future of web animation?
HJB: More, better,
longer. As soon as enough homes have
faster computers with mega-mega-bytes of memory and every household has a cable
modem or DSL or(whatever the next step in online access is) then Flash
will be replaced by the next (yet to be created) computer generated
animation which will rival cell
animation.
The only constraints then
will be habit and money. Right now, the
industry seems to feel that, though people will sit in front of their TV and
watch 22 minutes of entertainment, their attention spans shorten in front of a
computer screen. It may be true, but I
think even that is going to change as the technical quality of online products
improves.
Of course, that means
product becomes more expensive to produce. Then, the webmasters (companies with a strong presence on the web) will
have to find a way to make money from this new, improved, more expensive
product or it won't be "worth" doing. But I have faith that both these things will happen.
---
Thank you so much for your
time, Hilary. I really enjoyed learning
more about Web animation from you.
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