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An "Animated" Afternoon With Jeffrey Scott
by Bill Lundy
(March 2003) |
At our regular meeting on Saturday, March 8, the Scriptwriters Network was proud to welcome Emmy-winning animation writer Jeffrey Scott, who talked about his career and a number of issues related to writing for TV animation during a fun-filled and informative afternoon.
Jeffrey was born into a show business family. His maternal grandfather was Moe Howard, leader of the famed Three Stooges comedy team. His father, Norman Maurer, was a well-known comic book writer, as well as a film writer/producer/director. So it was fairly evident early on that Jeffrey would work in "the biz," and he freely admitted that nepotism played a part in getting him his start. In the early 1970's his father was working for cartoon factory Hanna-Barbera, and helped Jeffrey get a job on a new super-hero cartoon called Superfriends. Jeffrey eventually took over as story editor on the hit Saturday morning show, writing many of the episodes himself. Ever since, he has worked steadily in the children's animation arena, segueing from show to show and becoming one of the foremost writers in the genre. Along the way he picked up three Emmy Awards, as well as a Humanitas Prize for his work on Muppet Babies. He also managed to find time to write the book HOW TO WRITE FOR ANIMATION, which is filled with tips for writers trying to break into the genre, as well as a perfectly-formatted sample of one of his scripts for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
Jeffrey is currently working on a couple of new animated series, as well as beginning a new and challenging career in the fine art world. His advice for writers wanting to break into this area of the business is to "write something really, really good." Although TV animation is a fairly specialized genre, the "rules" are similar to those in other forms of TV writing. Jeffrey suggested writing 2-3 really good specs for existing shows, as well as one or two original pieces. Then do whatever you can (within reason and the law) to get people to read them. He challenged emerging writers to be creative in marketing their work, and not to let anything stop them from achieving them goals. But make sure that the work is really good first - because you only get one shot to impress.
Jeffrey also touched on trying to get an agent. He cautioned that most of the large agencies - CAA, ICM, William Morris - don't have agents who specialize in TV animation, so unagented writers shouldn't bother contacting them. The Writers Guild publishes a list of agents and agencies who specialize in animation - those are the agents most likely to read new writers wanting to work in this field.
As to the differences between TV animation and other forms of film/TV writing, Jeffrey pointed out that his work is generally simpler in character and themes than a feature film or prime-time TV show would be. Since most of the shows he's written for have been a half-hour or less, the stories are also more compact, and usually more action-oriented. He notes that "TV animation is a very visual medium."
For the future, Jeffrey plans to continue working in the TV animation arena, along with pursuing his new side career in fine art. And yes, he's got a few feature film scripts squirreled away that he hopes to get made someday. But as long as he's able to continue writing and entertaining people, he'll be a happy man.
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