Program: Animation for Television, Film and New Media – Southeastern Community College

Credits: 3 (Lecture + Lab)

Course Description

Story Development for Animation introduces students to the art and craft of storytelling for visual media. The course emphasizes not only how to tell stories, but also why we tell them, connecting timeless narrative structures to contemporary animation practice. Students are introduced to the fundamentals of cinematic language, including the basics of cinematography and editing, and are guided through the process of conceptualization, character creation, and narrative design.

The course explores key principles of story structure; inciting incident, call to action, rising action, climax, resolution, denouement, while grounding these concepts in practical exercises. Students learn to distill a story into a one-sentence logline, expand it into a beat sheet, then develop a treatment and finally a screenplay. Each stage builds their ability to conceive, pitch, and produce animation-ready stories.

Drawing from sources such as Joseph Campbell’s The Power of Myth and Jill McDonald’s Prepare to Board!, the class emphasizes the universal structures of myth and story, while also training students to develop original characters, scripts, and visual storytelling skills.

Assignments & Workflow

The semester is structured around four projects of increasing complexity, designed to build confidence in generating ideas quickly while refining craft:

  1. Four-Panel Comic

  • Introduces the concept of character motivation and goal-seeking.
  • Structure: a character experiences pain, attempts to remove pain, and succeeds.

  1. Silent 6-Second Short

  • Students design one new character with optional background.
  • Focus: pantomime and visual clarity of storytelling without dialogue.

  1. 15-Second Animated Short (with audio)

  • Requires one new character and optional background.
  • Focus: synchronization of action and audio, pacing, and performance.

  1. Final Short (15+ seconds, with audio)

  • Must include two or more characters and a background.
  • Culminating project incorporating story structure, sound, and character interaction.

For each assignment, students must:

  • Design original characters
  • Pitch an idea
  • Write the script
  • Draw storyboards (traditionally or digitally)
  • Present an animatic

Key Concepts Covered

  • Cinematic language: cinematography, editing, visual storytelling
  • Story structure: loglines, beat sheets, treatments, screenplays
  • Character design and motivation
  • Pitching and presentation techniques
  • Storyboarding and animatics as tools for previsualization
  • Conceptualization as a repeatable process: inspiration comes after starting, not before

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

  • Demonstrate an understanding of cinematic language and narrative structure.
  • Conceptualize, pitch, and develop original stories from logline to finished animatic.
  • Apply character motivation and conflict to create engaging narratives.
  • Design characters and environments that support storytelling goals.
  • Produce and present storyboards and animatics that communicate story effectively.

Approach story creation as a structured, repeatable process, not dependent solely on inspiration.

Courses: ANI-100 – Artistic Foundation for Animation; ANI-125 – Story Development for Animation
Program: Animation for Television, Film and New Media, Southeastern Community College
Software Used: Adobe Animate, Premiere Pro, Audition
Students Showcased: Kali Denz, Logan Holt, Amber Jenkins, Ashton Lahvic, Hannah Parrott, Trinity Phosy, Brayden Nordyke
Music: Heads Up – 126ers