What is the emotional range of your script?
So much can be learned by analyzing the emotional arcs in animation classics. Here’s a quick example from The Lion King.
One of the biggest issues I see in modern pitches:
• Decks are full of world-building and plot points, but light on theme and emotion. Almost any premise can be a great film. If there are both great and mediocre stories about princesses, it clearly isn’t the princess concept that makes the difference. It’s what the story is saying — and the emotions it makes us feel.
• Scripts often get too detailed before the structure is solid. In painting, they say: don’t spend hours perfecting the leaves in the corner before you’ve worked out the composition. Storytelling is the same. Build the big shapes first (the emotional journey) then add the details.
My best advice as a story editor:
Don’t be too quick to call a charming concept pitch a full story and don’t leap from that to a 150-page script . Start with something in between, like a “color script” for emotions tied to plot points (Grief — Mufasa dies, Denial as a coping strategy — Simba adopts the Hakuna Matata philosophy, etc.)
This approach ensures:
✔ Your story isn’t stretched thin just to hit a page count (my biggest pet peeve. Please don’t do this)
✔ You put intention behind the emotional range
✔ You can see if the story is unbalanced (some recent releases spend 70% of the runtime in one feeling)
✔ You avoid endless rewrites by spotting repetition and shaky bones early
In short: Before you build the world and polish the leaves, map out the emotions tied to plot points.
I can guarantee this will make your work smoother when you write the actual script, and it will make everyone’s work easier too. I’ve been in art teams, and I’ve seen it firsthand: how many times can visual artists pour their hearts into designs, only to have it all deleted because the script was cancelled or rewritten? After a while, it makes even the most passionate artists wonder if it’s worth giving their best.
The truth is, the cracks that start in the story room ripple through the entire production and that is why it is so important we truly focus on this stage of production before moving forward.
So much can be learned by analyzing the emotional arcs in animation classics. Here’s a quick example from The Lion King.
One of the biggest issues I see in modern pitches:
• Decks are full of world-building and plot points, but light on theme and emotion. Almost any premise can be a great film. If there are both great and mediocre stories about princesses, it clearly isn’t the princess concept that makes the difference. It’s what the story is saying — and the emotions it makes us feel.
• Scripts often get too detailed before the structure is solid. In painting, they say: don’t spend hours perfecting the leaves in the corner before you’ve worked out the composition. Storytelling is the same. Build the big shapes first (the emotional journey) then add the details.
My best advice as a story editor:
Don’t be too quick to call a charming concept pitch a full story and don’t leap from that to a 150-page script . Start with something in between, like a “color script” for emotions tied to plot points (Grief — Mufasa dies, Denial as a coping strategy — Simba adopts the Hakuna Matata philosophy, etc.)
This approach ensures:
✔ Your story isn’t stretched thin just to hit a page count (my biggest pet peeve. Please don’t do this)
✔ You put intention behind the emotional range
✔ You can see if the story is unbalanced (some recent releases spend 70% of the runtime in one feeling)
✔ You avoid endless rewrites by spotting repetition and shaky bones early
In short: Before you build the world and polish the leaves, map out the emotions tied to plot points.
I can guarantee this will make your work smoother when you write the actual script, and it will make everyone’s work easier too. I’ve been in art teams, and I’ve seen it firsthand: how many times can visual artists pour their hearts into designs, only to have it all deleted because the script was cancelled or rewritten? After a while, it makes even the most passionate artists wonder if it’s worth giving their best.
The truth is, the cracks that start in the story room ripple through the entire production and that is why it is so important we truly focus on this stage of production before moving forward.
