Master Class: Writing for Animation with Julia Cho (Turning Red)
About this Master Class
Master Classes are in-depth, interactive learning experiences focused on craft and career building and led by renowned industry experts. Topics include fiction and documentary filmmaking, TV writing and production, and navigating and succeeding in the entertainment industry.
Are you a writer or director who is curious about the world of animation? Do you have an animation project in development and want to expand your knowledge? Join award-winning screenwriter and Senior Creative at Pixar Animation Studios Julia Cho as she illuminates the feature animation writing process with examples from her own work.
In this live and interactive three hour Master Class, you will learn about animation structure, character development, theme, and story. You will have the opportunity to ask questions and participate in writing exercises. Whether you are an animation writer or simply interested in learning more about its screenplay structure, this class will give you the tools you need to craft a compelling story and script.
Topics include:
- 00:00-04:03: Welcome and introduction from Sundance Collab
- 04:03-09:25: Introduction from Julia
- 09:25-14:12: Program Overview
- 14:12-24:53: What is Feature Animation?
- 24:53-29:15: Animation Storytelling is Visual Storytelling
- 29:15-44:18: Q&A 1
- 44:18-47:10: Classical Structure overview
- 47:10-1:07:05: The Prologue
- 1:07:05-1:23:44: The first act and the protagonist’s goal
- 1:24:14-1:34:54: Q&A 2
- 1:34:55-1:48:40: Act 2 and pacing
- 1:48:40-2:00: Q&A 3
- 2:00-2:12:55: Making it all cohere
- 2:12:25-2:16:45: The Epilogue
- 2:16:45-2:38:45: Q&A 4
- 2:38:45- 2:42:52: Parting thoughts from Julia and optional writing exercise
- 2:42:52-2:46:02: Wrap up and final announcements from Sundance Collab
Master ClassTeam
Julia Cho
Instructor
Award-winning playwright and screenwriter of Pixar/Disney’s TURNING RED, Julia Cho was born and raised in the arid suburbs of Southern California and Arizona. She received an MFA in writing from NYU and was a Lila Acheson Wallace Fellow in Playwriting at The Juilliard School. She has held residencies at the Sundance Lab and New Dramatists and her plays have been produced at theaters in NYC and across the country. Memorable plays include THE LANGUAGE ARCHIVE (winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Award), AUBERGINE and OFFICE HOUR. For her body of work, she received the 2020 Windham-Campbell Literary Prize for Drama which wrote: “Alternately lyrical and sharp, rigorous and whimsical, Cho’s plays demand that we listen.”
Julia has also been a writer and producer for shows in a broad range of genres from cult sci-fi (Fringe) to character-driven drama (Big Love, Halt and Catch Fire). She also adapted the critically-acclaimed novel THE MADONNAS OF ECHO PARK for HBO and Starz.
Driven by keen curiosity and a passion for language, Julia strives to create work that expands our worlds and sparks our deepest empathies. She’s currently developing a series at FX and is a Senior Creative at Pixar Animation Studios.