Learn how to write for animation from a writer and director of top animated projects who has worked with Steven Spielberg, Dreamworks, Disney, Warner Bros, Paramount, and more!

Animation offers screenwriters one of the most flexible mediums for the imagination. Animated stories have been capturing our minds ever since media hit the screen through characters like Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Bugs Bunny to what we see today in The Simpsons, American Dad, Bojack Horseman, Rick and Morty, Spider-Man, Incredibles and (so many) more. Writing animated feature or television requires a special skill - not one that can be taught through traditional feature & TV writing resources. The tools you need to succeed in animation are quite unique and once honed can offer you a long career in the always hugely popular animation universe. 

But, where do you begin? There are all different types of animated writing - including pre-school, children's comedy and adult animation. Further, how do you find your niche? There are many different animation genres (and styles) in features and television today. Is the writing universal for all genres? It takes a seasoned professional to understand the nuances of all types of animated writing and be able to write efficiently for the story and the project. Educating yourself in all aspects of how animation writing works for features and television will greatly assist you in achieving your goal, whether it's attracting representation, trying to sell an original concept, pushing an animated feature or TV pilot, or finding work in an television animation writer's room.

Mike Disa, most recently the director of the highly praised Netflix show Paradise PD, has been working in animation for two decades. With no film training or knowledge of the byzantine workings of the entertainment business, he eventually found success at studios such as Dreamworks, Disney Feature, Warner Brothers, Paramount, and many others. Over a fascinating career, Mike has worked with some of the greatest and most infamous people in Hollywood including Steven Spielberg, Eric Goldberg, Ralph Bakshi, Glenn Close, Steve Oedekerk, David Tennant, Amy Poehler, Adam Sandler, Jeffery Katzenberg and Roy Disney. 

In this exclusive Stage 32 on-demand webinar, Mike will cover everything you need to know about writing animation for features & TV. He'll start with formatting and script length (two aspects surprisingly ignored or misunderstood by most writers) then discuss writing low budget vs. high budget and how to write within the scope of each. You will learn how to write around special effects and other post production implementations. Mike will discuss reading and production drafts and how to collaborate with your writing and producing teams and will talk premises, outlines, first draft strategies and how to go about pitching your idea. He will get into writer's room expectations, strategies in working the room, and the steps to take from being a show writer to a showrunner.

Mike will use real world examples to show you the landscape of writing animated features and TV. And this is just some of what you'll learn! 

This is 3 HOURS of comprehensive education from a director of a top animated Netflix show on how to write, sell, and build a career in writing feature AND television animation!

Praise for Mike:

"Mike Disa was amazingly generous with his time and information. And he was real. It doesn't get better than that. I'll be able to apply his insights and the information he shared immediately. I'm so glad I decided to participate."  -- Elizabeth A.

"Excellent webinar. I think that I learned more than I expected to about animation writing and how it relates to working in the industry. I had a good time watching this and appreciate how kind everyone was with their time."  -- Kari H.

Part 1: Features

• Format
• Length
• Writing to Budget
• Low Budget vs Big Budget
• Scale/Scope
• Writing for Demographics and Release Date
• CG vs Traditional
• Foreign vs Domestic Drafts
• Reading vs Production Drafts
• Pipeline Issues
• Greenlight Scripts
• Collaboration with Story Team
• Writing Visually
• Characters
• Common Mistakes
• WGA
• Bonus: Mike Shares Story Boards for the Feature Film Lilo and Stitch

Part 2: TV

• 3 Types - Pre-school, Children's Comedy, "Prime time"
• Format
• Page Count and Run Length
• Sample Scripts
• Writing to Budget
• Writing Action
• Page Length
• Standards and Practices
• Staff Writing
• Series Bible
• Writer’s Table
• Story Editing
• Show Running
• Season Breakdowns
• Premises
• Outlines
• First Drafts
• Why Freelancing Sucks
• How to be Valuable to a Story Editor
• Common Mistakes
• Pitching a Show
• Bonus: Mike Shares Story Boards for the TV Show Superwacky

Q&A with Mike!

All levels of screenwriters (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to know about writing animation for features & TV.

All levels of screenwriters (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to know about writing animation for features & TV.

Producers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) looking to know about writing animation for features & TV.

Producers (advanced, intermediate and beginner) who want to know about writing animation for features & TV.

Actors who want to know about writing animation for features & TV.

"Mike Disa was amazingly generous with his time and information. And he was real. It doesn't get better than that. I'll be able to apply his insights and the information he shared immediately. I'm so glad I decided to participate." - Elizabeth A.

"The webinar was excellent and very well paced. I truly appreciated the honesty and straightforwardness of the presenter. I learned a lot and look forward to the next one." - Jerry M.

"Great information, Mike did an awesome job and I will look forward to his next webinar." - Diane M.

"Really appreciated Mike's enthusiasm!" - Kate D.

"Excellent webinar. I think that I learned more than I expected to about animation writing and how it relates to working in the industry. I had a good time watching this and appreciate how kind everyone was with their time." - Kari H.

"I believe such given information was highly inspirational, utterly legit and true regarding the industry and show business. I've always wanted to learn what it takes to write an idea for an animated series, and how to put it on screen, and this webinar truly answered these vital questions. Conclusively, I would really take these tips into consideration during the writing of my ideas, and would highly recommend them to those who are ambitious to spread their stories world-wide." - Mohammed H.

"Mike was very informative. He was friendly and open very easy to listen to. I learned some valuable lessons.." - Lind J.

"The stories and ideas and descriptions were excellent. Straight talk from a true professional." - Don S.

"This was really helpful. Thank you for examples of scripts to download to read. This was very helpful." - Robin L.