Animation

As I've been producing an animated proof of concept, one thing that's become increasingly clear is how much story can be told without dialogue.

Some of my favorite animated films communicate emotion through staging, pacing, music, and performance long before a character speaks.

For those who've worked in animation:

When do you decide a scene needs dialogue, and when do you intentionally let silence carry the emotion?

I'd love to hear examples from projects you've worked on or films you admire.

The 2026 Toronto International Film Festival has added 70 feature films in the Centerpiece, Wavelengths and Classics programs, including an unprecedented eight animated films and a 4K restoration of Ken Russell’s controversial and sexually charged “The Devils.”

The animated Centerpiece titles include Louise Bagnall’s “Julian,” Xu Zao’s “Light Pillar” and Sebastien Laudenbach’s “Viva Carmen.”

Finally I have finished my 2nd feature script. it is an adult animation about a rabbit that escape a cult and find herself in prestige university where she shows her extraordinary mind.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVC9zKC6oko

I've been spending a lot of time thinking about environmental storytelling while developing an animated feature.

Some of my favorite films make the world feel alive before a character ever speaks. Small details in the background, architecture, props, lighting, and everyday routines tell us how people live.

When you're watching an animated film...

What makes a world feel believable rather than simply beautiful?

I'd love to hear examples from your favorite films or your own projects.

Inspired by an ancient verse from the Vishnu Sahasra Naamam I constructed a fiction based on the meaning of the words. Sandhaata, The one who unites,For the Betterment of Universal well being, Sandhimaan means the one that takes the middle ground of the connections between the realms of reality, The one who is approachable and relatable to the various realms, Stiraha means the one who is established, steady and rooted in his ground. It takes all of it to sustain balance in the Universe and the absolute manifestation of Universal energy in human form does it. This is the essence of the meaning.

So I Created a being the Connector Sandhimaan originating from our physical realm but in a constellation that is responsible to sustain the galaxy's well being. The Polaris Constellation. Why did I choose The Polaris Constellation because, The Metaphysical Realm of Vaikunta Loka lies on the polaris constellation overlaped upon it. In the Polaris Constellation a planet Maha Dweepam full of straight and inverted mountains floating in the air tracks distress signal from fragile beings. Highly concious beings work there 100 hours a day and the shift changes every 5 hours. Every planet a being from Maha Dweepam is sent during a real upheaval rise to bring balance.

Why coin the name Maha Dweepam because, in the ancient text the Metaphysical realm of Vaikunta Loka in the Dhruva Natshatra overlapping constellation, Dhruva Natshatra means Polestar lies a metaphysical planet called Shweta Dweepam which means White milk ocean planet where the being Vishnu lies. So I coined Maha Dweepam a fictional physical realm, which means big Island. Maha means big Dweepam means an shore. Since the lands are floating I called it a big island.

A Man from earth called Shakta contacts the beings while connecting through the bending time in meditation. Why I named him Shakta is In the ancient historical text of Mahabharata there was an exuberant and intelligent yet extremely simple and reliable, approachable, simple life living Prime Minister called Vidhura who was addressed in the surname of Shakta. He is from the 28th cycle of the Universe. Why bring this 28th cycle? According to our ancient text The Universe undergoes multiple cycles and the current cycle of the universe we live in right now is the 35th cycle of the Universe. The 28th Cycle is where many historical scriptures were documented.

Sandhimaan before deciding to meet this person gets to know that 1 second is 1 year on earth. Why did I bring that is Time in the ancient scriptures runs totally different in Vaikunta Loka compared to earth The Creator of the ancient scriptures located in the metaphysical realm of sat constellation which is 1.5 billion light years away from earth a day in his life is equal to 71 Universal cycle, Every hour the position of Angels taking care to sustain universal balance changes, because his hours run differently for the angels as years. According to scriptures We are currently in the 7th hour of the Creator Bramha of the metaphysical realm.

Through Shakta Sandhimaan gets to know about an evil unseen by human eyes, He is from the lowest physical realm of Tanatala constellation from a fictional physical planet called inferno. Why did I bring a lower realm and Tanatala constellation is according to the ancient scriptures it is below this tanatala constellation lies a metaphysical realm of hellish existence. Sandhimaan gets to know his name is Kwaaish, Why did I coin the name Kwaaish because it means desires. According to ancient scriptures hell is not something that is always like a punishment sort of place with horned beings with trident. According to ancient scriptures the lower realms where you drown in your own trap of illusions is hell. Example there is a mention of metaphysical nector drinking which a human in his temporary body called sookshma shareeram assumes he is winning everything drowning in the illusion and gets tired and still tries wins drowning in ego while in reality he lies on slumber. So Kwaaish in my script causes instant gratification and normalizes it by carefully picking people potential of narcissism and god complexities. He feeds in that energy. Why I made him feed in that energy because in the ancient scriptures Angels are said to feed our positive thinking as food for boosting their energy and vise versa for domens.

Why did I sketch Kwaaish characterization as Unseen by human eyes because in ancient scriptures Evil does not appear like we see in over simplified distortion like destruction one on one fight, It appears wearing a slate clean characterization of a people friendly disguise and rewires through twisted truth and manipulation. This is why it is said "Friend of the world is enemy of God" Yogananda in his book 2nd coming said when Yehoshuwa Chrestos was talking about Devil he meant the devil within us that doubts every good thing. He said the serpant wasn't talking, the serpant was the poetic embelishment of the mind within.

Sandhimaan gets permission from the Trinity council who are fictional physical representation of the metaphysical Tridev from the ancient scriptures. There time runs differently 1 hour with Trinity council in Tribhangha Dhaam Planet is 1 year in Maha Dweepam. Why I called the planet Tribhanga Dhaam is in the ancient scriptures the metaphysical place of vishnu's residence is called Vaikunta Dhaam. Bringing the hour of creator aspect that is generation for angels I fixed a different time for Tribhanga Dhaam and Maha Dweepam.

When Sandhimaan reaches earth he reaches in 100 months which is 1 year in Maha Dweepam. When he reaches earth he reaches the 35th cycle of the Universe and meets the version of Shakta from the 35th Cycle of the universe. Why did I write that is because in the historical text of Mahabharata A king Rawayata from the first cycle of the universe visits the metaphysical realm of creator and when he comes back 27 universal cycles have passed and he lands his vimana in the 28th cycle of the universe. These inspired me to coin the script.

I just received my pitch results from my animated screenplay "Inferno: New Orleans," and it got good scores. All 4s with one 5. Even though it was still a pass, the exec praised my pitch and told me that I will find someone if I keep pitching. But the advice he gave is sticking with me. He recommended that I learn to use Unreal Engine for animating a trailer. He's about to do it himself. I assumed I needed to be an artist to use Unreal Engine, but after some research, I realized I just need a laptop and patience. Plus, the majority of the tutorials are free. Now I'm considering taking some time to learn the software and see what I can do. The thing is, I'll do the entire screenplay, not just a trailer. Has anyone on here used Unreal Engine, and how is it going so far?

I'm thrilled to announce that my script "By the Bootstraps" is a quarterfinalist in the competition!

I'm a screenwriter currently working on two animated projects.

I've been told that my writing gives "live-action." Both are very grounded stories Ala Mamoru Oshii's Ghost in the Shell or Monster, and I have been writing them identically to how I write live-action.

How does(or should) writing for animation look different from writing from live-action?