Spider-man Into The Spider-verse and Writing for the New Age of Animation
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities | Film and Media Studies | Screenwriting
Abstract (300 words maximum)
The Best Animated Film Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018) stunned audiences and critics alike with gorgeous off-the-beaten-path visuals and a snappy yet heartfelt hero story. Screenwriters Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman wrote the film that signaled a new era of experimental animation with a decades-old intellectual property, and used tried and true writing techniques to do so. Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse (2018) had a fair share of creative challenges in its creation, including but not limited to: Sony rearranging the entire animation pipeline, creating a distinctive style for a non-MCU Marvel property, working within the constraints of the overdone superhero genre and writing a well-structured film with a massive cast and complicated story elements. How does one write a script that's fresh enough to match its visual style, strong enough to hold the weight of a character as iconic as Spiderman, and familiar enough to appeal to the Disney-accustomed masses? In my screenplay analysis, I will be utilizing Blake Synder’s story beats from his book Save the Cat; as well as Brian McDonald’s ideas on theme and structure from his books The Golden Theme (Talking Drum, 2017) and Invisible Ink (Talking Drum, 2017) to break down what makes Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman’s script so effective. Writing for animation is in a league all its own, and in examining how these two writers took on the monumental task of juggling these creative beasts, one can break down how good writing can match any myriad of on screen-visuals.
Academic department under which the project should be listed
RCHSS - English
Primary Investigator (PI) Name
Anna Weinstein
Spider-man Into The Spider-verse and Writing for the New Age of Animation
The Best Animated Film Oscar winner Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse (2018) stunned audiences and critics alike with gorgeous off-the-beaten-path visuals and a snappy yet heartfelt hero story. Screenwriters Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman wrote the film that signaled a new era of experimental animation with a decades-old intellectual property, and used tried and true writing techniques to do so. Spiderman: Into the Spider-verse (2018) had a fair share of creative challenges in its creation, including but not limited to: Sony rearranging the entire animation pipeline, creating a distinctive style for a non-MCU Marvel property, working within the constraints of the overdone superhero genre and writing a well-structured film with a massive cast and complicated story elements. How does one write a script that's fresh enough to match its visual style, strong enough to hold the weight of a character as iconic as Spiderman, and familiar enough to appeal to the Disney-accustomed masses? In my screenplay analysis, I will be utilizing Blake Synder’s story beats from his book Save the Cat; as well as Brian McDonald’s ideas on theme and structure from his books The Golden Theme (Talking Drum, 2017) and Invisible Ink (Talking Drum, 2017) to break down what makes Phil Lord and Rodney Rothman’s script so effective. Writing for animation is in a league all its own, and in examining how these two writers took on the monumental task of juggling these creative beasts, one can break down how good writing can match any myriad of on screen-visuals.