Have you ever wanted to create your own animated short film but didn't know where to begin? This hands-on bootcamp takes you through every stage of the animation pipeline, from developing your initial idea to showcasing a finished film on the big screen.
Whether you are interested in animation, storyboarding, comics, or visual storytelling, you will master the creative and production skills used by professional studios. Working step-by-step through scriptwriting, character design, world-building, principles of motion, and post-production, you will build an original project entirely your own.
Course Rundown
Format: 13-Week Course · 4 Hours Per Week
Week 1: Finding Your Story
Explore creative ideation and themes to spark inspiration. Uncover stories that matter to you, assemble a personal mood board of visual references, music, and art, and complete introductory writing exercises based on imagery and sound.
Week 2: Writing the Script
Learn screenplay fundamentals and narrative structure using frameworks like Freytag's Pyramid and the Story Circle. Develop original film concepts, pitch taglines, and write a 1-page script and story breakdown.
Week 3: Storyboarding Your Film
Translate your script into visual storytelling. Learn how professional storyboard artists use composition, staging, and cinematic camera angles to turn scripts into panelled thumbnail boards.
Week 4: Making Your Boards Cinematic
Push your storyboards beyond simple sketches by exploring pacing, shot variety, camera movement, and visual flow. Refine your boards and present them in a collaborative storyboard showcase for constructive feedback.
Week 5: Designing Your Characters
Learn the fundamentals of character design, turnarounds, silhouettes, and expressive poses. Develop production-ready characters and create complete turnaround and expression sheets.
Week 6: Building Your World
Explore perspective, environment design, and background storytelling. Create memorable locations and background assets that support both your narrative and artistic style.
Week 7: Planning Like a Studio
Learn how professional animation studios organize productions through shot lists, asset tracking, schedules, and workflow management. Explore 2D, 3D, stop motion, and motion graphics to choose the best medium for your film.
Week 8: Bringing Drawings to Life
Dive into the 12 Principles of Animation. Learn how squash and stretch, anticipation, timing, spacing, and follow-through create believable motion during independent production time.
Week 9: Character Acting
Explore how actors, filmmakers, and animators communicate emotion through body language, facial expressions, and staging, applying character acting techniques directly to your shots.
Week 10: Strong Poses & Clear Action
Master key poses, silhouettes, and breakdown drawings to convey weight, emotion, and action with clarity, refining your animated sequences.
Week 11: Timing, Polish & Final Animation
Fine-tune timing, spacing, and holds to heighten your storytelling and bring your animated short closer to its final, polished form.
Week 12: Editing & Compositing
Assemble your completed shots in post-production. Learn the basics of film editing, audio, compositing, sound design, and music integration to assemble your finished short film.
Week 13: Student Film Festival
Celebrate your hard work with a public screening of every student's completed short film. Share your creative process, receive feedback, and leave with a finished project for your portfolio or demo reel.
By The End Of This Course, You Will:
- Create an original animated short film from initial concept to completion.
- Learn the complete animation production pipeline used in professional studios.
- Develop practical skills in storytelling, scriptwriting, storyboarding, and character design.
- Understand animation principles, character acting, timing, and cinematic staging.
- Gain experience planning and managing an animation production schedule.
- Learn the basics of editing, compositing, sound design, and preparing a finished film.
- Leave with a completed short film suitable for your portfolio, demo reel, or festival submission.
What to Bring & Requirements
-
Laptop & Drawing Device: Bring a laptop or tablet equipped with your preferred animation/drawing and editing software.
-
Traditional Tools: A sketchbook and pencils for initial ideation and thumbnailing.
-
Flexible Mediums: Suitable for students working in 2D digital, 3D, stop-motion, or hybrid animation styles.
Course Details
Dates: To be announced
Format: 13 weekly sessions · 4 hours per week
Location: Urban Art Collective Art Hub, 50 Bayswater Avenue, Ottawa
Instructor: To be announced
Level: All Levels
Maximum Capacity: 12 students
Minimum Enrolment: 6 students required
