Why Animators Need Grammelot

What is Grammelot? And why do animators need it? Sometimes you want your characters to speak, but what they are actually saying isn't really that important.  Much more significant is the tone, and what that tone tells us about the character doing the speaking.  Think of the adults in the old Charlie Brown feature films; they spoke in a dreary unintelligible monotone.  We didn't know what they were saying, but we didn't need to - their tone of voice told us everything we needed to know.  And the content of their speech was far less important than what the Peanuts' kids had to say.

Recording Voice-Overs

A Sound Designer at work

Understanding How to Record Voice-Overs for an animated film is a whole subject in itself.  Animators animating to dialogue will need to record the voice talent in advance; this should never be left until the end.  It isn't always easy to find a quiet space, and finding actors who can do good voice-over work can also be a challenge. 

But, this is a crucial skill to master in the making of an animated short film. Like everything to do with film-making, the best way to learn it is to try it out, make some mistakes, then do it better next time. 

Escape Studios Film-making Resources

For more information and resources on the making of animated short films, follow the links below:

Development & Pre-Production

• How to Write a Story
• How to make a short animated film
• How to pitch your film idea
• Why Animators Need Mood Boards
• Why Animators Need Colour Scripts
• Managing Group Projects
• Why Animators Need a Storyboard Animatic
• How to Record Voice-Overs
• Sound Design for Animators
• Why Animators Need Production Design

Production

• Why Animators Must Wreck Their Rigs
• What an Animation Editor Does, Exactly
• Ten Rules of Animation Dailies
• Why Animators Must Check Their Hookups
• What are CBBs? (Could be Better)
• Using Lighting to Tell the Story

Post-Production

• How Animators Work with Composers
• Royalty-free music at Bensound
• Colour Grading your film
• Thanks and Special Thanks - Getting Film Credits Right
• How to Create the Perfect One-Sheet Movie Poster (and Why You Need One)
• Getting Yourself (and your film) Listed at IMDB

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for our BA/MArt in 3D Animation, follow this link.