Storyboarding & The Art of Pitching with Patrick Harpin
$95.00 – $200.00
Sign-ups open now!
Nearly all the best Animation Directors started out working as Story Artists.
Why is this?
Because Story Artists are required to be the ‘whole package’. A great Story Artist understands Cinematography, Writing, Acting, and must be comfortable pitching their ideas to a room full of strangers… which ironically are the same skills you need to pitch your Series/Film to Studio Execs.
As a Director/Showrunner I’ve pitched and sold my own series to Netflix (‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter’). I’ve storyboarded a feature film for Wes Anderson (Moonrise Kingdom), and wrote the pitch bible & first 8 episodes of CN’s ‘Clarence’. Most recently I developed a feature film pitch at WB/DC for a ‘Batman Beyond’ film that ‘broke the internet’.
So I can say with some experience that the greatest film school in the world isn’t film school… it’s working as a story artist.
This class is intended for students who are serious about getting jobs as Storyboard Artists, and who someday might want to pitch their OWN projects.
In the first half of this workshop, you’ll get a crash course in Storyboarding, using a script I’ve personally designed to train storyboard artists (you’ll be given the same training I gave my students at CalArts).
In the second half of this course, we will turn our focus on how to pitch YOUR OWN ideas.
Unlike other storyboarding classes, this class will also give you high-level insights into what it actually takes to SELL, and (hopefully) DIRECT your own stories.
We’ll cover:
- Intro to Storyboarding. Cinematography, Blocking, Composition
- Storyboarding a scene from an existing script (like you would as an artist in the industry)
- The Story Artist as WRITER: Crash Course in Story Structure
- Storyboarding your OWN original idea
- And finally: How to Pitch your idea to a Studio.
Reading Materials:
“In the Blink of an Eye” by Walter Murch
“Invisible Ink” by Brian McDonald
Date & Time: Starts Sunday November 17th, every Sunday at 5:00 PM Eastern US time
Duration: 4 weeks
Skill level: All Skill levels welcome, but proficiency in drawing is necessary for you to be able to do the assignments.
Tiers: Receive direct feedback in class or spectate without homework feedback.
Format: 4-5 hour live class with combination of lectures, demos, and feedback. Recordings are generally provided within a couple days of each live session.
Art Materials: Any digital or Traditional tools. Storyboards must be pitched in PDF format, can use whatever program you like to create them in, but Toon Boom Storyboard Pro is recommended.
All weeks will be a combination of lecture, demos and feedback.
Description
Patrick attended CalArts as part of the Character Animation Program. Patrick was trained at the Pixar Story Internship, and later the Blue Sky Story Apprenticeship. While in NYC, Patrick storyboarded the bulk of Wes Anderson’s ‘Moonrise Kingdom”.
Patrick first tried his hand at writing while helping develop CN’s ‘Clarence’, where he wrote the show bible and the first 8 episodes. Patrick later worked on ‘Hotel Transylvania 2’, and ‘Hotel Transylvania 3’ for director Genndy Tartakovsky. While at Sony, Patrick hatched a plan with a friend to pitch their own series to Netflix Animation, which became ‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter’.
As a Director/Creator/Showrunner on ‘My Dad the Bounty Hunter’, Patrick got to develop episodes as scripts in the writer’s room, all the way through Storyboards, Edit, and final picture. Patrick served as showrunner for both seasons, with both seasons breaking into the Netflix ‘Top Ten’.
Patrick is currently pitching originals & IP projects with his producing partner Yuhki Demers. Patrick & Demers most recently ‘broke the internet’ with their ‘Batman Beyond’ Feature pitch they developed for WB/DC.