There are certain structural procedures that must be followed when producing an animation, may it be a full-length film or a 30-second commercial. The success of an animation lies not only on talented artists but on how they followed these guidelines. Failure to follow these may lead to mishaps or be costly to time and money.

The sequence of steps in the production of an animated film

Script

A script is a written plan, authored by a screenwriter, for a film or. Screenplays can be original works or adaptations from existing works such as novels. A script can involve a blueprint of "what happens" in a comic, an advertisement, a theatrical play and other "blueprinted" creations.
The major components of a script are action and dialogue, with the "action" being "what we see happening" and "dialogue" being "what we hear" (i.e., what the characters utter). The characters, when first introduced in the screenplay, may also be described visually. Scriptss differ from traditional literature conventions in ways described below; however, screenplays may not involve emotion-related descriptions and other aspects of the story that are, in fact, visual within the end-product.

The first step in any film production is the creation of the script. In an animated film, the script
plays a vital role. This film script, however, differs from a live action film script.

Animation Film Script Live Action Script

- dialogue is less important - dialogue is important to
- visual action in plot and performance actor’s performance is most essential

Note: The best animation is that with a dialogue that is nonexistent and with visual designs that captures the imagination.

Storyboard

A storyboard is a series of drawn images that graphically portray the action described in the script.
Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of pre-visualizing a motion graphic or interactive media sequence, including website interactivity.

The storyboarding process, in the form it is known today, was developed at the Walt Disney studio during the early 1930s, after several years of similar processes being in use at Walt Disney and other animation studios.

 This is created by the director based on the animation film script. While constructing the storyboard, the director spots the deficiencies in format and structure of the script and corrects it.

With the storyboard, the director, writer, producer and the animation team is now able to see and appreciate the content of the project. If changes have to be made, a think tank is set up; comprising all the contributors involved. They will polish the story, content and ideas for it to be ready for the next step.

Voice Recording

The third step in the process is the recording of any dialogue or key music. Remember that animation relies totally to perfect synchronization of the picture to the soundtrack. Before true animation begins, a preliminary soundtrack or "scratch track" is recorded, so that the animation may be more precisely synchronized to the soundtrack. Given the slow, methodical manner in which traditional animation is produced, it is almost always easier to synchronize animation to a pre-existing soundtrack than it is to synchronize a soundtrack to pre-existing animation. A completed cartoon soundtrack will feature music, sound effects, and dialogue performed by voice actors. However, the scratch track used during animation typically contains just the voices, any vocal songs that the characters must sing along to, and temporary musical score tracks; the final score and sound effects are added in post-production.

When the action is in sync with the music, it is possible to record a simple guide track with a minimum number of musicians. This simple guide track will indicate the basic melodies and essential beat. The click track also serves this purpose. It has a predetermined click or beat, overlaid into it.

Animatics

An animatic typically consists of pictures of the storyboard synchronized with the soundtrack. This allows the animators and directors to work out any script and timing issues that may exist with the current storyboard. The storyboard and soundtrack are amended if necessary, and a new animatic may be created and reviewed with the director until the storyboard is perfected. Editing the film at the animatic stage prevents the animation of scenes that would be edited out of the film; as traditional animation is a very expensive and time-consuming process, creating scenes that will eventually be edited out of the completed cartoon is strictly avoided

Track Breakdown

This next step is the responsibility of the editor. He puts together the precise working length of the film and then breaks down the track accordingly. This process entails him to analyze the dialogue phonetically (by sound rather than by spelling) and document the exact position of each sound in relation to the film frames. Bear in mind that each 35mm movie film is estimated at 24 frames per second. Given the situation that a character begins to laugh after one second of film time, the editor will mark the beginning of the laugh on the 25th frame and the subsequent frames to which the laugh continues. The entire breakdown sheet is transferred to the bar sheet.This is a preprinted sheet that allows the frame of the soundtrack and film to be identified and analyzed visually.

Designs

While the track is being broken down, the director chooses one or more film designers to create visual representations of all the characters featured in the film. Once these designs are approved, each character will be drawn from a multitude of angles and placed on a single sheet of paper called a model sheet. This model sheet will be used by all animators as reference. Also included in this stage is the production of background styling for all principal sequences in
the film.

Leica Reel

The next task is designated to the layout artist (under the supervision of the director). Using the bar sheets and storyboard, the layout artist produces a Leica reel of the entire film. The Leica reel is, in essence, a filmed storyboard which can be projected in synchronization with the final soundtrack. Because the storyboard drawings are usually merely scribbles, the layout artist needs to carefully draw each scene to the size at which it will be animated. He/she also follows the characterization done by the film designer and draws (more than 1 drawing) the action in that scene.
After all the scenes have been completed, the director has each scene shot on film. He uses the bar sheet to achieve appropriate timing. He then views the Leica reel to get the impression of the film’s progress. During this time, he may still make some changes on the visual content of the film without sacrificing time and money costs.

Line Tests

When the Leica reel is acceptable to the director and producer, the animators finally enter the picture to do the line test of each scene. Line tests are the animation drawings filmed to the exact timings of the scene as indicated on the bar sheet. This is produced on pencil on paper. There are occasions that an animation needs to be altered several times in a particular scene if the line test proves that the action is not quite working. However, most line tests work on the initial trial and the editor can cut it into the Leica reel; replacing the drawing created by the layout artist.
As each pencil-animated scene is added, a line test of the entire film may be viewed for necessary fine adjustment. Any changes made at this stage may be very costly.

Cleanup

A team of cleanup artists is responsible in taking all the animation drawings and cleaning them up for a consistent visual style. Are cleanup artists necessary? In major productions, it is ideal to have a team of clean-up artists. Since many animators are working on the same character, it is inevitable that the look of the character may vary. With the cleanup artists, this problem may be remedied.

Trace and Paint

After the cleaned-up line test is approved, this next procedure follows.

Step by step instructions for trace and paint:

1. Each drawing is transferred to a cell  (thin sheet of celluloid or acetate)

2. Each drawing is painted in the colors of the original design

3. After an animated image is on the cel, a team of artists paint the cel in opaque colors on the reverse side of the drawing

In the early days of animation, transferring the drawings to cels involves large teams of trained artists to carefully trace each drawing in a varied range of line techniques. At present, things are much easier. It is possible to photocopy a drawing on the cel for cleanup artists or animators to draw directly on the cel. Bid goodbye to the pencil stage!

The drawings are painted on the reverse to keep the paint from going over the lines and to produce flatter, smoother colors

Backgrounds

Simultaneously, another team of artists work on the backgrounds. The backgrounds do not only consist of everything behind, but also sometimes those that do not move in front of the moving characters. Every background artist must achieve a continuity of style by creating outputs identical to the original film design style.

Checking

The checker is responsible in making sure that all animation cels and backgrounds are correctly drawn, traced, painted and prepared for the cameraman to film it. A checker must be efficient. Incomplete or incorrect work discovered during the final shoot will be a waste in time and money.

Final Shoot

This is the final stage in the actual filming procedure related to the artwork. Once the checker is satisfied that all artworks for each scene is right, they are passed on to the rostrum cameraman. The rostrum cameraman shoots the completed scene.

Rushes

Once the final shoot is completed, the exposed film is sent to the film laboratories for overnight processing. The following morning, it is ready for projection as rushes. Rushes are checked for errors. If any are found, the problem is remedied and the scene reshot. If none, the rushes are cut by the editor into the final film, replacing the existing line-test scenes.

Dubbing

Choosing sound effects (SFX) to go with the action in the film is done by the director and editor only after the whole film exists in final form. When the sound effects are laid in perfect synchronization with the action, dubbing takes place. The director and editor go to a dubbing theater to mix the voice track, music and sound effects in one complete soundtrack. After dubbing, the film is in a double-head stage wherein the finished picture and finished soundtrack are on two separate rolls of film.

Answer Print

The final stage in the process is turning the double-head to an answer print. The editor sends the double-head to film laboratories for an answer print; one film wherein the sound and picture are merged.

The films undergo an extensive session of picture grading. This is done by checking per scene that the colors of the picture are accurately reproduced.

The optical track is the sound aspect of an answer print wherein the sound elements of the film are transferred to a varying-intensity visual format. There is now a thin, visual strip alone one side of the film. When light is projected through this strip, the variations in light intensity are converted by the sound system to variations in sound intensity. After all the stages are completed, it is time for the answer print to be projected. The months of arduous work finally pays off when the film is received with a round of enthusiastic applause.