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Educating Yourself in an Animation Writing or Production Career

© Shannon Muir

I happen to have a Bachelor of Arts in Radio-Television and English, as well as a Professional Certificate in Screenwriting, but I realized recently this might give a false impression that formal education is a “must” to be part of the animation industry. While it doesn’t hurt to have formal training, it is by no means required. If you have had the discipline and desire to teach yourself, or the determination to find someone who will informally instruct you, then show these qualities to people in a position to hire you, I believe you can go far in this business.

There are some, like myself, who like learning under some semblance of structure. For me, formal education provided a great way to interact with others (since I’m not terribly social) and learn to meet deadlines. It also helped me get well versed with structure. However, there comes a point where formal education can be a crutch and blind you to other learning opportunities, or at least that’s what I believe. I also feel I’ve nearly come to that point.

One of my animation writing mentors stopped being formally educated before getting a college degree, but after being in the industry for well over a decade, received an award from the Animation Writers Caucus for achievement in the field. This argues that formal education is by no means necessary to succeed as a writer, though I know many animation writers who have degrees in English, Film, or Theatre. In the very first letter I received from my mentor, the opinion was expressed that most writers “fail to get out and live life,” which could strengthen their writing. It seems to me the animation writer who gets out and observes people and situations, and brings those qualities to a script no matter what the setting (reality, science fiction or fantasy) should have a far better advantage than the formally educated writer who never steps outside the library or office.

However, in fair contrast, two of my animation writing mentors do have a lot of formal education and are relatively successful. One has completely a Theatre background, the other a mix of Theatre and English. My solely theatre trained mentor is also an avid world traveler, so he’s brought a lot of richness to his writing by traveling the globe and looking at various cultures. The other constantly seeks to explore new challenges and ideas. These are things you can have with or without a formal education to expand your knowledge of the world and strengthen your writing.