What sparked the idea for the showrunner series?
In 2020 the Writers’ Craft Committee began its series of virtual craft panels, and one of our committee chairs had an idea to do a panel on all things showrunning-related. There are so many things that we as writers must learn about what it takes to run an animated production, so this was a chance to bring in both new and veteran showrunners and ask them about the process.
We soon realized, in speaking with showrunners while preparing for the panel, that this was a topic with a lot of ground to cover. We needed more than one panel to really dive into all the facets and people that make up an animated production. So several members of the committee split up to create this interview series. The idea being that new showrunners or live-action showrunners coming into animation for the first time—or just about anyone interested in running a show one day—could use these interviews as part of their education. At the very least, we reasoned that it would save people a few coffee meetings.
Tell us about putting the project together.
We had some incredible interviewers helping us with this. Kendall Michele Haney and Cassie Soliday run their own podcasts called (respectively) “Typin’ Toons” and “The Ink & Paint Folk Podcast.” They both had lots of interview experience that benefited this project. Josh Riley Brown who assists us with the mentorship subcommittee, and Jessie Juwono who moderates virtual panels at Cartoon Network, were a huge help, as well. And of course there are all of those that agreed to be interviewed and share their insights. It was a true team effort from start to finish!
How were the interview subjects chosen?
Our interview team first talked about all of the various roles in the animation process, such as Supervising Director, Timing Director, Line Producer, Animation Director, Editor, etc. Then we split up the positions between interviewers, and each interviewer got in contact with their subject directly. Most of these connections had already been made while working with the subjects on other shows.
We hope to add more subjects and interviews in the months and years ahead. We believe this is a resource that has the potential to expand.
Why is it important to present a specialized series like this one?
Animation is still an area with relatively few resources available to the public, especially on the writing side. We see this training series as part of a larger goal to create useful resources that anyone in the world can enjoy regardless of their economic background. We want to demystify the process so that anyone interested can learn how well-run TV series operate.
There’s also talk of creating a library where we can archive animation scripts, and possibly of more ambitious mentorship and outreach programs to come. For now, we’re excited to continue growing our virtual panels and training series catalogue for anyone interested in the craft of animation writing and production. They’re fun to produce, and the feedback we’ve gotten from Guild members has been really positive!
The Showrunner Training Series can be found on The Animation Guild website.
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