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Post by Pim Peccable on Aug 4, 2006 21:52:56 GMT -5
Ah, yes. Thorius has voiced an "issue" often discussed concerning Exchange.
Many would like to know if it part of a long arc, or just a fun example of "writing in the moment"
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Post by Lord Montezuma on Aug 5, 2006 2:55:16 GMT -5
Hello and welcome, Mr. Hart! ;D
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Post by johnnys on Aug 5, 2006 3:43:29 GMT -5
Wow....the writer of 'Sick Day' is here too??!!! That's my most favourite KP's 11 minutes episode!!!
Welcome, Tom! I'm a huge KP fan from Malaysia! ....and I'm more than willing to travel 12,000 miles from here to LA if there is a KP convention!!!
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Post by PossibleKim on Aug 5, 2006 4:07:20 GMT -5
Wow... many writters are here already Welcome Timothy Hart
Does Brian take you name and put it in the Fearless Ferret episode? I notice this when the I read you name Timothy Hart. It really sounded like Timothy North
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Post by thomashart on Aug 5, 2006 20:03:31 GMT -5
Thor & Dracko-- I think I can answer most of the question, or at least shed some light on how stuff like Mystical Monkey Power come about--
"if writers have freedom of script with the exception of some very especific details, details that although especific, still need to be followed."
The writers have a certain amount of freedom, but probably not quite as much as you think. Above the writers, you have the story editors (myself & Mr. Swenlin) often times we come up with the story the writers will write. Above the story editors are the producers (Schooley and McCorkle) who dictate what they would like to see in an episode, and usually they will set the "rules" of what happens in "Kim Possible"... then above the producers you have the studio (meaning a bunch of executives) and from them come more notes and ideas about what they want in the series- and very often these notes and concerns make litte sense to use who are actually making the show--- but we do the best we can to navigate through their notes and make the show the best we can. So there are a lot of masters to serve.
So-- pretty much, the writers have to do what they're told, and they get told what to do by a lot of people. ;-)
The production schedule on an animated series is very, very fast. And sometimes there are things that happen in a story arc that may contridict other story arcs. We've actually worked pretty hard to track Ron's Mystical Monkey Powers, and keep them consistant. But I will admit, Ron had some pretty kick-ass powers in exchange that he's never really tapped into again.
-I'm finding I can write a lot more on this subject as I'm getting into it here--- but for the moment I have to run.
Hopefully this has answered some of the question(s). I'll post more soon, if you'd like.
-T
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Post by nabusan on Aug 5, 2006 21:02:57 GMT -5
Thanks for that, Tom! Wow, how involved are the studio execs, percentage-wise? Are we talking men in suits, or actual writers? Do they pass on thoughts episode by episode, or all in one go before season production? What do they base their notes on? Ratings? Sales figures? What the fans want?
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Post by drakkenlover on Aug 5, 2006 21:05:24 GMT -5
So, Mr. Hart, ow do you come up with these awesome episodes? Do they come to you or what?
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Post by dracko19 on Aug 5, 2006 21:11:41 GMT -5
Yes, I'd love to hear more about this...
It sounds like the execs, producers and editors set the "Rules" and then you have to come up with a story that advances the series and keeps all the rules in mind.
I've heard that the "execs" used to poke their noses into all kinds of projects at Disney (movies, series, etc.) and force changes that completely limited many creative opportunities for writers and producers. However, since you had a change of management, that doesn't happen as much anymore. I heard one animator say "...Its like someone opened up a window and fresh air is blowing in" Have you seen any of this or can you comment?
And, as you can tell, many of us are fascinated with the MMP arc. So, anything you can share would be great. -Thanks!
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Post by kimfan101 on Aug 6, 2006 15:12:24 GMT -5
WELCOME!
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Post by ShegoWannabe on Aug 6, 2006 21:29:30 GMT -5
Welcome Mr. Hart! "Sick Day" is my fave. 11-minute ep. and Exchange was certainly one of Ron's best eps. ;D
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Post by Adam on Aug 6, 2006 21:30:46 GMT -5
Oh definitely! So, how many of the episodes this season have you worked on so far?
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Post by kimmyfan48 on Aug 6, 2006 21:33:54 GMT -5
Welcome Mr. Hart! I am kimmyfan48, the site's unoffical meteorologist and NASCAR expert.
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Post by wallaceb on Aug 6, 2006 21:59:13 GMT -5
awsome to have you here
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Post by thomashart on Aug 7, 2006 13:21:34 GMT -5
Thanks for that, Tom! Wow, how involved are the studio execs, percentage-wise? Are we talking men in suits, or actual writers? Do they pass on thoughts episode by episode, or all in one go before season production? What do they base their notes on? Ratings? Sales figures? What the fans want? The studio execs are very involved. They are, after all, the ones "buying" and "paying for" the series so to speak. And no, they're not writers-- however they do deal with scripts and series development all the time. They pass along their notes and thoughts at all stages of the process: in the early development of a series, at the premises stage of story, at the outline stage, and at each stage of script drafts (usually 3 to 4 drafts)--- and they they give notes at each stage of animation. As you can see, that's a lot of notes. Their notes are based on everything you mentioned above- and also keeping a series "on brand"--- meaning, making sure it's Disney quality, and/or fits in with what the Company thinks is Disney. Beyond that, their notes are primarily driven by what will bring in the best ratings and strengthen the demographic of their audience. Ratings equal dollars, and dollars run the studio - period. Doesn't matter how much the studio might love a project or hate a project- if it doesn't generated ratings, they won't support it. It's real simple math when you look at it. ;-)
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Post by thomashart on Aug 7, 2006 13:36:08 GMT -5
Oh definitely! So, how many of the episodes this season have you worked on so far? I've worked on a little more than half of the episodes-- about 14 at this point (but I won't be getting a "writing" credit on anything but the last couple of episodes). As a story-editor, many times I (and Mr. Swenlin too) will often be the ones responsible for the story and script of an episode... but will not get the writing credit. Not to discount the other writers on the series at all, it's just the nature of the process and how much scripts change once the writer's duties are completed on an episode. Again, due to studio notes or other concerns that crop up, we may think we have a final script--- but we might end up starting all over again. This is fairly typical for most animated series. A finished script (and competed episode) is a collaboration all down the line of a lot of very talented, hard working people each contributing at the different stages along the way. And once I'm done with a script (and Brian too) then Schooley & McCorkle take it over and do their tweaks to it. So there are a lot of hands that touch a script before it goes final... and even in the recording session we may come up with new lines and changes etc. So, just because it's written on the page and says "final" on it, doesn't mean it can't be changed. It's just how the process works, and hopefully makes things better.
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Post by thomashart on Aug 7, 2006 13:42:08 GMT -5
So, Mr. Hart, ow do you come up with these awesome episodes? Do they come to you or what? This is a tough one to answer... a lot of times, ideas for episodes come from talking through ideas with Mr. Schooley and Mr. McCorkle--- or they may have an idea for something they'd like to see happen. Or, the studio might have an idea for a story... Or I'll pitch an idea I've come up with. On some occasions we've had writers pitch ideas for the show that we've used. But the majority of the stories on Kim Possible have been thought up by the staff here--- with the bulk of it all coming from the fevered brains of Mark McCorkle and Bob Schooley.
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Post by dracko19 on Aug 7, 2006 14:14:28 GMT -5
And once I'm done with a script (and Brian too) then Schooley & McCorkle take it over and do their tweaks to it. So there are a lot of hands that touch a script before it goes final... and even in the recording session we may come up with new lines and changes etc. So, just because it's written on the page and says "final" on it, doesn't mean it can't be changed. It's just how the process works, and hopefully makes things better. Can you think of some examples of lines or stories you changed once they got into the recording session? Did the actors play a role in the changes? How much did you participate in the recording sessions? Are there any stories you can share with us of interest during that time?
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Post by nabusan on Aug 7, 2006 14:15:48 GMT -5
Did you work on the 'Make A Wish' episode at all?
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Post by Ashley Benlove on Aug 7, 2006 15:47:32 GMT -5
^^ I wanna know more about that episode.
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Post by thomashart on Aug 7, 2006 20:01:04 GMT -5
Typically I'll be at the recordings for the episodes I'm responsible for (story editing and/or writing)- that means almost all of season 3 and more than half of season 4. As far as specific instances of new lines or changes having happened at records... I can't think of an exact one right now. A lot of times the changes are funnier ways to say lines, or simplifying dialog so it makes more sense. There have been times that the actors have contributed, or thought of a new way to say the line- that's always a lot of fun to witness!
The Make a Wish episode(s) were ones that I was involved with- however I wasn't able to attend the recording. I had hoped to. Schooley and McCorkle were there though. We have two Make a Wish episodes in season 4 if I'm not mistaken. One will be when Ron is having a bit of a problem with his eating--- and the other where Kim encounters one of her "fans" while in the middle of a mission and she's um... not quite herself.
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