Chris Sanders: Screenwriters’ Lecture

Chris Sanders, director and writer of multi-nominated The Wild Robot and Lilo & Stitch, has opened up about the process of bringing his ideas to life.

“I came into this [industry] visually, I didn’t really have any intention of writing and directing, I came in like the other side of this whole thing” – Chris Sanders.

From embracing the skills he didn’t realise he had, to storyboarding to music. And learning to accept when weeks of work need to be cut, Sanders gave a unique glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes of his animations while speaking as part of BAFTA’s 2024 Screenwriters’ Lecture Series.

• Read a transcript of the video

Talking about one of his earliest experiences as part of a story crew, Sanders highlighted the importance of trusting in yourself. Reflecting on one of the first times he was asked to do an animation storyboard, on Rescuers Down Under, the filmmaker and animator’s initial response was “I can’t, no, no, no…because I had only known it from TV. And TV was different than feature animation boarding… it’s too intense.” Thanks to the perseverance of the producer, he found himself doing a storyboard without realising.

“He came back to me, and he said, ‘could you just do all the drawings that come in-between the ones that you have already done?’ And I said, oh, I can do that!” recalls Sanders. “I finished it all up and the producer came in, I showed him the drawings and he said, ‘this is great, could you hang them up on a storyboard so we can see them all at once?’ And I said, I can do that!” After all this, Sanders was then asked to present it to the rest of the crew and as he says: “I didn’t realise I was pitching my first board… I didn’t realise it, but I had done it.”

Music and storyboarding go hand in hand for Sanders. From the first storyboarding project he did, which was soundtracked by a piece of music that had been used in the Olympics, to the work he does today it has always been a key part of his process.

“Every single time I’ve boarded it’s always been to music. All things I could probably show you, I could replace the music with a piece of music I was listening to,” he said.

Using the “beat of the music” and “following the rhythms of the music and the vibe” is something that works to bring the animator into the creative space.

He said: “The relationship between what I do and music is… permanent. Because I came into this visually and began writing as a consequence of boarding and getting into that space.”

One big learning that came from Sanders’ reflections on his own experience was to not be afraid of throwing things out. Being able to ditch things that aren’t working and move on is part of the creative process.

Recounting a time when feedback from a colleague on Beauty and the Beast led to cutting everything on a storyboard from the third drawing onwards, Sanders said it’s just “part of the job”.

He said: “I realised none of it was necessary, it was just a cul-de-sac in the story, a complete waste of time. And so that is how disposable all these things really could be. And that was okay. That was okay.”

• Allow yourself time. As Sanders explains: “I think you have to feel your way through it”, something a long time spent on animation storyboarding allows you to do. “You find the weaknesses in the fence as you sit and spend time with the film,” according to Sanders.
• Embrace the grey. For Sanders this means gravitating “towards the thing where the characters have lots of grey zones, no pure villain or no purely good character… there’s a believability in that.”

For more inspiring Lectures from the world of film, games and TV explore our BAFTA News Resource section.

You can also read the transcript of Sanders’ lecture in our Media Centre and find out more about our programmes supporting the next generation of film, games and TV talent.