I'm making a shout-like script spell in Oblivion and need some help. First, I'm not sure how to stop the spellcasting animation from showing. I don't want to see my hands waving around, cos it kinda breaks the immersion. Second, I want to make the spell projectile hit it's target instantly, because I think the default spell projectile is too slow.

Can I do any of these things with scripting?

You might take a look at tejon's http://www.nexusmods.com/oblivion/mods/12149/? He adds Thu'ums to The Lady Birthsign that mimic Skyrim's Unrelenting Shout. I have not used it yet so I don't know how the hands behave during the Shouts. But it might be enough to get you started.

Checked it out. Sadly it's hands,hands and more hands