The Three Parts of Staging

I talk about our brains and perception a lot in class. Animation is just a weird thing. It’s like real life, but twisted and distorted in a colorful wonderful way. That’s a lot for our brains to handle and when images are whipping by at 24fps, the more help we can give our audience, the more enjoyable and satisfying the experience of watching animation will be. That’s where staging come into play.

Staging is how you present a shot to your viewers. Like a theater director or choreographer, we must always be aware of what the audience can see and how they will interpret it. Everything happening on screen works together and brings the viewer the experience we want them to have in the most efficient way possible.

When I first introduce staging to students, I break it into three parts to help clarify different things we should be thinking of when we design animation:

1. Where You Place Your Subject or Characters

Different camera angles and shots have different effects on a viewer. A close-up shot is intimate and direct. The emphasis is on emotion. A long shot allows us to take in the character’s surroundings and understand the context of the scene. A Dutch angle will heighten the tension in a scene, while a flat camera angle will provide a stage for comedy. Which shot you choose directly affects how your viewer will experience the film, so stage appropriately!

Additionally, what’s going on in the background can affect how the viewer understands the action. A cluttered, busy background will fight for the audience’s attention and your character may get lost. Find ways to pull your character out of the background through lighting, composition, or focus.

2. How You Pose Your Subject and Characters

A quick glance at a drawing should give us enough information to immediately tell what the character is doing or their attitude. The right amount of exaggeration is the key to a strong pose. We are used to seeing things happen in the real world, but when it comes to animation, we expect more than real life.

Here’s an in-class thumbnailing exercise (thumbnail drawings: fast, “thinking” drawings that allow you to quickly explore poses and actions). Draw a pose that conveys one of the following words:

• angry
• delighted
• disappointed
• afraid
• sleepy
• impatient
• etc.

Now, continue thumbnailing and “push the pose” further by exaggerating the attitude. See if you can push it too far so the attitude becomes unclear, then pull it back just a bit to find that happy spot.

When staging a shot, consider what you can see in a split second. A good way to do this is to look at the silhouette of the pose (animators call this the “silhouette test”). If you can generally tell what is going on without all the little details, you know the viewer will not have any trouble.

3. How You Time the Action

Animation is a visually dense medium and our brains can get overwhelmed taking it all in. In order to have clear staging, be deliberate about what actions are happening on screen. Sometimes, the best option is to have only one thing happening at a time. Or two actions can relate and complement each other if they are carefully planned and staged.

This video by UMBC student Tory Van Dine is an excellent example of staging as it relates to the timing of action. Our attention shifts constantly from the crab to its antagonists, with action/reaction as the driving force of the animation.

Adding pauses and holds at the appropriate moment plays a big role in how we process the action on screen. Give your audience a bit of “breathing room” every so often to catch up and get mentally ready for the next action, especially if you have more than one thing going on. Take this video by UMBC student Jacqueline Wojcik. The animation on the skeleton is fantastic, but we are so captivated by it we completely miss the movements of the owl on the left. Or, if our attention strays to the owl, we potentially miss an important moment of the skeleton’s antics. Allowing more of a back and forth between the two characters would allow both the skeleton and the owl to have their 15 seconds of fame.

There you go, that’s how I teach the nuances of staging! What examples and explanations do you find work best for your students?