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Among the 12 principles of animation synthesized by Frank Thomas and Ollie Johnston and drawn from Disney’s work in “The Illusion of Life”, Staging is one of the principles mentioned. So what is the Staging principle and How do the best animation studios use the staging principle in animation? Let’s find out in this article.
What is the Staging principle?
In animation production, Staging is a broad discipline that requires more than an understanding of cinema. Thus, the elements that make up the Principles of Staging are not strictly limited to the production of animated films, but can instead apply to films in general. Staging is the principle that refers to expressing and communicating an action (or a movie idea) in a way that is clear, coherent, and understandable to the viewer.
Staging requires animators to be able to clearly convey the emotions, attitudes, and expressions of a character or scene, as well as a logical and understandable narrative line in the eyes of the audience. With an overarching purpose and requirement, Staging requires animators to put themselves in the position of the audience, in order to be able to objectively see the thinking circuit of the scenes being conveyed.
So, to be able to do well with Staging, the factors to pay attention to include acting, timing, camera angle, and setting.
How do the best animation studios use the staging principle in animation?
There are several factors to look out for with Staging as companies adopt the animation industry:
Acting
From Walt Disney’s point of view, a character’s poses and actions should be obvious, even if the characters are represented by drawings of silhouettes. This is traced back to the early days at Disney nearly a century ago when animators at Walt Disney were only able to work with two colors (character) and white (background).
Examples of poses and actions are clearly seen in the animated film “Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse”, with its powerful poses, shapes, and movements. Therefore, when it comes to describing poses and actions, artists need to be able to show the pose and action of the character clearly to both sides instead of front and back.
However, this experience is fully drawn by Walt Disney not only from being limited to technology (in the early days of 20th-century animation) but instead, the poses and actions of Characters that are clearly shown in silhouettes also prove to be effective in the eyes of the viewer when bringing a significant visual effect. Today, even with 3D animations, the actions of characters that are clearly represented by silhouettes are still being used by animators.
Timing
Timing is probably one of the most important factors in animation processing. With the Principle of Staging, timing requires the animator to understand the narrative flow of the scenes – thereby designing and timing the action, and coordinating the audience’s attention. The simplest understanding of scene time is the sequence of actions in a movie scene: action 1 -> action 2 -> action 3 -> etc…
Actions in the same scene Movies need to be separated clearly distinguished and give enough time for the viewer to follow and understand the narration, avoiding the case where two actions occur at the same time in the same frame, making it impossible for viewers to notice and miss. Therefore, the actions, expressions, and interactions of the characters in a scene need to be closely linked, elaborate, coherent, and easy to understand.
Especially in humorous situations, choosing the right moment will play a very important role in whether the situation will make the audience laugh or not. This element is called a “comedic moment”.
Camera
The arrangement of the viewing angle (camera) of the movie scene also plays a very important role in the attention and direction of the audience. An important element of camera angle selection that animators as well as live-action films need to pay attention to is the composition of the frame. This is closely linked to the choice of a far or close perspective (eg, a wide shot shows a character’s actions clearly, but a close-up clearly shows their expressions).
Other views in between those two extremes need to be considered and properly aligned by the layout maker. The composition of the scene also needs to take into account the “rule of thirds” of cinema. The placement of the character (or the main element in the cinematography) in the center of the frame (symmetrical) or in a position of 1/3 from the left or right carries a great responsibility in making it possible for the audience to understand the role and meaning of the character in that scene.
If the main elements in the scene are arranged logically and intelligently, the audience will be able to understand where they need to focus their attention in the frame (direction, emphasis).
Settings
The last element of the animation Staging principle refers to settings (or set-up, environment, etc.). This element emphasizes the animators’ need to pay attention to other details that also appear in the frame (besides the main character/element). In it, if the main character is not highlighted, or somehow attracts the attention of the audience, it will not be possible to establish a main-sub relationship in a frame with other details.
Conversely, if the settings of a scene have too many extra details (not really necessary) that reduce the focus of the main character, viewers will not understand where they need to focus. Besides, the arrangement of minor details in a reasonable and effective way, not only brings focus to the main details in the scene but also portrays the personality, emotions, state of the main character/episode, and can give the viewer a clearer perception.
Conclusion
Staging is an important principle, as it directly coordinates the viewer’s attention and can convey the flow of the film in a logical and understandable way. So, Staging is important not only for animation in particular but also for cinema in general. However, with animation, staging is also essential in order to get the most out of what the Best animation studios want to convey.
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