Staging – The Third Principle | Principles Of Animation

STAGING – In this topic, we will now talk about the third principle in the 12 principles of animation, staging.

The 12 principles were introduced by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas, both of which are Disney animators who wrote this in their book called The Illusion of Life: Disney.

Now, the second principle, according to AnimationMentor, it is the presentation of any idea so that it is completely and unmistakably clear.

This is, by far, one of the most overlooked principle by animators, although this is unnoticed by the audience. When done effectively, the audience will be able to know where they should focus, from an important speech or a certain figure.

This principle is able to focus the eyes of the audience from one thing to the other so that they will also know the gist or the nutshell of the entire scene.

The website gives 3 important tips on how to achieve that principle:

Halves and Thirds
- This is a simple technique since all you have to do is to place the center of interest in the half or third of the camera frame. You will be able to control the attention of the audience while conveying character’s essentiality.
Lines of Focus
- This means to use props, people or camera angles to divert their attention to the center of interest. That way, the audience will also place their attention to the center of interest.
Consistent Screen Direction
- It refers to the direction that the character speaks or moves. Consistency, by definition, is the conformity in applying something, usually when it is necessary in terms of logic. Inconsistent screen direction may lead to confusion as to where the audience has to look to a certain person.

Here is a simplified video of the third principle, again by Alan Becker, the creator of the famous “Animator vs Animation” series.