Roughing It: Basic Staging
The visual elements and spatial relationships of the animated picture are constantly changing in fourth-dimensional space. Each scene must read instantly whether their time onscreen is long or short. Here are some tips that will help your boards read clearly and well.
Indications of light and shadow should be kept simple. Four values are commonly used: light, dark, and two medium values, as described in Chapter 10.
Line defines contour. The contour is the shape, or silhouette, of the object or character.
[Fig. 11-1] Line defines the contours of an object. Size relationships can create an illusion of depth but the third dimension is easier to indicate with tone than with mere line.
[Fig. 11-2] Tone creates the dimension in backgrounds and characters.
Tone defines the volume of the objects and characters. Volume indicates the third dimension. Tone also serves to define the depth of field in the shot. Certain objects will seem closer or farther away with the aid of tone.
The darkest part of a shadow appears nearest the light. Reflected light will create a lighter value on the side of the object that opposes the light source.
[Fig. 11-3] Direct lighting creates strong shadows. The farther away the light is from the subject, the more diffuse the shadow. Cast shadows are strongest of all.
Objects at the optical center of the frame will normally be noticed first but strong tonal contrast and directional elements can direct the eye elsewhere, as shown in Figure 11-4. Remember that the optical center of the frame is higher than the actual center (See Figure 10-1 for a simple example).
[Fig. 11-4] Elements within the frame can direct the eye away from the optical center. The pink girl’s arm provides the strongest pointer leading to the plate of cookies. Figure (b) shows the visual pattern of the composition.
Different eye levels or horizon lines indicate that we are viewing the scene through the eyes of particular characters. Figure 11-5 shows two different subjective views of the same background. The perspective and camera angle are more caricatured in the dog’s-eye view.
[Fig. 11-5] (a) This dramatic upshot shows the door viewed from the eye level of a small dog. (b) This is the same door viewed from the eye level of his owner. Reproduced by permission of Brittney Lee.
In Western culture we read text from left to right. We read film frames the same way. A character will read ‘first’ when it is on the left side of the frame as shown in Figure 11-6. The eye goes to the figure at screen left and moves to the group at screen right a millisecond later.
[Fig. 11-6] One figure appears to dominate the crowd as well as the scene because it is standing at screen left, where our eye naturally enters the frame. The character is also isolated by tone and by the positive and negative space in the frame. The other pigs read as a group rather than as individuals.
[Fig. 11-7] The crowd is now the center of interest. Nothing has changed except for the orientation of the storyboard panel. It has been “flopped,” or reversed.
If this figure’s composition is reversed the group at the left is seen before the isolated figure. Flopping the panel dramatically changes the meaning of the scene. In Figure 11-6, our point of view is that of the elegant pig. In Figure 11-7, we have a pig’s eye view of elegance—direct from the pen.
These two shots would not work if they appeared consecutively on an actual storyboard, since the artist has crossed the line.
Care must be taken to avoid crossing the line, or breaking the compositional 180-degree arc when staging scenes. The picture plane is divided in half to establish the viewer’s perspective. The “Line” also bisects the characters, which must always have the same left-right directional relationship to one another. Consecutive shots staged from opposite sides of the 180-degree axis as shown in Figures 11-6 and 11-7 would be disorienting to the viewer if they were in an actual film since the characters appear to have suddenly changed places. A simple diagram of the 180-degree line appears in Figure 11-8. The closer the camera is to the central axis, the more dramatic the staging of the shot. The Line runs through the center of interacting characters in a scene. The storyboards for scenes following a ‘flopped’ panel must usually also be flopped to maintain the continuity.
[Fig. 11-8] The camera will usually remain on one side of a 180-degree axis to prevent confusing reversals of directional elements. The dramatic content of a scene is enhanced when the camera is staged very close to ‘the line’.
A neutral shot has a character heading either toward or away from the camera. It may be intercut with shots that contain strong directional elements without fear of breaking the 180-degree staging rule. You may cut to shots staged on the other side of the Line.
[Fig. 11-9] Characters moving toward or away from the camera are staged neutrally. You may cut from a neutral shot to any other angle and maintain directional continuity. Overhead views can also function as neutral shots.
Negative and positive space must both be considered when designing storyboards.
A figure may be isolated while in the midst of a crowd. Figure 11-10A shows a crowd scene with one pig at the optical center of the panel. The frame has been carefully designed to draw the eye toward the central character. (1) The central pig contains the greatest value contrast. (2) Dark negative space on the background forms a letter ‘V’ creating a pointer that isolates and leads to the center of interest. (3) The foreground pigs are rendered with close tonal values so they do not distract from the center of interest. Their animation will be underplayed. (4) Background characters are handled as one unit that isolates the main characters and frames the action.
Tonal values can be used to direct our attention to different areas of the scene at different times. In Figure 11-10B, a pig at screen left now contains the greatest tonal contrast. The eye views this pig first but the central pig is still differentiated from the crowd (though to a lesser extent) by the same design elements described in Figure A. The eye travels from the character with greatest contrast to the character isolated by directional elements in the frame. This example is only a still frame. Tonal values, positive and negative shapes, directional elements and spatial relationships between characters are constantly changing in an animated motion picture. These elements must read well at all times. The viewer’s attention must be directed to the center of interest even when it is in rapid motion.
[Fig. 11-10] Negative space and tonal contrast can vary in one scene over time. Tonal values are used to direct our attention to (A) one figure in the middle of a crowd; (B) a secondary figure interacting with the main character.
Arrows can be used to establish the direction of the incoming motion when characters enter the frame from off-screen. The arrow determines the direction of action outside the frame. Speed lines (borrowed from the comics) are used to indicate the direction of action inside a frame. Figure 11-11 shows Papa Bear entering from off-screen as Goldilocks ‘speedily’ exits.
[Fig. 11-11] Papa Bear enters from offscreen with the help of a directional arrow. Goldilocks makes a break for the door, trailing speed lines.
Do not use arrows to point out the center of interest within the frame. Your staging should read well without them. Add another panel if action continues within a scene.
[Fig. 11-12] Use additional panels, not arrows, to depict continuing action in a scene. Reproduced by permission of Brittney Lee.
The storyboard blocks out and ‘rehearses’ animated characters’ performances. Animators use these visual guidelines to tailor their acting to the needs of the story. A skimpily-boarded sequence will not convey the character’s thoughts or motivation to anyone but yourself.
Since anything is possible in an animated world, characters and objects may appear in several places at the same time. Multiple drawings in a panel represent separate phases of one action occurring in a short period of time. Arrows or (preferably) speed lines show us the progression of the movement. Two panels are used to show the action in Figure 11-13 to prevent confusing overlaps in the bouncing ball’s flight paths.
[Fig. 11-13] An animated object may appear simultaneously in several locations. Multiple drawings on the same panel indicate rapid movement taking place in a short time period. Additional panels are used for longer actions.
One panel is not sufficient illustration for a scene unless the scene is very short. Figure 11-14 is an example of a poorly-conceived storyboard panel. Arrows and multiple limbs substitute for acting. Each panel should contain one idea; this panel has three. Which one should we notice first?
[Fig. 11-14] One panel is not sufficient to illustrate complex actions taking place over time. This type of action is best illustrated on multiple storyboards.
Each storyboard should contain one idea. The number of boards per scene varies with the complexity of the idea. Papa Bear’s moral dilemma is displayed in two scenes,
the first of which is illustrated on one panel. In the second scene, we pull back (truck out) from a close-up of Papa Bear to reveal Mama’s horrified reaction to his dastardly villainy.
[Fig. 11-15] The action in the previous figure has been expanded into two scenes on three storyboards. The acting is emphasized and the staging helps pace the action.
Use a new storyboard panel to convey each new action. Otherwise, the boards will become hopelessly confusing to read and you will find it extremely difficult to time action well when shooting your story reel.
I’m Ready for My Closeup: Storyboard Cinematography
Characters have the best silhouette value when seen in straight profile, although action staged exclusively in profile can create confusing cuts. A profile shot of a character heading from screen left to screen right (Fig.11-16a) followed by one of another character heading from screen right to screen left (b) leads us to assume that they meet (c) since both characters are traveling (in profile) on the same plane. A cutaway shot can be inserted between them to correct the misapprehension. A better solution would be to use different camera angles and perspective to show that the characters are moving in three dimensional spaces. (Figure 11-17)
[Fig. 11-16] The two birds collide since they are traveling in opposite directions on the same plane.
[Fig. 11-17] Varying the angles creates a feeling of three-dimensional spaces and eliminates the collision course.
A three-quarter view of a character is usually more interesting than a frontal or profile shot since it creates a feeling of depth and the third dimension. Both pigs in Figure 11-18 read well, but the three-quarter view allows for more depth in the staging and acting than the profile shot.
[Fig. 11-18] A three-quarter view is more interesting than a straight profile since it adds the illusion of depth and dimension to the character.
Characters staged in the center of the frame should be in dynamic poses so that the negative space isn’t divided evenly. Avoid the ‘gingerbread man’ look by putting some torque on the body so that the pose is not completely symmetrical. Examples of the ‘gingerbread man’ and more dimensional staging of the same pose are shown in Figure 11-19.
[Fig. 11-19] “Frontal views” read better if the character is placed slightly off center in the frame and turned slightly into three-quarter view. Most animated characters look best from a three-quarter angle. A straight frontal view often falls flat.
Overlapping shapes will create the illusion of depth. Tangents will flatten the composition and destroy the illusion of depth. (Examples of tangents and their cure are shown in Figures 10-18 and 10-19 in Chapter 10.) Large shapes in the foreground will appear to be closer to the picture plane. The illusion may be assisted by the use of tone, as shown in figures 11-20 and 11-21. Distant objects can sometimes have much lighter values than items in the foreground.
[Fig. 11-20] The foreground buildings appear to be in the shadow of the sun-dappled skyscrapers since they contain the darkest tonal values.
[Fig. 11-21] The panel’s atmosphere undergoes total change when the lightest values appear on the foreground buildings.
[Fig. 11-22] A close object that contains no interior detail will appear more remote than an elaborately rendered background area, and vice versa.
The eye may be led around the frame by contrasting tonal values or colors, variations in positive and negative space, directional elements in character and background designs, and the amount of detail that appears in specific areas of the frame.
Detail varies with scale. Important scenic elements should contain more detail than secondary items and distant objects should be rendered with fewer details as they recede from the picture plane. The Close-up Bear in Figure 11-22(a) is rendered in a sketchy style commonly used for more distant objects and so appears more remote than Far-away Bear, who is the center of interest in (a) but recedes into the background when the detailed areas are reversed in (b).
Tonal values determine the scale of objects in smoky or foggy scenes. Values grow closer and outlines become fainter as elements of a foggy scene recede from the picture plane. There will be very little depth of field and characters may only read as silhouettes.
[Fig. 11-23] A smoky or foggy scene uses tonal values to set the scale of objects in the frame. There is little depth of field and values are very close.
Good design principles will create contrasting visual patterns on the boards. Each individual project will use different solutions but visual patterns are only half the battle: storyboards also pace the action so as to create patterns in time.
Exercise: Analyze one sequence of a classic live-action film by stopping the DVD or video during each scene and drawing simple thumbnails of each shot’s composition. Observe how the camera is used and when and why cuts are made. Next, repeat the exercise with one sequence from a classic animated cartoon of your choice. What are the similarities and differences between the two media?
It’s now time to get with the beat … a story beat.