A big part of my teaching work is trying to get students to break down the animation, composition and timing of well known, and not so well known, performance animation from around the world. Whether it is a short cartoon, in-game or a feature film, you can learn so much from studying the work of others.
This post breaks down a shot to show the rhythm created by combining thoughtful staging, production design, strong key-frames and character performance. It uses the environment as a method of framing parts of the scene and also as a way to bring the characters together.
The example is Studio Ghibli's 2001 film 'Spirited Away', directed by Hayao Miyazaki.
The scene is a peaceful interaction between sen and Lin after a crazy day at the bath house.
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| Exterior Wide Establishing shot |
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| Long shot |
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| ...Lin walks in carrying steamed buns... |
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| Top railing follows rule of thirds |
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| Lin's face framed by railings |
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| Lighting
& doorway also frame Lin |
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| Sen
is constricted into a corner of a frame... |
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| However, Sen is now part of Lin's silhouette...a sign that they are growing closer together... |
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| Lin passes food to Sen THROUGH the railings... |
Rather than being a passive object throughout the scene the railings become an integral part of the performance from this point; the characters reaching through, rest arms on them and even dangling their legs through them.
This makes a visually mundane scene way more appealing and dynamic, without compromising the pace of the performance to accomplish this.
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| shows reaching out & a desire to give comfort. |
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| As Sen joins in… |
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| They strike new poses.. |
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| Ma! Lin is inclined towards Sen, Sen is more relaxed… |
Miyazaki
‘…non-stop action … it's just busyness. but if you take a moment, then the tension building in the film can grow into a wider dimension.’
‘We have a word for that in Japanese. It's called
ma. Emptiness.’
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| Sen now commands the negative space…The scene becomes hers again… |
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| (This towel exists to fill this gap, not distracting) |
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| Reverse angle, double lighting change and more Ma! |
The lighting change here is particularly interesting as it puts the audience in the scene. As the lights go out behind us; our eyes adjust to the night scene and the view over the water becomes visible.
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| The rest of the scene plays out... |
Scenes like this make my day!
