Real-Life Communication
"Animation is a totally collaborative business," says Dave Howe.
He teaches animation and timing. This means timing directors must be excellent
communicators. They have to be able to work with producers, writers, storyboard
artists, and most importantly, with the animators who have to translate their
instructions onto film.
Jon McClenahan worked as a timing director
before starting his own animation studio. He says timing directors must be
absolutely clear about what they want animators to do. If they cannot communicate
their ideas, the project will suffer. Written communication skills are especially
important, since animators work off timing sheets put together by timing directors.
Marlene
Robinson-May is the director of animation for an animation studio. She says
timing directors will spend hours writing timing sheets that detail every
nuance of how a character moves and acts. They can, of course, overdo it.
"Timing
directors who get too detailed in their work sometimes strangulate the creativity
out of the animators," says McClenahan.
You are a timing director.
Below you will find 12 drawings. They are called frames. If you present them
rapidly in succession, they give you the illusion of movement.
Frame
1
Frame 2
Frame 3
Frame 4
Frame
5
Frame 6
Frame 7
Frame 8
Frame
9
Frame 10
Frame 11
Frame 12
You
must now describe to the animator what is happening in this scene. You have
to note which frames require dialog and which frames require music.