Stage a scene with the camera
Staging is one of the 12 principles of animation: present one idea at a time, so clearly that nobody can miss it. On a stage that means a clear pose and nothing else moving. With a camera it means choosing what the audience sees: who is in the picture, how close, and where the light falls. Film and television hold close on whoever speaks, move the camera slowly in when a moment matters, and light the one everyone should look at.
In this lesson you make a two-line scene with Sunny and Grump, watch it as it is, and then stage it with three tools of the camera: a close-up, a push in and a spotlight. It takes about ten minutes, and you see the same scene before and after, so the difference staging makes is plain.
1. Open the editor
Go to jabbertoon.com/editor/. The editor opens on the Cartoon: a meadow, with nobody in it yet.
2. Bring in Sunny
Press Add a character on the stage. The characters you can bring in are shown.
3. Sunny on the stage
Press Sunny. Sunny stands in the meadow, with a bar of buttons on top.
4. Sunny speaks
Press Say on Sunny's bar. A box opens for the words.
5. Sunny's line
Type Sunny's line in the Type the words box: Grump, look at the sky!
6. Put it on the Timeline
Press Add it. Sunny's line goes on the Timeline.
7. Bring in Grump
Press Add in the list called In this world. The characters are shown again.
8. Grump on the stage
Press Grump. Grump stands next to Sunny.
9. Grump answers
Press Say on Grump's bar.
10. Grump's line
Type Grump's answer in the Type the words box: Only clouds. Grey ones.
11. After Sunny
Press Add it. Grump's line goes after Sunny's.
12. Watch it with no camera
Press Watch. You see the whole stage the whole time, and nothing tells you where to look.
13. Call the camera
Press Camera, beside Add a song. A shot starts at the playhead, which Watch left at the start, and the camera asks what to show.
14. Close on the one who talks
Press Close on Sunny. From the start, the camera holds close on Sunny while Sunny talks.
15. Closer as it matters
Under While it holds, press Push in. The camera comes slowly closer as Sunny speaks: it makes the moment matter.
16. Then Grump's answer
Press Grump's line on the Timeline: the playhead goes to where Grump starts to talk. Then press Camera again.
17. Cut to Grump
Press Close on Grump. The camera cuts to Grump for the answer.
18. Light where they should look
Under Light, press Spotlight. A pool of light falls on Grump and the rest goes dark: everyone looks at Grump.
19. Watch it staged
Press Watch again. Now the camera tells the audience where to look: close on whoever talks, closer while Sunny asks, and a spotlight on the answer.
Try it yourself
- A two shot. Press Camera at the start and choose Sunny and Grump instead: both in the picture. It suits an exchange, where the answer matters as much as the question.
- A pull out. On the last shot, choose Pull out: the camera starts close and draws back, the way a scene ends.
- Evening. Light a shot as Evening instead of a spotlight: the same scene feels late and quiet. Light tells the audience how to feel, as well as where to look.
When the scene is staged the way you want it, ● Record video makes a video file of it, with the camera's every move.