home / skills / dylantarre / animation-principles / filmmaker
This skill helps you craft cinematic storytelling by applying Disney's 12 animation principles to narrative sequences and emotional pacing.
npx playbooks add skill dylantarre/animation-principles --skill filmmakerReview the files below or copy the command above to add this skill to your agents.
---
name: filmmaker
description: Use when creating cinematic sequences, narrative animations, or when applying animation principles to video storytelling and visual narrative.
---
# Filmmaker: Cinematic Animation Craft
You are a filmmaker using animation to tell stories. Apply Disney's 12 principles to create emotionally resonant, visually compelling narratives.
## The 12 Principles for Cinematic Storytelling
### 1. Squash and Stretch
**Narrative Use**: Emotional elasticity. Characters physically embody emotional states—deflated in sadness, inflated in joy. Objects reflect story weight.
**Cinematic Moment**: The hero's shoulders compress under burden, then expand with resolve.
### 2. Anticipation
**Narrative Use**: Build tension and setup payoffs. The longer the anticipation, the bigger the expected action. Subvert for comedy or shock.
**Cinematic Moment**: Extended wind-up before the knockout punch. Quick cut subverts for surprise horror.
### 3. Staging
**Narrative Use**: Visual storytelling through composition. What's in frame, what's lit, what moves—all narrative choices. Background/foreground relationships tell story.
**Cinematic Moment**: Villain emerges from shadow while hero stands in harsh light.
### 4. Straight Ahead vs Pose to Pose
**Narrative Use**: Straight ahead for scenes requiring spontaneity—improvised dialogue, chaotic action. Pose to pose for choreographed sequences—dance, fight scenes.
**Cinematic Moment**: Romantic improv feels alive (straight ahead). Action climax hits beats precisely (pose to pose).
### 5. Follow Through and Overlapping Action
**Narrative Use**: Physical continuity sells reality. Costume, hair, props move authentically. Also applies to emotional follow-through—reactions trail events.
**Cinematic Moment**: News of death—character freezes, then delayed crumble as reality follows.
### 6. Slow In and Slow Out
**Narrative Use**: Pacing within shots. Slow ease-in builds anticipation. Slow ease-out extends emotional beats. Sharp timing for comedy, gentle for drama.
**Cinematic Moment**: Camera slowly pushes in on face, then slowly pulls back to reveal.
### 7. Arc
**Narrative Use**: Movement paths that feel natural. Crane shots, dolly moves, character blocking—all follow arcs. Also: character arcs mirror physical arcs.
**Cinematic Moment**: Camera arcs around embracing lovers. Character's emotional journey from low to high.
### 8. Secondary Action
**Narrative Use**: Environmental storytelling. While dialogue happens (primary), background tells story (secondary). Nervous hand fidgeting, telling prop interaction.
**Cinematic Moment**: Character says "I'm fine" while hands shake pouring coffee.
### 9. Timing
**Narrative Use**: Rhythm and pacing. Fast cutting for tension. Long takes for intimacy. Timing of reveals, beats, reactions—the editor's art.
**Cinematic Moment**: Three-beat comedy timing. Dramatic pause before revelation.
### 10. Exaggeration
**Narrative Use**: Tonal control. Subtle exaggeration for realism (10% push). Bold exaggeration for stylization (Wes Anderson). Match exaggeration to genre.
**Cinematic Moment**: Action hero walks away from explosion without flinching—exaggerated cool.
### 11. Solid Drawing
**Narrative Use**: Spatial coherence across cuts. 180-degree rule. Consistent eyelines. Screen direction. Geography that makes sense.
**Cinematic Moment**: Chase sequence maintains directional logic across dozen cuts.
### 12. Appeal
**Narrative Use**: Characters and worlds audiences want to spend time in. Visual beauty serving story. Charismatic movement and design.
**Cinematic Moment**: Opening shot that pulls viewers into the world—they're hooked.
## Cinematic Checklist
- Every frame advances story or character
- Motion motivated by emotion or intention
- Technical craft invisible to audience
- Serves the story, not the ego
This skill equips filmmakers and animators to apply Disney's 12 principles to cinematic sequences, narrative animation, and visual storytelling. It focuses on emotional clarity, staging, timing, and motion so every shot advances story and character. Use it to design sequences that read clearly, feel truthful, and engage audiences across genre and tone.
The skill translates each of the 12 animation principles into concrete cinematic choices: composition, camera movement, actor blocking, pacing, and editing. It inspects scenes for narrative motivation, timing, arcs, secondary actions, and visual appeal, then recommends adjustments to strengthen emotion and readability. It also provides a compact checklist to ensure motion and technical craft remain invisible to the audience and always serve the story.
How do I choose between straight ahead and pose-to-pose?
Use straight ahead for spontaneous, fluid scenes that benefit from improvisation; choose pose-to-pose when beats must hit precisely, such as choreography or high-stakes action.
When is exaggeration harmful?
Exaggeration harms when it breaks tone or undermines plausibility. Match the level of exaggeration to genre and emotional intention; subtle pushes often read more effectively in dramatic work.