Timing and spacing are linked together.
Timing is spacing, spacing is timing.
What does this mean? Spacing and timing work together in tandem and influence one another. Together they affect the speed and readability of an animation as well as its clarity. The believability of an animation depends upon the success how a series of poses feed into each other. Timing and spacing are integral to this interplay of poses.
All movement starts with the consideration of these two principles- timing and spacing. Timing is an amount of time. Spacing is distance. In other words: how far apart two poses are (spacing) and how long an action takes (the number of frames). Timing can also refer to when an action happens.
Why do these two principles go hand in hand? Because the distance between poses can influence how fast or slow an action reads, but the amount of time the action is given to cover the distance also affects how fast or slow the action is.
For example:
An object covering a short distance, but has a large amount of time to do so, will move very slowly. Conversely an object that covers a large distance in a short amount of time will move very rapidly.
The look and feel of an animation sequence can feel very different when we alter just these two principles.
Timing and spacing are two halves of the same coin, you cannot consider one, without the other.
Consider the two sequences below of a ball sliding from left to right. The ball covers the same distance, but in the first example it has 24 frames to move and in the second it only has 12.
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Ball traveling for 24 frames. | Same distance, in 12 frames. |
The spacing (distance) in these two examples did not change, only the timing. Both balls are covering the exact same distance, the only factor that has changed is the amount of time the ball has to cover it. The first ball is moving at a steady reasonable pace, it has plenty of time to cover the distance in 24 frames (one second). The second ball has to cover the same distance in half the time (12 frames), therefore it moves much faster.
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Ball covering a short distance in 24 frames. | Ball covering a large distance in 24 frames. |
In these two examples the timing did not change- the length of both animations is 24 frames. The only factor that has change is the spacing (distance) the ball is covering. In the first instance the ball is traveling a very short distance in 24 frames and therefore it crawls slowly. In the second example the ball has a much larger distance to cover in 24 frames and it zooms across the screen.
You can clearly see how closely timing and spacing are linked, you cannot consider one without considering the other. Any changes you make to either will affect the other and how fast or slow the animation moves.
Timing is rhythm and tempo.
Timing can also establish the rhythm of an action or sequence of actions.
In animation timing is sometimes referred to as texture. Texture is a result of mixing rhythm (pattern) and tempo (speed/pace). But you also need to consider the distance being covered for the timing to be successful.
Rhythm in animation is when the animator varies the timing and spacing, how much time and distance is dedicated to each part of an action or actions. Varying the timing and distance over the course of an action helps the movement look and feel more realistic and natural. If every movement moves at exactly the same speed, and lasts the exact same number of frames, the result would not only be very boring to watch, but it would feel robotic. Like a metronome always traveling at the same speed and distance, hitting the same note over and over.
Tangled © Walt Disney Animation
In the above example, Rapunzel, draws her frying backwards and then swings it forward to point it at Flynn. This movement can be broken down into three parts: anticipation (beginning), action (middle) and follow-through (end). The motion to draw back the frying pan is small and soft (slow) it prepares the audience to follow the faster movement that is about to follow. This smaller, gentler movement contrasts with the faster action as the frying pan swings forward. Finally, the frying pan comes to a long, slow gentle stop to point at Flynn, it overshoots (goes past its stopping point) before settling to a stop.
The timing of Flynn's movements contrast with Rapunzel. He starts to dodge the frying pan when Rapunzel is about 3/4's of the way through her swing, his lean away quickly accelerates, but ends slow and gentle. By comparison, his drop forward is faster and sharper.
The variation in speed (timing) and distance (spacing) for both character's actions establishes a rhythm. The small draw back and fast swing forward of the frying pan helps to emphasize the slow point towards the end of the action.
This variation also makes the action feel more natural- Rapunzel's arms needs to build up energy in order to accelerate the frying pan forward and then her arms carried by momentum need time to slow down and dissipates the energy before they can come to a stop.
The difference between Flynn's faster sharper actions when compared to Rapunzel's smoother gentler motion also establishes the differences in their personalities. Rapunzel is slow, fierce and serious in this moment, Flynn is anything but.
Varying the timing and spacing creates visual interest and naturalistic movement.
Tempo is the speed of an action. Is it fast or slow? Does it fall somewhere in between? Fast actions can look and feel sharper, while slower ones can look and feel softer. Fast actions can feel sharp, sudden, and abrupt. Slower actions can feel gentle, graceful and gradual. However, this does not mean that slower movements cannot feel intense or faster movement cannot feel graceful- its all in the poses and how you time and space them.
Mixing together slow and fast moving parts or actions and fluctuating when they occur can be used to create stronger visual impact and a strong sense of weight and power and as we've already seen it can also establish the personalities and emotions of the characters.
Creating variation in the timing also creates clarity. By varying the timing throughout a sequence it will not only feel more natural and realistic- it creates contrast. Contrast helps the direct the audience’s eye to where to look and helps them to follow a sequence of actions.
For example:
In a sequence of soft, gentle movements a sharp fast one will stand out and grab our attention. The opposite is also true. In a sequence of fast, quick movements a soft, slow one will stand out.
Timing for emphasis.
Timing can be used to create emphasis and provide much needed visual breaks or breathers. If you are animating a sequence that consists of a series of fast actions you are going to need to break up the fast actions with slower movements or slight pauses (anticipation). These pauses create visual breaks that ensure that audience will be able to see and follow the fast parts of the sequence without becoming visually overwhelmed, lost or confused.
Tangled © Walt Disney Animation
The above example with Pascal is a good example of mixing together different tempos (speeds) to create emphasis.
Pascal thrusts his body forward to confront Flynn. This is a fast, abrupt movement. He then pauses (this is called a moving hold) before looking Flynn up and down in a quick one, two motion. The look down takes longer and he pauses before quickly looking back up. The look up takes a fraction of the time and is three times the speed of the look down. He pauses again, starring. He glances over his shoulder, this still a quick movement, but the motion is gentle and softer in comparison to the previous actions with heavy on the ease in and out..
He gestures sharply with his tail before snapping back forwards. The glance over his shoulder is about 12 frames long, while this second turn is about 3-4 frames. The contrast between the timing of the two actions is dramatic. The first feels soft and gentle as he glances at Rapunzel, the second quick, snappy and confrontational. Pascal's holds and slower movements, draw attention to his faster, snapper actions.
Lastly, the we have the long, slow drawn out retreat of the frying pan. The speed of this last movement is in stark contrast to the abrupt opening of the sequence and Pascal's other combative actions directed at Flynn, once again creating emphasis, but this time on a long slow movement instead of a fast one.
The faster sharper movements create abrupt changes in direction, they catch our attention and direct our eye towards Pascal. These fast quick actions are broken up with pauses and mixed with slower, gentler movements, which helps the audience to follow Pascal's quicksilver changes. Overall this creates a fun mixture of tempos that results in a lively rhythm for the scene that is intensely funny. Pascal, although tiny, is clearly not to be trifled with. His intense distrust of Flynn and message are clear: 'he will be watching.'
Tangled © Walt Disney Animation
Timing is when an action happens.
Pascal thrusts his tongue inside Flynn's ear, but Flynn doesn't react immediately. There is a long pause and moment of stillness before Flynn's dramatic reaction of horror and subsequent confusion. Timing is also when an action happens.
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