ROLE / 01Lead
Directs the audience to the change that matters first: a head turn, a held breath, a shift of balance.
OVERTURE / CHARACTER ANIMATION & RIGGING
Timing tells
the audience
where the thought
changes.
A choreography index for teams who want a rig to become a partner in the phrase: responsive enough for a clear gesture, reliable enough for a demanding production.
Enter the score01 / PULSE RIBBON
Find the beat
before you add
the detail.
02 / CAST OF MOTION
Every control
has a role in
the phrase.
Before a character receives more controls, give the existing ones a clear relationship to timing, weight, attention or recovery.
ROLE / 01
ROLE / 02Counterpoint
Supports the lead with a delayed rhythm that makes the character feel inhabited rather than mechanically synchronized.
ROLE / 03Release
Lets the movement finish with an intentional recovery, not a shortcut back to a neutral pose.
03 / PHRASE STUDIO
Build the
movement in
sentences.
A full performance does not need to be designed as one long technical problem. Break it into a sentence with a beginning, a change and a return.
- 01Prepare
Give the character a reason to move before the action begins.
- 02Commit
Let the central action carry a clear weight, line and timing choice.
- 03Reconsider
Find the small secondary beat that lets a choice feel thought through.
- 04Recover
Return with a shape that leaves space for the next phrase.
04 / ARC READER
Read the route,
not only the
poses.
Move the marker through a simple performance arc to see the question the rigger and animator should share at each point.
PREPARE / WHAT IS THE CHARACTER NOTICING?
Establish a point of attention and a starting balance. The controls need to support a choice before they are asked to sell an action.
05 / TIMING ORCHESTRA
Give the body
more than one
clock.
PRIMARY The action that carries the current thought.
SECONDARY The response that lets the character stay alive inside the action.
RESIDUAL The small recovery that remembers what just happened.
06 / REHEARSAL ROOMS
Test the same
rig in different
rooms.
Close roomUse a quiet held expression to see whether small changes can be shaped without control noise.
Rhythm roomUse a fast sequence to test whether a choice stays readable while the rig carries a changing tempo.
Use a touch, lift or landing to test the handoff between intention, weight and recovery.
SPACE FOR A PRODUCTION-SPECIFIC TEST07 / CUE LIBRARY
Put the
useful cue
where it can
be found.
01Performance cue What thought changes here?
02Rig cue Which control must stay direct?
03Timing cue Where does the audience need a breath?
04Handoff cue What remains open for the next pass?
08 / FAQ PROGRAM NOTES
Questions for
the next
rehearsal.
Keep the direct controls direct, then offer purposeful layers for overlap and recovery. The animator should be able to choose the pace and feel the result, rather than work around a system that has already decided the phrase.
Include a quiet hold, a clear direction change, a contact or weight moment and a recovery. Together these reveal whether the rig is only impressive in a single pose or dependable across a real character sentence.
It turns an abstract flexibility request into an observable performance need. A timing reference can show where direct response, controlled overlap or a reliable return matters to the shot.
A good handoff names the intended phrase tests, control groups, known constraints and a path for reporting friction. It leaves the next performer with working context instead of a list of features to discover alone.
09 / BOOKING SCORE
Bring the
next phrase
into the room.
Bring a character brief, a difficult performance beat, a timing problem or a rig handoff that needs a clearer rehearsal.
10 / CURTAIN LIGHT