Animation-Directed Embodied Performance Technique (ADEPT): A Framework for Creating Better Animation Video Reference

Across animation curricula at academic institutions, there is no unified or industry-recognised framework for developing students’ performance skills, whether through observation or direct experience. Performance for animation remains a niche subject; while there exist some useful explications for how acting training can apply to animators, how animators engage with animation reference is less understood. Unfortunately, many animation educators either do not recognise the value of embodied techniques when teaching animation reference, or they are unable to implement such techniques. As a result, the current educational environment produces more technically capable animators than graduates with robust performance skills. This research describes the narratological and performance utility of an embodied performance framework for teaching character animation. This framework is based on practice-led enquiries within the domains of acting, animation, tertiary education, and studio-based production. Drawing on the researcher’s experience as an actor and animator, this framework seeks to resolve a number of underexplored questions: What challenges will animators face when engaging in embodied performance practice? Which styles of performance are accessible and safe for animators without prior experience? How may animators overcome reluctance to engage with embodied practice? Which embodied performance strategies are likely to yield more useful animation information? Do certain types of performance experience provide different benefits to animators? How to best extrapolate pose and performance information from video reference? These questions serve as a starting point in the development of the Animation-Directed Embodied Performance Technique framework (ADEPT), which integrates performance traditions from Michael Chekhov and Rudolf Laban. This framework promotes nuanced physical and expressive strategies when producing animation reference. Particularly, these strategies are intimately framed to correspond with the narrative requirements at every point within a story. An embodied pedagogy reinforces the importance of narrative appeal in animation to captivate audiences and promote empathy through believable character performance.