Writer's Portal Guide 4: Stage Direction

 

Stage Direction

Helpful Videos

• ENTERING AND EXITING 
• BACKGROUND ZONES 
• MOVING BACKGROUNDS 
• ZONES 

Summary of Directing Commands

 The example script for Stage Direction is Basic Direction. Play it on your device while following along in the portal. Take note of how each of the directing commands that we’ve learned is used in the example script.

Placing characters at the start of a scene:

@CHARACTER stands position

@CHARACTER stands position in zone Z

Entering and exiting the scene:

@CHARACTER enters from SIDE to POSITION

@CHARACTER exits SIDE

Moving a character:

@CHARACTER faces DIRECTION

@CHARACTER walks to POSITION

@CHARACTER walks to POSITION in zone Z

@follow CHARACTER to POSITION in zone Z

Moving the camera:

@pan to zone Z

@cut to zone Z

 

Zones Overview

 We divide each background or scene into zones. Each zone is the width of a standard smartphone screen, with no overlap.

You’ll notice in the Art Catalog that our available backgrounds tend to have between 1 and 4 zones. The majority of our backgrounds have 3 zones.

Examples:

1-zone background	2-zone background
3-zone background	4-zone background

On-Screen Character Placement

 There are five foreground positions for characters to be positioned in (refer to the image below).

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Behind that, there are 4 background positions.  In these positions, characters will appear smaller, so as to appear in the background.

• back far left
• back left
• back right
• back far right

Once you determine which zone you’re working in, place a character on screen.

Character Placement Syntax:

@CHARACTER stands POSITION

Examples:

@ANGIE stands upscreen right

@YOU stands screen left
@DANIEL stands back far right

When you position a character using the above command, you are positioning them in whatever zone the camera is currently or already looking at. There are also times when we need to place a character in a different zone (e.g. off screen).

Specific Zone Character Placement Syntax:

@CHARACTER stands POSITION in zone Z

Examples:

@YOU stands screen center in zone 3

@HAYES stands upscreen right in zone 1
@ANGIE stands back left in zone 2

Entering and Exiting the Scene

 If a character is commanded to “stand” on screen, they will pop into existence rather than enter naturally. So you will need to make your characters enter.

Walking On Screen Syntax:

@CHARACTER enters from SIDE to POSITION

Examples:

@ANGIE enters from left to screen left

@YOU enters from left to back right

Walking Off Screen Syntax:

@CHARACTER exits SIDE

Examples:

@ANGIE exits right

@YOU exits left

Moving Characters Around the Scene

 You’ll sometimes need to move your characters around the scene, whether that be having them face a different direction or walk to a different spot.

Facing A Certain Direction Syntax:

@CHARACTER faces SIDE

Examples:

@ANGIE faces right

@YOU faces left

Walking to A New Position Syntax:

@CHARACTER walks to POSITION

Examples:

@ANGIE walks to screen left

@YOU walks to back far right

 You can also have a character walk off screen and into a different zone. This allows you to pan over to a character a reader may not have seen yet, without forcing them to walk on screen or pop into existence.

Walking to A Different Zone Syntax:

@CHARACTER walks to POSITION in zone Z

Examples:

@YOU walks to screen left in zone 2

@HAYES walks to back left in zone 2

 And finally, you can have a character walk through/across the different zones while the camera follows them.

Following A Walking Character Syntax:

@follow CHARACTER to POSITION in zone Z

Examples:

@follow YOU to screen right in zone 3

 Building on the prior command, you can also have two characters be followed by the camera while walking together.

Following 2 Walking Characters Syntax:

@follow CHARACTER to POSITION in zone Z AND CHARACTER2 walks to POSITION in zone Z

Examples:

@follow YOU to screen right in zone 3 AND HAYES walks to upscreen left in zone 3

CREATIVE NOTE

1. If you’re using Ink characters for your story, you’ll notice that an animation called “walk_neutral_offset” exists. This animation is great for creating a more natural looking walk when two characters are walking to a different zone together. Rather than appearing to be stepping uniformly, this animation creates the tiniest lag for the character using it, so the two characters’ walks are not identical. In the script, it would look like this:

@follow YOU to screen right in zone 3 AND HAYES walks to upscreen left in zone 3 AND HAYES is walk_neutral_offset

or

@follow YOU to screen right in zone 3 AND HAYES walks to upscreen left in zone 3 AND YOU is walk_neutral_offset

  It does not matter which character is in walk_neutral_offset.

2. Sometimes, if the walking distance is short, like from screen right of zone 2 to screen left of zone 3 for example, the character will get to their new spot quickly but the camera will still be panning (so the camera appears to lag). In these instances, the best way to make the camera follow the character walking such that the timing of the walk and pan match up is to use this command:

@CHARACTER walks to POSITION in zone Z AND pan to zone Z

Example:

@YOU walks to screen left in zone 3 AND pan to zone 3

IMPORTANT

1. Characters will always default to face right during their first appearance.
2. If a character walks to a new screen position, they will always face the direction that they were walking when they stop.

Directing Characters As They Walk

Walking while talking is a special case of directing that requires special “looping” backgrounds. Looping backgrounds are harder for our artists to create, so we only have a few available. You can see a preview of these backgrounds in the Art Catalog, but you will only be able to see how they loop when playing through story through on your device.

• Go to the Art Catalog.
• Click the dropdown menu that says “Tag: All” and search for “Looping.”
• Browse the various looping backgrounds until you find one that’s right for your scene.
• Put the looping background in your script and save.
• Open your story on your device and play that scene to see how the looping background moves/works.

Construct a walking-and-talking scene by using a loopable background and making the character perform a walking animation. If you’re using Ink characters in your story, you’ll notice that you have “walk_talk_happy” and “walk_talk_phone” animations that make a character able to walk and appear to be speaking at the same time.

Example:

EXT. LOOPING TOWN SQUARE - DAY

@ANGIE enters from left to screen left

|        ANGIE (walking)
I think I will go for a walk!

IMPORTANT

The character is really just walking in place, but it looks like they are moving since the background is shifting behind them. However, if you have them stop (walking) and do another animation instead, this effect will break. So it is NOT suggested that you have characters walking and talking for long.

Moving the Camera

By default, your story will all take place in zone 1. If you want to move the camera to look at a different zone, you have to instruct it to do so in the script. There are two options for doing this: panning across zones, or cutting to a different zone.

Pans Syntax:

@pan to zone Z

Note: The camera will pan from the current zone to the specified one at a constant rate.

Example:

@pan to zone 2

Cuts Syntax:

@cut to zone Z

Note: The camera will instantly move to the specified zone.

Example:

@cut to zone 3

IMPORTANT

The default pan speed is 2 seconds.

CREATIVE NOTE

Pans are great for establishing a scene. If your characters are positioned in zone 1, it might be nice to open your scene in zone 3 and pan to zone 1. That way, you’ll give your reader a sense of time and space before starting the dialogue between your characters.

Pans are also great for a big "reveal" moment. Let’s say Angie has just walked into zone 2 - and she spots that Hayes is stealing something important over in zone 3. We might see her do a shocked animation, then pan to zone 3 to show the reader what she’s seen Hayes doing.

Simultaneous Stage Directions

 Stage directions happen one at a time. If you want to have two characters perform an action together, say entering together, you need to merge the two directions together with an “AND.” There are more examples of this in our Example Script: Simultaneous Direction.

Example:

@HAYES enters from left to screen left AND ANGIE enters from left to screen right.

You can chain several actions together (more than just two).

Example:

@SARAH is dance1 AND BOB is drink_sip AND SAM is cry_weep

You can also make one character act while another is speaking. This is done with the command “starts.”

Example:

@HAYES starts cry_sob

 
|        ANGIE (talk_cover_mouth_awkward)
  Oh Hayes, why are you crying?

This will make Hayes start crying, then have Angie speak, so he is crying while she talks.

IMPORTANT

1. To be recognized correctly, the merged directions must be on a single line.
   
2. Giving the same character multiple, simultaneous directions is problematic. For example, @HAYES is cry_sob AND HAYES walks to screen right will break in the script and create an error.

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Pausing the Action Briefly

Sometimes it’s helpful to have nothing happen for a moment, especially as an establishing shot. The “pause” command is denoted in seconds:

Pausing Syntax:

@pause for 1.5

CREATIVE NOTE

The “pause” command is great in a variety of situations. If you’re opening a scene in zone 3 and want to pan to zone 1 to establish the scene, for example, you may want to “pause for 1” in zone 3 before starting your pan. Or if a character is reacting to something another character says, but you don’t have a line of dialogue to correspond with their animation, sometimes a “pause for 2.3” helps to linger on that character for just the right amount of time.