Who Framed Roger Rabbit "Eye Lines" Memo

Eye Direction Matters

In the 1988 film Who Framed Roger Rabbit one of the biggest problems was getting Roger (and the other cartoon characters) to look directly at Bob Hoskins and the other live action actors. Without clear believable eye direction, the characters didn't seem to be looking at each other, and the illusion failed.

You can see the memo on the left from animation director Richard Williams to the animation crew, reinforcing the importance of eye direction in sustaining the illusion that live action and animation were occupying the same visual space.

Since Who Framed Roger Rabbit I've worked on dozens of animated films.  On every film it was important that the characters look at each other, and that the audience believes that the characters are looking at each other. 

Michael Caine - Acting in Film

As Michael Caine puts it in his famous 1980s tutorial "Acting in Film", the number one lesson for stage actors is to "hold on to each others' eyes". And, what is true for stage actors is true for animators. 

Animating Eyes and Expressions

Always Add a Blink on a Head Turn

For more on animating eyes and expressions, see these blog posts:

• How to Avoid "Zombie Eyes"
• Why Animated Characters Need to Blink on a Head Turn
• How to Use the Eye Direction Controller
• "Hold on to your Character's Eyes" - with Michael Caine
• How to Animate Eye Darts
• Why Eye Direction Matters
• How to Animate a "Two Shot"
• Why Animators Should Avoid a Profile View
• Why Thumbnails Sketches Need Facial Expressions
• Why Animators Should Do Facial Expressions First
• How to Create a Face Camera in Maya

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