Left or Right?

Hi,

I'm totally new to making movies.

Me and my friends are making a 3D animated teaser for a full length animation film.

In the teaser the protagonist is chased by flying objects through woods. The scene is fast paced and slowly narrated.

When the idea initially came to me , for no decided reason I was visualizing the scenes as though the guy was running from screen right to left.

And now that we're sketching and making some rough storyboards, it got me thinking about screen direction.

I know that "normally" it's better to move from screen left ot right. So should I reverse this? What would be a good reason to keep it the way it is?

Thanks for any suggestions.
 
Hi! The very best reason I can think of for keeping it the way it is would be because that is the way you want it. Visualize the scene in your mind with the character moving from right to left, then visualize it moving from left to right. Do they feel different? If so, which direction better fits the feel you want for that scene?
 
Hey.

Thanks for replies.

I don't have very good reasons for either option, this is why I'm asking. But, like AcousticAl mentioned, there is this article. So, where would we use right to left? Other than being visually more pleasing to eyes, why left->right is more common ?
 
Going left->right and downhill is perceived as the easiest motion. At least thats what was in a book i read once.

The opposite is true if you're going uphill from right to left.. that's the most difficult.
If you've got sisyphus pushing the boulder I would film him going uphill right to left.
 
Other than being visually more pleasing to eyes, why left->right is more common ?

Except for Arabic languages and a few others, most of us read from left to right. That conditions us to see the world that way.

Many years ago, I believe it was Tide laundry detergent that had a massive advertising failure on a billboard somewhere in the Middle East. The ad was a series of three images. From left to right: a dirty shirt, a box of detergent, a clean shirt. The company didn't stop and think about folks in that nation reading from right to left, so to them the detergent took a clean shirt and made it dirty, at least as advertised. Not that this has anything to do with the question at hand, but I find that interesting.
 
Last edited:
From left to right: a dirty shirt, a box of detergent, a clean shirt. The company didn't stop and think about folks in that nation reading from right to left, so to them the detergent took a clean shirt and made it dirty, at least as advertised.
That is interesting.
I guess if the chase is supposed to feel a bit disorienting & strange then go R-L but if you have a lot of quick shots that can be really confusing then maybe L-R is better. Anyway if you're doing boards, you can draw it one way & then flip them in the computer to see which one feels better. You can also do both directions but it helps to ease the transition if you put a shot in between going foreward or back.
 
Last edited:
Thanks all for suggestions. It's a bit harder to decide because it's a chase scene, so RL probably would make the viewer feel the opposition.

I'll come back when we make some boards and maybe some rough layout to see which looks and tells the story better.
 
Thanks all for suggestions. It's a bit harder to decide because it's a chase scene, so RL probably would make the viewer feel the opposition.

I'll come back when we make some boards and maybe some rough layout to see which looks and tells the story better.

I'm probably the resident expert on chase scenes.. at least when it comes to watching them.
I browsed through my favorite 69 foot chases, yours reminds me most of Evil Dead 2.

Primary it's a camera mounted on a motorcycle chasing ash from behind. but in this chase when they cut to a side view it's going from R->L

Makes sense to me because the L->R can make it feel "easier" to get away
 
I'm probably the resident expert on chase scenes.. at least when it comes to watching them.
I browsed through my favorite 69 foot chases, yours reminds me most of Evil Dead 2.

Primary it's a camera mounted on a motorcycle chasing ash from behind. but in this chase when they cut to a side view it's going from R->L

Makes sense to me because the L->R can make it feel "easier" to get away

Can you describe the scene? I want to find it.
 
This is the trouble with "rules" and "scientifically studied techqniues" - it's all a little smoke and mirrors.

Some explanation and illustrations (albeit without the illustrations):

Firstly, why left to right? The obvious answer is that we read left to right and are used to analysing visual media in such a manner, from taking in a scene to reading subtitles. Of course, this is all well and good as long as your scene should be read from left to right. Perhaps the detail you want to be noticed first is to the right? The centre? Heading toward your character? Then this complicates matters.

In cinema history there have been various techniques used. For examples one direction of movement representing heading towards a location, and the other to represent leaving. As someone previously mentioned, the protagnist or good guy on the left, the antagonist or the bad guy on the right. The strong to the left, the weak to the right, and so on.
These are subtle psychological tricks which can work, but aren't always necessary.

Imagine one character (A) walking left to right, to then stop and the romantic interest (B) continues walking to A with a static shot. In this case, it would involve reversing the camera angle, to have them heading in the same direction on screen, which is confusing or frustrating for audiences - a basic continuity error. In this case, direction isn't important.

Another point is that the left to right works only when two conditions are met:
1. Only the subject needs to be followed.
2. It's intended for audiences who read left to right.

This is an old Hollywood standard for a reason: in English we read left to right. However, when I read Hebrew, it's right to left. Japanese (if I remember correctly) is read top to bottom. Cultural differences lead to different inclinations. Of course, this is somewhat semantic, as you're most likely thinking of a European language-derived audience.

Point 1, however, goes back to what I said before, what needs to be noticed in a scene.

Now, if the character is being chased by an enemy, then the old "rule" could apply, and as attention needs to be focussed on the fact that they are fleeing (i.e. it's negative), right to left would make sense.

However, there is something more to this "rule" which amounts to an actual rule:

Which ever directions you use, make sure to be consistent throughout. As Itype my 3 year old son is watching Lego Jurassic Park. Almost all the direction I've watched for the last 5 minutes while writing this is right to left, but when there is a scene cut, it's left to right, as it's portraying a change in location and characters, in time and space. So always be consistent in the directions you choose, unless there is a good reason to change them.
 
Really appreciate you taking the for this explanation in depth. I really needed a good input to see whether I am totally 'wrong' going for right to left. Your answer makes sense and also confirms what I think about the subject. Thanks again. I'll try to follow up with some storyboards when they're ready to show the difference between the directions.
 
Really appreciate you taking the for this explanation in depth. I really needed a good input to see whether I am totally 'wrong' going for right to left. Your answer makes sense and also confirms what I think about the subject. Thanks again. I'll try to follow up with some storyboards when they're ready to show the difference between the directions.

Be good to see them. It's difficult to give very specific advice without knowing what is really being conveyed. Good luck!
 
Can you describe the scene? I want to find it.


Here it is. Ash is running right to left, btw. :yes:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nThdlnHmFEo

Too bad this starts after he is thrown from the car.


The main thing is to keep the screen direction consistent, no matter which way you decide. If a second shot of Ash running, had him going right to left (instead of left to right), he would appear to be running towards the evil, instead of away from it.

If you screw up one shot in your chase sequence, you can often times "REVERSE" the frame to make it flow better. Works best for quick cuts and can make for good trivia, if the viewer notices a character's watch on the opposite wrist. :lol:
 
Last edited:
Back
Top