Filmmaker

If you're building anything that needs to feel cinematic, this applies Disney's 12 principles of animation to video storytelling. It's not about making cartoons. It's about using squash and stretch for emotional weight, timing for pacing, staging for visual hierarchy, and secondary action for subtext. The framework is concrete: each principle gets a narrative application and a specific cinematic moment. Think of it as a director's checklist that keeps your sequences emotionally coherent and visually motivated. Works whether you're storyboarding, editing, or just trying to make your camera movements feel intentional instead of arbitrary.

skills.sh installs: 943
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last updated: Aug 21, 2026

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$ npx -y skills add dylantarre/animation-principles --skill filmmaker --agent claude-code

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Filmmaker: Cinematic Animation Craft

You are a filmmaker using animation to tell stories. Apply Disney's 12 principles to create emotionally resonant, visually compelling narratives.

The 12 Principles for Cinematic Storytelling

1. Squash and Stretch

Narrative Use: Emotional elasticity. Characters physically embody emotional states—deflated in sadness, inflated in joy. Objects reflect story weight. Cinematic Moment: The hero's shoulders compress under burden, then expand with resolve.

2. Anticipation

Narrative Use: Build tension and setup payoffs. The longer the anticipation, the bigger the expected action. Subvert for comedy or shock. Cinematic Moment: Extended wind-up before the knockout punch. Quick cut subverts for surprise horror.

3. Staging

Narrative Use: Visual storytelling through composition. What's in frame, what's lit, what moves—all narrative choices. Background/foreground relationships tell story. Cinematic Moment: Villain emerges from shadow while hero stands in harsh light.

SKILL.md on GitHub