Why Characters Shouldn't Look at The Camera

Bugs - stop looking at us!

One of the most common mistakes made by student animators is to have their characters talk directly to the camera, breaking the so-called "Fourth Wall".

Inexperienced animators often make this error. We pose out our character and we think - who is she talking to? I know - she's talking to me! But in a film, or a play, or a TV Series, the camera (ie the audience) is almost always an observer, never a participant.

Part of the so-called Willing Suspension of Disbelief is that the characters acting for us don't know we are there.

Sometimes characters will talk to the camera (like Bugs Bunny, left) but this is unusual. Mostly, on-screen characters look at each other, not at us. 

Character looks at the audience - breaks the Fourth Wall

Actors Don't Look at the Camera

Actors look at each other, not at us. There are exceptions to this rule, of course, but next you watch anything on TV, notice how seldom characters look at the camera. It's done occasionally for dramatic effect, but very rarely. Unless, of course it's a documentary, or it's someone reading the news. Then, they are talking directly to us, the audience.

Breaking The "Fourth Wall"

The trouble with having a character looking directly at the camera is that it breaks the so-called “Fourth Wall.”, the invisible barrier that separates the audience from the action that we are observing.  Much of the work you need to do as a film-maker goes into maintaining the illusion that we are watching a story unfold before us, whereas in reality it is all just a contrivance.

The character looks to screen left - much stronger

Camera as Observer, not Participant

When an actor, or an animated character, looks straight into the camera, they are looking directly at the audience, and this destroys the illusion. The character is now making eye contact with the viewer, and the problem with this is that the viewer isn't supposed to be there, because no-one is supposed to be there. Who are they really taking to? The general rule to hold to is that the camera should just be an observer, never a participant.

Break the Rules - But Learn Them First
Rules can be broken, of course, but they should be broken sparingly, and with good reasons. When you break the fourth wall, your character becomes aware of their fictional nature, and this suspends the drama.

The Camera is a Non-Participating Observer
Below is a good example of character animation by Victoria Bailey.  The camera is offset just enough so that the character isn't talking directly to us; rather he is speaking to someone just behind us and to our right. We, the audience, are an observer, not a participant.




Rules of Cinematography
We have many resources on camera and cinematography at Escape Studios:

• How to Animate a Simple Camera Shake in Maya
• How to Create a Shot Camera in Maya
• Sagar Rathod and the Rule of Thirds
• Clem Gharini Introduces the Art of Cinematography
• Animating Cameras with Marc Stevenson
• Tutorials at Vimeo on Camera Previs & Layout
• Cinematography & Lighting with Clem Gharini
• Why Animators Should View Shots in Continuity
• How to Render Depth of Field in Maya and Arnold

The Escape Studios Animation Blog offers a personal view on the art of animation and visual effects. To apply for one of our courses, follow this link.