Keyframe

What’s this module about?

This module teaches you the art of body-driven storytelling. No dialogue-just pure performance. You’ll learn how to convince the audience of your character’s situation through posture and movement alone. Discover how every stance can broadcast mood, reveal what your character feels in the moment, and build empathy and believability. You’ll master clear, simple, strong, appealing poses that carry meaning-so your shots speak for themselves.

Why body language?
It’s one of the core principles of acting and our most primal way to communicate-nearly 90% of what we “say” comes from how we move, not the words we use. The remaining 10% is the spoken content explaining why the character feels that way.

What’s in AW03?

WEEK 1 – 6 : Force, Physical Effort & Weight Leverage

First half of the module: let the body do the talking

You’ll kick off by making your character speak without a single line of dialogue. We’ll dig into constraints and space switches, centers of power, motivated action, secondary action, silhouette, caricatured motion, asymmetry, and more – everything you need to make the performance read loud and clear. You’ll also uncover one of animation’s unsung heroes: the clavicles (yep, they matter – a lot for believable expression). To cap it off, you’ll film your first video reference for acting, setting you up for the weeks ahead.

Assignment

Create a shot where your character must carry, push, lift, pull – or all of the above in a specific context. Showcase hand dexterity and proper clavicle usage, and make sure the shared balance between character and object feels convincing.

Skills you’ll own

Body-driven acting: Tell a clear story with posture, silhouette, and readable golden poses—no dialogue needed.
Weight & balance that feel real: Shared weight with props (carry/push/pull/lift), grounded contacts, believable recoveries.
Upper-body nuance: Smart use of clavicles, torso twist/flex, and asymmetry to add emotion and specificity.
IK/FK & constraints fluency: Confident space switching, prop pinning, and seamless IK↔FK matching mid-shot.
Rhythm & clarity: Motivated action, secondary action, clean arcs, and timing that sells intention.
Planning → polish workflow: Video reference, thumbnails, blocking → splining → polish at a professional standard.

WEEK 7 – 12 : Pantomime & Body Expression

Now we’re really having fun!
Through character locomotion we’ll dive into rhythm, beats/phrasing, narrative, appeal, personality, moving holds, and pantomime, to name a few. You’ll use gesture as your main language—no dialogue—so you’ll learn everything needed to project feelings and moods with strong, appealing, super-readable poses.

Assignment

Create a shot where the character expresses feelings and emotional states through body language, using gestures to punch up the performance. The shot should include at least 2–3 contrasting emotional shifts.

Core skills you’ll master

Tell a story without dialogue: Make intent, mood, and context crystal clear using posture, gesture, and silhouette alone.
Rhythm & phrasing: Design beats, contrasts, and moving holds so actions feel musical and purposeful.
Golden poses & clarity: Craft strong, appealing key poses that read instantly—even as a black silhouette.
Gesture economy: Say more with less—avoid “hand wiggling” and pick the one gesture that carries meaning.
Emotional shifts: Stage 2–3 contrasting emotions in one shot and make each transition unmistakable.

Start of Course: September 22, 2025
Total number of sessions: 12 Live classes + 12 Personal Video Reviews + Daily Reviews
Schedule options:

September 22 – Mondays 12pm CST (Mexico Time)

Visit www.time.is/mexico to know the actual time in your country

AW03 – Advanced Body Mechanics and Pantomime