Motion Direction

Make the creative decisions for a motion piece before anyone animates a frame. Direction is the judgment layer: it turns a brief and a brand into a small, repeatable set of motion rules — one easing vocabulary, one timing scale, one transition family — so every shot feels like it came from the same hand. Good direction is mostly subtraction: deciding what NOT to move.

When to use

• Starting any piece — explainer, launch film, UI demo, data story, loop — and the look/feel isn't decided yet.
• Animation feels "busy", "cheap", or "inconsistent" and the cause is decisions, not craft.
• Orchestrating other skills (gsap/lottie/shader/three.js): direction sets the rules they execute.
• Translating a brand or brief into directable, written choices a team (or an agent) can follow.

The one rule

Define the motion language first, then animate to it. A motion language is a short spec — pick one of each: easing family, base timing unit, transition family, stagger rhythm, motion intensity. Everything in the piece obeys it. Consistency reads as confidence; variety reads as noise. When in doubt, reuse, don't invent.

Direction workflow