Aude GlonduComposition and framing: a workshop between animators
An internal workshop at Ubisoft Annecy on composition and framing, and a question that kept us talking: what is left when the player holds the camera?
In September 2026, we held an internal workshop on composition and framing between animators at Ubisoft Annecy.
One of us had attended a workshop on composition and framing in video games in Lyon, given by an animator from Santa Monica Studio, the studio behind God of War. They came back and shared it with the rest of the team.
Three hours of theory, one hour of practice
The first three hours were a presentation of the main principles of composition and framing.
Then came an hour of exercises: a mocap take placed in a MotionBuilder scene, and a camera to frame it with the tools we had just seen.
A good reminder
I already knew most of these ideas, from art school and from my love of cinema. But a good reminder of the basics never hurts.
I do not use them every day yet. Our work in Annecy is mostly gameplay, and on the few cinematics I have worked on, the cameras were already in place.
When the player holds the camera
The part I enjoyed most was the discussion that followed: how do you apply all this in gameplay, when the camera is not ours to control?
What remains is light, colour, the environment, sound, music, and animation. Together, they can guide players and make them feel something.
It brings us back to an idea I care about: to convey an intention, every team in a production has to work together.
Cover photo by Kriss Films on Unsplash.