# Attention Direction > Use when controlling where the audience looks—composing shots, choreographing action, revealing information, or any situation requiring clear visual hierarchy and focus management. - **Type:** Skill - **Install:** `agentstack add skill-dylantarre-animation-principles-attention-direction` - **Verified:** Yes — security-reviewed for prompt injection and unsafe behavior - **Seller:** [dylantarre](https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/dylantarre) - **Installs:** 0 - **Category:** [Agent Skills](https://agentstack.voostack.com/c/agent-skills) - **Latest version:** 0.1.0 - **License:** MIT - **Upstream author:** [dylantarre](https://github.com/dylantarre) - **Source:** https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles/tree/main/skills/02-by-thinking-style/attention-direction ## Install ```sh agentstack add skill-dylantarre-animation-principles-attention-direction ``` Requires the [AgentStack CLI](https://agentstack.voostack.com/docs/cli). Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and any MCP-compatible agent. ## About # Attention Direction Think like a magician controlling where the audience looks. Animation is misdirection and direction. You decide what matters, then make it impossible to miss—while hiding what shouldn't be seen yet. ## Core Mental Model Before animating any scene, ask: **Where should the eye go, and in what order?** Audiences can only look at one thing at a time. Your job is to guide their attention through the frame and through time. Every element either supports focus or competes with it. ## The 12 Principles Through Focus **Staging** — The foundation of attention direction. Clear silhouettes. Uncluttered compositions. Important elements separated from background. Staging serves focus. **Timing** — Attention follows movement. Motion against stillness commands the eye. Strategic timing controls when things get noticed. Stillness is also a tool. **Anticipation** — Attention setup. Before the important thing, direct eyes to where it will happen. Anticipation is a spotlight warming up before the main act. **Secondary Action** — Supporting, not competing. Secondary elements should enhance focus on primary action, not steal attention. The backup singer shouldn't upstage the lead. **Follow Through & Overlapping Action** — Attention carries momentum. Where one motion ends, the eye expects the next to begin. Use follow-through to guide gaze through sequences. **Exaggeration** — Emphasis through amplification. Important elements are bigger, faster, more contrasted. Exaggeration says "look here." Restraint says "this can wait." **Squash & Stretch** — Visual attention-grabbers. Impact frames (squash) and speed lines (stretch) create pops of visual interest that capture the eye. **Arcs** — Eye paths. The audience's gaze follows arcs of motion. Design movement paths that lead attention where you want it to land. **Slow In & Slow Out** — Attention ramps. Ease-in gives time to find the action. Ease-out gives time to process. Control pacing of comprehension. **Solid Drawing** — Hierarchy through form. Important elements have more dimensional presence. Background elements are flatter, less detailed. Volume commands attention. **Appeal** — The eye seeks appeal. Attractive elements draw focus naturally. Use appeal strategically—the most appealing thing in frame gets looked at first. **Straight Ahead & Pose to Pose** — Planning attention (pose to pose) ensures focus hits are intentional. Spontaneous discovery (straight ahead) might need attention refinement afterward. ## Practical Application **Attention Tools:** - Contrast: Light against dark, color against neutral - Isolation: Space around important elements - Size: Bigger elements read first - Position: Center and rule-of-thirds intersections - Motion: Movement in stillness commands eyes - Detail: More detailed areas attract focus - Character eyelines: Audiences look where characters look **Attention Sequence:** 1. Establish where eyes should start 2. Plan the path through the frame 3. Land on the most important element 4. Allow processing time 5. Transition to next focus point **Common Attention Errors:** - Competing centers: Multiple elements fighting for focus - Buried information: Important elements lost in noise - Nowhere to look: No clear hierarchy - Missed beats: Focus points not held long enough - Leading nowhere: Motion that doesn't resolve to landing point When focus feels "confused": 1. Reduce secondary motion 2. Increase contrast on primary element 3. Add stillness around important areas 4. Simplify background during key moments When scenes feel "empty": 1. Add supporting motion (without competing) 2. Use secondary action to create visual interest 3. Ensure something is always moving 4. Create visual rhythm in attention flow **Eye Path Mapping:** Sketch your scene with arrows showing intended eye movement. If the path is unclear or chaotic, simplify. If multiple paths compete, choose one. ## The Golden Rule **You can't control attention if you haven't decided what matters.** Before worrying about technique, answer the fundamental question: What's the single most important thing in this frame right now? Everything else serves that. ## Source & license This open-source skill is cataloged on AgentStack and links to its original source — we do not rehost the code. - **Author:** [dylantarre](https://github.com/dylantarre) - **Source:** [dylantarre/animation-principles](https://github.com/dylantarre/animation-principles) - **License:** MIT Install and usage instructions live in the source repository linked above. ## Pricing - **Free** — Free ## Security capabilities Automated source analysis of v0.1.0 — what this tool can access: - **Network access:** no - **Filesystem access:** no - **Shell / process execution:** no - **Environment & secrets:** no - **Dynamic code execution:** no *"Yes" means the capability is present in the source — more access means more to trust, not that it is unsafe.* ## Versions - **0.1.0** — security scan: passed — Imported from the upstream source. ## Links - Listing page: https://agentstack.voostack.com/l/skill-dylantarre-animation-principles-attention-direction - Seller: https://agentstack.voostack.com/s/dylantarre - Browse the marketplace: https://agentstack.voostack.com/browse --- Listed on AgentStack — the marketplace for AI agent skills and MCP servers. Every listing is security-reviewed. Creators keep 70%.