SFX: Anticipation – Adding Juice

To give a that needed “punch” to animated effects a technique of time manipulation is often used. You can observe how effective technique in Games such as Marvel Vs. Capcom 2. As shown below, when Ryu is about to deliver his Shinku Hadouken, there is a short pause, approximately 28 frames, which equivalent to nearly 0.93 seconds on a 30 FPS rate. You can find this in other Game such Super Smash Bro. Ultimate when characters are about the perform their Ultimates. It will be easier to notice if you play at x0.25 speed.

This build up that comes ahead of the designated action is referred to as Anticipation in animation. And, as they name implies, it adds the anticipation to action at hand. If you noticed in the video, there are several techniques with that anticipation window of 1 second. Examples on those techniques can freezing time, dimming the background, zooming in on the actor, splashing the characters close-up…etc. Although all of this happens within less than a second, it is what gives that action the impact that makes it stand out!