Changing Emotions in animation

[OwenWelsh]

How many frames does it take for the audience to read an emotion or facial expression? Example: Angry to Happy, Sad to Angry... etc. To me it feels like you need at least 48 frames... maybe more of one emotion / facial expression, then a short or long transition to the next.

[Rodney]

It seems to me that the answer is going to be variable.
We seldom see a face change emotion in isolation.

If the body is already helping to convey the emotion I'd say you can get 'er done in less than 48 frames.

You do raise an interesting notion with thought of easing in and out of the expressions.
Perhaps you'd want to favor the emotion 80/20 (or 2/3rds if preferred) toward the one you want to relay?

The fact that animators tend to stare into mirrors a lot leads me to think the timing of facial expressions is varied.

[wolfsymphony]

I'm not sure if there is a set amount of frames a certain emotion or expression should last for, I guess you should just have a feeling for it and whatever feels right. Of course it shouldn't be too short but long enough for the audience to understand how the character is feeling. Play it over and try to see what works and feels right?

[Don Bluth]

How many frames does it take for the audience to read an emotion or facial expression? Example: Angry to Happy, Sad to Angry... etc. To me it feels like you need at least 48 frames... maybe more of one emotion / facial expression, then a short or long transition to the next.

Changing from one emotion to another usually takes a lot of time particularly if the emotions are far apart. But there are exceptions to this rule! A good example would be Sally Field's reaction at the moment she discovers Mr.s Doubtfire and her husband, Robin Williams are the same person. It goes from surprise to anger, quickly. A side note: Any expression under 8 frames in length will not register with the audience.