Experimentation is permission. Permission to be wrong. Permission to be awkward. Permission to follow an idea even when it feels stupid or indulgent. This is how real discovery happens.

Groups like Monty Python did not judge ideas at the door. They explored them thoroughly, then decided which would live or die. That distinction matters. Killing an idea too early prevents you from learning what it might have become.

Animation thrives on this mindset because Animation is not bound by physical rules. You control gravity, timing, scale, and intent. If you only animate what feels safe or logical, you are underusing the medium.

Time Is Your Most Powerful Tool

In live action, time is expensive. In Animation, time is clay.

You can:

• Stretch a moment until it becomes uncomfortable

• Compress an action so it lands like a punch

• Hold longer than feels polite

• Delay a reaction until the audience starts leaning forward

Comedy lives in those choices.

A strong example appears in A Fish Called Wanda. In one scene, Michael Palin uses a stutter to stretch time to absurd lengths while John Cleese slowly loses control. The tension does not come from action. It comes from delay. The audience knows what is coming. The wait is the joke.

This applies directly to Animation blocking. If a beat feels too long, try making it longer. If a pause feels risky, you are close to something useful.

Let Ideas Breathe Before You Edit

One of the fastest ways to flatten a scene is premature cleanup.

When blocking or exploring:

• Let the pose go too far

• Let the idea repeat once more than necessary

• Let the character overcommit

• Let silence exist

You can always pull back. You cannot find what you never allowed to surface.

Comedy, especially, needs room. Tightening too early removes the oxygen. Many jokes fail not because the idea is weak, but because it never had space to land.

Experimentation Is Not Chaos

Experimenting does not mean random motion or noise. It means testing clear ideas.

Ask yourself:

• What happens if the reaction comes late

• What happens if the character commits harder

• What happens if the action is smaller but held longer

• What happens if I remove motion instead of adding it

These are controlled experiments. Each one teaches you something about character and intent.

Commit First. Refine Later

Half-committed ideas read as uncertainty. Fully committed ideas read as choices, even when they fail.

Push the idea until it breaks. Then step back one notch.

That process builds confidence, clarity, and taste.

A Fish Called Wanda still rewards repeat viewings because its choices are specific and unapologetic. It also carries a strange footnote. In 1989, Danish physician Ole Bentzen reportedly died of heart failure after laughing uncontrollably during a screening. Extreme, yes, but it speaks to the power of sustained timing and commitment.

Apply This Directly to Your Animation

When blocking your next shot:

• Try at least one version that feels excessive

• Push timing before polishing arcs

• Explore silence as actively as motion

• Delay reactions longer than instinct allows

Experimentation is not extra work. It is how you find the shot worth finishing.