Thinking in the aspect of a director is not something that comes easy. It takes allot of imagination and determination to create an animation that is portrayed with the proper principles. To think like this just imagine the director of movie and the type of things they need to do and research to make the movie appeal to you in the most realistic way possible. Now take that mentality and induct it into the world of animation in which you control every aspect and outcome. Doing this can make such a difference with producing an animation on a professional level and is something you should start practicing at the very beginning of your start of the road to becoming a great animator.