ToolKit/glossary of terms

more animation glossary 

ROTOSCOPING:

A method for the animation of live action by tracing actual film onto drawing paper on a frame by frame basis.

SCENE:

A portion of a picture depicting one action or a series of action using one background.

SEQUENCE:

Usually a series of scenes depicting the continuation of one action or series of actions with the same character or characters.

FRAME: 

An individual picture on the film.

PAINTER:

Sometimes referred to as an "Opaquer." A person who paints the opaque color on the cells.

TIMING: 

In reference to action as a whole - the time used to present an action in terms of feet and frames. In reference to individual drawings, the spacing of one drawing to another in actual distance.

BOOK ILLUSTRATION: 

Refers to original art created for reproduction in a book, in any media.

MODEL STATUE OR MAQUETTE:

A three dimensional statue or figurine, produced in the studio in very limited numbers as a reference to assist the animators in visualizing what a character will look like from varying perspectives. Usually constructed of plaster with wire armature and painted in colors.

STORY DRAWINGS:

These drawings, created in series, are used to describe the story and action, or other conceptual aspect of an animated film during the developmental stage. Done in various media, they can be anything from thumbnail sketches to beautifully colored finished pieces 

of art.

STORYBOARD:

Board on which story sketches are pinned in strip fashion in an order that tells the complete story.

MODEL: 

Drawings made as a guide for the establishment of color and form and detail of a character.

CONCEPT ART

Includes all pre-production artwork created before actual animation 

has begun.

CHARACTER DESIGN:

Pre-production sketches, drawings, and cells depicting preliminary 

character studies.INSPIRATIONAL/CONCEPT 

SKETCH:

Created by different artists in a wide variety of media to suggest the mood, look, color styling or overall atmosphere 

Terminology

Film Techniques 

Continuity Suggests continuous action with respect to angles, props and positioning of actors

Cut Instant change between frames

Mix/Dissolve Image on screen appears to dissolve/fade away while another scene is appearing; originally done by overlaying 

several frames when splicing celluloid

Superimposition Similar to mix but lasts for longer so both shots are actually visible at once

Fade in/Fade out Image fades into blackness before the next appears or a scene emerges from blackness

Wipe One scene pushes another off the screen sideways, in order to replace it

Matched cut:Shows Familiar relationship between shots making the change smoother

Jump cut: This is when two sequential shots of the same subject are taken from camera positions.

Motivated cut:This is a cut made at the point where something has occured. This makes the viewer immediately want to see something not currently visible 

Film movement

Regular speed 24 frames per second Gives a sense of reality

Slow motion Filmed at a faster rate than 24 frames per second but 

played back at regular speed 

Gives the effect of slow motion when played at normal 

speed; gives a sense that time is suspended; creates 

tension, excitement, romance

Fast motion Pictures taken at very high speeds (128 frames per 

second or more) 

Movement is speeded up; creates tension, excitement, 

anxiety, comedy

photography glossary

Adjustable camera

A camera with manually adjustable settings for distance,lens openings, and shutter speeds.

Ambient light

The available light completely surrounding a subject. Light already existing in an indoor or outdoor setting that is not caused by any illumination supplied by the photographer.

Angle of view

The area of a scene that a lens covers or sees. Angle of view is determined by the focal length of the lens. A wide-angle lens (short focal length) includes more of the scene—a wide angle of view—than a normal (normal-focal   length) or telephoto (long focal-length) lens.

Camera Angles

Various positions of the camera (high, medium, or low; and left, right, or straight on) with respect to the subject, each giving a different viewpoint or effect.

Backlighting

Light coming from behind the subject, toward the camera lens, so that the subject stands out vividly against the background. Sometimes produces a silhouette effect.

Balance

Placement of colors, light and dark masses, or large and small objects in a picture to create harmony and equilibrium

Contrast

The range of difference in the light to dark areas of a negative, print, or slide (also called density); the brightness range of a subject or the scene lighting

Cropping

Printing only part of the image that is in the negative or slide,usually for a more pleasing composition. May also refer to the framing of the scene in the viewfinder.

Darkroom

A light tight area used for processing films and for printing and processing papers; also for loading and unloading film holders and some cameras.

Animation              

Animation can be a manipulation of electronic images done by computer/ drawn/clay/photos in order to create a moving image

 It's also the  the process of creating motion  and shape change illusion   by means of the rapid display of a sequence of static images that minimally differ from each other. The illusion—as in motion pictures in general—is thought to rely on the phi phenomenon. Animators  are artists who specialize in the creation of animation.

Animations can be recorded  on either analogue media, such as a flip book , motion,picture film, video tape, or on digital media , including formats such as animated GIF , flash animation  or digital video. To display it, a digital camera ,claymation/puppets computer, or projector  are used.

Animation creation methods include the traditional animation  creation method and those involving stop motion animation  of two and three-dimensional objects, such as paper cutouts ,puppets and clay figures  . Images are displayed in a rapid succession, usually 24, 25, 30, or 60 frames per second.

Stop-motion

Stop motion (also known as stop frame) is an animation  technique to make a physically manipulated object or persona appear to move on its own. The object is moved in small increments between individually photographed frames, creating the illusion of movement when the series of frames is played as a continuous sequence. Dolls with movable joints or clay figures are often used in stop motion for their ease of repositioning. Stop motion animation using plasticine is called clay animation  or "clay-mation". Not all stop motion requires figures or models; many stop motion films can involve using humans, household appliances and other things for comedic effect. Stop motion using objects is sometimes referred to as object animation.

Claymation

claymation is one of many forms of stop motion  animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually plasticine clay.

Each object or character is sculpted from clay or other such similarly pliable material as plasticine , usually around a wire skeleton called an armature, and then arranged on the set, where it is photographed once before being slightly moved by hand to prepare it for the next shot, and so on until the animator has achieved the desired amount of film. Upon playback, the human mind  of the viewer perceives the series of slightly changing, rapidly succeeding images as motion.

A consistent shooting environment is needed to maintain the illusion of continuity : objects must be consistently placed and lit, and work must proceed in a calm environment.

A sub variation of clay animation can be informally called "clay melting". Any kind of heat source can be applied on or near (or below) clay to cause it to melt while an animation camera  on a time- lapse setting slowly films the process. 

White board/Cutout  animation is a technique for producing animations using flat characters, props and backgrounds cut from materials such as paper, card, stiff fabric or even photographs. The world's earliest known animated feature films were cutout animations (made in Argentina byQuirino Cristiani); as is the world's earliest surviving animated feature.also using white board and markers 


Today, cutout-style animation is frequently produced using computers, with scanned images or vector graphics taking the place of physically cut materials. South Park is a notable example of this transition since its first episode was made with paper cutouts before switching tocomputer animation.

More complex figures depicted in cutout animation, such as in silhouette animation, often have joints made with a rivet or pin – or when made on a computer, an anchor. These connections act as mechanical linkage which have the effect of a specific, fixed motion.