acetate
cel
An
acetate cel is clear plastic sheet made from cellulose acetate, a stable
material which remains the industry standard for traditional animation. (See
cel for further information.)
analogue filter
An
analogue filter uses transistors to affect the sonic spectrum of a sound reducing
bass (high pass filter) or treble (low pass filter).
animated
bible
An animated bible is a collection of text and drawings including
concept art, character designs, scripts, synopsis, episodes, ideas, etc. The
animated bible is often used to sell a project at Film Markets. As the series
enters production is can become the rulebook on what can and can't be done in
terms of script and artwork.
animatic
The
animatic or storyreel is created by filming the storyboard panels, then editing
them together to test whether the scenes and sequences are working. The production
crew usually does scratch voice tracks for the animatic. Music and sound effects
may also be added. The animatic is used as a template for the rest of the film.
As final footage is composited, it is placed into the animatic to build up the
final film scene by scene.
animation
Animation
is the process of taking a series of individual images, each slightly different
from the one before and stringing them together in a timed sequence to give
the appearance of continuous motion.
animation
breakdowns
The animation breakdowns are also called breakdown charts
or timing charts.
animation
keys
Also
called key drawings, these are the extreme positions in a movement that determine
the speed and flow of the movement.
animation
production
For
a complete overview of the animation production process go to the Producer in
Studio Tour mode.
anti-aliasing
Anti-aliasing is a computer function that
blends images or words with the background. The function looks at the colour
on the edge of an image, and at the colour of the background, and chooses a
colour in-between to use for the edge. It will generally do this several times
so that the edges of objects are softened and blurred, and there are no harsh
or jagged edges.
anticipation
An
anticipation is a small preparatory movement.
arc
An arc in animation is a curved line along
which movement naturally occurs.
artifact
An artifact is something not previously
present that is introduced by a process.
artisan architecture
Artisan
architecture is an advanced modeling set, primarily found in Alias Wavefront's
Maya. It can perform complex deformations etc, using various brush tools.
axis
of rotation
The
axis of rotation is the point from which a 3D object rotates.
background
painting
A
background painting depicts the environment in which the character operates.
In large traditional studios, a Background Stylist would first make small colour
sketches called key or preliminary backgrounds to establish the color scheme
and mood. For each scene, there would be one background but possibly hundreds
of animation drawings and cels.
balance
Balance can refer to a character taking their own weight
and being positioned correctly. Balance also refers to composition of background,
foreground items and the characters. Do all of these items balance well with
each other?
bar chart
A bar chart is a sheet divided horizontally
into frames and feet on which the sound track is drawn in.
bitmap
Bitmap is a generic term for an image that is comprised of pixels, where a group
of bits describes the colour value for each pixel. It is also the name given
to a specific file type called Bitmap, which is represented by the suffix '.bmp'.
bleed
Bleeding is where colours accidentally mix or blur into
each other. This can occur if video illegal colours are used alongside video
legal colours.
boards
'Boards'
is another name for storyboards. To find out all about storyboards, visit the
Storyboard Artist in the Studio Tour.
boolean operation
A boolean Operations is a 3D modelling method
that make use of two objects that overlap and therefore share part of the same
space.
breakdown
chart
The breakdown chart is the legend that appears top right
or bottom right on each key frame. The breakdown chart tells the in-betweener
where the in-betweens should be placed in relation to the key frames. It is
a record of the spatial relationships of the in-betweens to the key frames.
Some times animators may have one breakdown chart for different parts of the
body if they are moving at different speeds.
breakdown
drawing
The breakdown drawing is an in-between drawing that after
the key frames, bests defines the motion of the character or object. The key
drawings define the motion and then the breakdown drawing solidifies this motion.
The breakdown drawing is generally indicated by a longer stroke on the breakdown
chart. The breakdown drawing should always be produced before the other in-betweens.
camera
angle
When
a camera is used in a conventional film, the angles are produced by moving the
camera. In drawn or computer animation the same terminology is used to describe
the different perspectives the viewer has of the scene. For example, if the
animator wishes to make a character seem scared or vulnerable, they draw the
character as if the viewer is looking down on the character (high angle). If
the animator wishes to make a character look powerful (like super heroes) or
terrifying, the character will be drawn as if the viewer is looking up at the
character (low angle).
camera
moves
In
animation, camera moves are types of moving shots such as pan, tilt, truck in
and truck out. They involve either moving the camera or moving the artwork during
filming, to replicate the camera moves that we find in live action films. These
moving shots perform dramatic functions in film language.
camera
position
In 2D animation the camera's position is described by the
Layout Field Guides. It can move left, right, closer or further away to represent
certain shot types. In 3D animation the camera can be positioned and moved much
like a live action film camera.
camera
sheet
A
camera sheet is also known as an exposure sheet, X-sheet, dope sheet
or timing sheet. It is important in the timing of animation. Exposure sheets
are explained by Lisa, the Head of Timing in the Studio Tour.
camera
shot list
See shot
list
caricature
A caricature is a cartoon style representation in which a person's features
are deliberately exaggerated to produce a comical effect.
cel
A
cel is a sheet of clear plastic, on which the images of the characters are painted.
These are placed over a background, and then photographed in succession to give
the illusion of movement in the completed film. The outline of the image, whether
hand-inked or xerographed, is applied to the front of the cel.
cel
paint
The
most common type of paint used in early studios was a rewettable, opaque watercolor
with a gum arabic binder. Some studios bought ready-made paint, but MGM and
Disney custom manufactured their own paints in-house. Although most studios
abandoned this type of paint in the early 1960's when synthetic binders were
introduced, the Disney Studios continued to manufacture and use it in production
until 1986.
Some
studios, e.g. Warner Brothers cartoon studio, used a casein based paint, made
from dairy curd, to lower production costs. Made from dairy curd. This adhered
well to the cel stock for the short term, but in the long term cracked and chipped
Since the early 1960's, non-rewettable opaque watercolor paints with a synthetic
plastic binder have become the industry standard. These are more durable and
permanent than gum arabic based paint formulas, but they do not have the variety
of pigments.
cel
levels
'Cel levels' is a traditional animation term for both the
act of placing layers of cel on top of each other under the camera and a series
of columns on the X-sheet that prescribe the order in which the cels/drawings
should be layered. Because many digital production methods no longer use acetate
cel, the cel levels column on an X-sheet is used to record scanned drawing numbers.
centre
of attention
The act of staging a character or something that a character
is doing in such a way that the audiences can quickly and clearly focus on what
is important.
claymation
Claymation is the process of stop-motion animation that
uses plasticine, or modeling clay to construct models, which are then manipulated
and filmed frame by frame to produce a series of images, simulating lifelike
movement.
clean-up
Clean-up
is the process of taking the rough character drawings done by the animator and
drawing firm, clean, unbroken lines, keeping the drawing on model while maintaining
the integrity of the animation.
For more information, see George, the Clean-up Artist in the Studio Tour or Job 1.
clean-up
drawing
A
clean-up drawing is the final stage of animation before the image is transferred
to the cel via hand inking or xerography. These sketches often include colored
lines to indicate different ink colors, color mark-ups to tell the painters
which areas to paint which colors, and notes to the Ink & Paint department
about parts of the character that needed to be registered to other characters
or background elements.
climactic action
Climactic action is a critical action within
an animation that marks a change or important event (eg the explosion of a companies'
logo)
contour
lines
Contour lines are the outlines that form the outer edge
of a character.
crossing
the line
Audiences can become confused when a camera crosses the
line. The line is an imaginary 180-degree line that runs through the character
or object being filmed. If in the next shot you cross over the 180-degree line
to show the action from the other side you have crossed the line. The result
is that the moving character or object now appears to be traveling in the reverse
direction.
colour
model
In
traditional animation, a colour model was a cel created by the Ink & Paint
Department to act as an example for inkers and painters to follow. Color models
may be exact duplicates of the cels appearing in the film, or may be test models,
exploring various inking techniques or color palettes. Great care was taken
to make them absolutely flawless. For more information, see Trina, the Art Director
in the Studio Tour.
composited
In animation, the user is working essentially with a time-based
script of images, which means that the images will change over time and it is
this change that fools the eye into the perception of movement . With compositing,
you are using images from different sources and layering them on top of each
other and generating a composited image with also may then be animated.
compression
Compression is the act of encoding information while reducing
the bits required.
concept
art
Concept
art consists of inspirational pieces of art in a wide range of media, used to
establish location, colour choice or mood and help the animation to form a visual
direction. The director chooses pieces of concept art that best represent the
production and gets the artists to produce more in that style until they have
a definite artistic direction. Concept art is common to animation, games production,
film and television.
connectivity
Connectivity
refers to the transfer of information between devices such as digital camera
and computer.
continuity
A deliberate attempt to create continuous story telling
from shot to shot in a film so as not to disturb the flow of the story. Continuity
also refers to making sure the same elements are in each shot. Location designs,
prop sheets, model sheets and colour models all help to ensure this in animation.
depth
Depth
is a term is applied to drawings and is another name for thickness. Drawings
should have body and weight rather than seeming flat. To add this third dimension
to your drawings imagine objects as consisting of spheres, cubes and cylinders.
dialogue
Dialogue consists of spoken recorded words from scripts
that are to be used in a film.
digital
'Digital' refers to information stored as a sequence of
bits using electronic or electromagnetic signals. In animation it refers to
the use of computers to create or perform processes in animation.
digital
camera
A digital camera is a camera that doesn't require film. It connects
to a computer via a cable and allows the transfer of the images within the camera's
memory (flash card) to the computer for digital manipulation.
digital filter
A digital filter is a digital sound device
that uses an integrated circuit to affect the sonic spectrum of a sound reducing
bass (high pass filter) or treble (low pass filter)
dimensions
The
relative dimensions of the screen format are given as a ratio of width to height.
For example:
dramatisation
Dramatisation is acting out the action before animating
or storyboarding. It also refers to heightening the action in a scene by staging
characters, lighting or actions in an intense or extreme manner.
dynamic
volume range
Dynamic volume range is the range of volume between the softest
and loudest sound.
editing
software
Editing software allows the images from a digital camera,
digital footage from a video camera or a scanned image to be digitally manipulated
(for example, colour corrected, enhanced, cropped). Adobe Photoshop and Premiere
are examples of this type of software.
element
A fundamental, essential, part of a larger entity.
environment
map
An environment map is a surface that is
applied onto a virtual shape (usually a sphere) that encloses the entire world
to represent an overall environment.
EQ
Is short for equalisation. Equalisation is an audio process for boosting or
limiting certain frequency ranges in an audio signal.
exposure
sheet
This
is also known as the X-sheet, dope sheet, camera sheet or timing sheet and is
important in timing of animation. The exposure sheet is like a spreadsheet for
everything that is going to happen in a scene, showing what drawings appear
and when they appear - it specifies what drawings are exposed on which frames
for a scene of animation.
The exposure sheet contains rows and columns. The rows represent frame numbers and the columns have various functions such as recording the actions, frame numbers, cel levels - this determines which drawings are on top of each other - and camera instructions. A header shows all of the information about the scene such as Project name, scene number, the names of animators etc. The exposure sheet is placed into the scene folder and acts as the guide for every person that works on the scene. See Lisa, the Head of Timing, in the Studio Tour, to get a more detailed description.
extruded
Extrusion is the process of creating three-dimensional geometry out of flat,
two-dimensional shapes by drawing the 2D shape along a path in 3D space. The
extrusion path may be a straight line or any kind of curve.
face
A face is the smallest possible mesh object
in the 3D animation environment. Faces provide the renderable surface of an
object.
fielding
Refers
to the size of the area on the artwork which falls within the sight of the camera.
Thus, a 12 field is roughly 12 inches across and a 9 field is 9 inches across.
Even though a drawing or cel may be of a standard 12 or 16 field size, the camera
may have been zoomed into an 8 or 9 field, focusing on a tighter area of the
artwork, eliminating the outer margins of the sheet.
field guide
A
field guide is a layout drawing that determines the camera's position and movements
in relation to the artwork.
field
interlacing
Field interlacing
is the video process of creating two sets of images for each frame of animation
and playing them in quick succession to make the animation (or video) appear
much smoother. Each interlaced image is made up of alternate lines which, when
put together, form the completed image.
field
size
The
field size is the area of the picture that is framed by the camera when the
scene is shot or in the case of computer animation, it shows how much of the
image will be in the frame. The field sizes typically range from 3 to 16, with
3 being the most close-up, and 16 being the furthest away.
flicker
When lines are drawn in a loose, rough or broken style they
will produce a flicker effect as each frame is played. While the character may
be stationary their outline continues to flicker. This can be done deliberately
as an effective style by tracing each drawing with slight inaccuracies in the
outlines.
flip
An
animation term that describes holding all of your animation drawings in your
hands, one at the front and one at the back, and allowing one drawing to fall
away after another in order to reveal the following drawing and thereby view
the animation.
flyouts
Flyouts are used to allow an icon to have more than one option.
If you hold down the button for a few seconds, a number of options will appear.
Usually a flyout is indicated by a small triangle on the lower-right corner
of the icon.
footage
A traditional animation and live action film term, to describe
film that has been shot but not edited. It can also be used to describe how
many drawings an animator or in-betweener has completed, as there are 16 frames
per foot.
frame
Frames are the individual components of animation. In the
television (PAL) there are 25 frames to make up 1 second. In animation for the
Web (due to slow download times) there are usually 12-15 frames per second.
full
animation
Full animation is the name given to animation where the whole
of the character is fully animated on each drawing. In contrast, limited animation,
is a system of holding some body parts still while others move. Due to the higher
costs of producing full animation, it is generally found in feature films, high-end
TVCs and some TV shows.
ghosting
Ghosting
is a function that allows the user to see facsimile objects at future and past
frame positions.
gradient
A gradient is a blending from one colour
to another. For example, an image of an evening sky might be light blue at the
top, and gradually fade into orange at the horizon line. Gradients are generally
linear or radial. Linear gradients change colour in one direction; radial gradients
change colour outwards in a circle.
greyscale
Greyscale refers to
an image mode consisting of 256 shades of grey, from black to white.
harmonic
filter
A harmonic filter
is a digital filter that affects overtones eg fifth higher, octave higher, two
octaves higher.
held
A held drawing or cel is exposed for more than one frame - usually many frames.
In limited animation many body parts are held while others move to provide the
action.
held
cel
Traditionally a held cel is a layout term for a non living object, such as a
door or spoon, that is held for multiple frames until a character interacts
with it at which time it become part of the character's animation cel level.
IK/FK
switching
IK/FK switching is
switching between Inverse and Forward Kinematics modes for 3D rigging and animation.
image
maps
Image maps are images that can be applied to various channels of a 3D object's
material to show certain types of qualities. Types of mapping can include diffuse,
bump, self-illumination, opacity, reflection, refraction, displacement, ambient,
specular and glossiness.
improvised
Improvised means played without planning
exactly which notes to play.
in-betweens
In-betweens
are the frames that are placed in between key frames to create the illusion
of smooth movement. In general, the more in-betweens the smoother the animations
will look.
instanced
copy
In 3D animation, when you make an instanced copy, the duplicate (child) is identical
to the original (parent) object. If you then use a modifier on either the parent
or the child object, they will both be affected in an identical manner.
interoperability
Interoperability is the ability of a system to use the parts,
software or equipment of another system.
No listings under this letter.
key
drawing
Key
drawings are the drawings essential to animating a character. For more information
see Stephen, the Key Animator in the Studio Tour.
keyer
Broadcast cameras
use different sensors for the colours red, green, and blue. A chroma-keyer is
a device that reads this information from the camera, and can be used to remove
one of the colours from the image. It then combines this image with a background
image and the result is a composited image.
keyhole
character
A keyhole character is based on the shape of an old fashioned
keyhole. A sphere provides the inspiration for the head shape and the triangle
provides the shape for the body. To these shapes the facial features and limbs
are added. Keyhole characters are generally simple drawings.
key
map
A key map is an assignment of different sounds to notes on a
synthesiser keyboard.
key
pose
A key pose is an illustration defining how a scene should
look at a particular key frame. It serves a similar purpose to the storyboard,
but each separate action is explained in greater detail.
keys
'Keys'
are another name for key drawings, drawn by the key animator.
layout
Layouts (layout drawings) are based on the storyboard and
help to plan the scene. They are drawn after the storyboard but before the animation
drawings. Layouts include backgrounds, layout poses and field guide at the correct
size for animation. For more information see Ian,the Layout Artist, in the Studio
Tour.
lens
flare
Lens flare is unwanted light, usually from internal reflections in the lens
and camera body, which adversely affects the on-film image.
location
designs
Location
designs are ¾ high angle views of a location. They help the layout artists
to picture the elements in a scene when drawing background and character poses.
limited
animation
Limited animation is a method that enables a studio to produce
a lot of cel animation quickly by placing parts of characters that are not moving
onto separate cel levels and only animating some body parts such as the head,
mouth, eyes and the occasional arm gesture on a separate cel levels. Studios
such as Hanna Barbera used this method to great effect to create over 3000 half
hour shows during a 30-year period. Limited animation is fine for TV animation
but it is still considered inferior to the full animation that you would expect
in feature films.
limited
lip sync
Limited lip sync is achieved by simply changing a
set of mouth shape drawings. It tends to be used in limited animation rather
than full animation.
line
test
Line testing is a process used by the animator to check
the flow and consistency of a scene. This is done by placing the key drawings
under a digital camera and capturing the images into a computer. The images
are then outputted into a rough animation. This helps to get a better feel for
the scene. The line test can be synchronised (synched) with the dialogue to
check if the lip sync is working.
lip
sync
Lip sync (lip synchronisation)
is the process of getting the audio in an animation to be in time (synchronised)
with the vision (pictures, frames etc). Many people have seen bad examples of
lip synchronisation especially when a film is converted from the original language
to another language. This is called being out-of-sync.
maquette
A maquette is a clay model that is digitised to produce
a 3D model.
masking
Masking is the act of creating a mask that reveals only part
of an image.
matchline
A
matchline serves to define that part of a frame in which the action takes place,
as opposed to that part which remains static. For more information see Ian,
the Layout Artist in the Studio Tour.
matte
effect
A matte effect is a mask that outlines the contours of an
individual character, person or object, for the sake of compositing them into
another scene or removing them from a scene.
metaball
modeller
A metaball modeler consists of a density-based surface - a field
of matter that has a solid core with a visible surface and a semi-solid area
of influence that decreases over distance. Metaballs are ideally suited to organic
modelling.
metronome
A metronome is a device that emits a click to mark the tempo,
for example 120 beats per minute.
MIDI
MIDI (Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a system for connecting
music devices such as synthesisers and drum machines to each other and to computers.
model
sheet
The
model sheet defines the look of a character so that every person working on
that character knows how to draw them. The model sheet has approximately four
different views of the character including front, back, side and ¾ pose
and includes examples of important expressions, major phonemes (mouth shapes)
or action poses. The sheet usually contains a size comparisons chart, information
on how to construct the character using basic shapes and what particular formulas
and ratio are used to draw the character.
mood
A feeling created by a combination of colours, graphics
styles, the positioning of objects, the velocity with which characters move
and music.
morph
To morph a character or object is to distort it over time - to
change it from one shape into another. Morphing means animating the changes
that occur in the object as it bends and twists into its new shape. You might
morph a man into a wolf, showing his hair growing, his jaw lengthening into
a muzzle, and his fingers curling into claws.
morph
target
A morph target is a copy of an object used to change the shape
of (morph) an object.
motion
blur
Motion blur is an effect used to simulate the appearance of high
speed motion by blurring a moving object.
motion
tween
A function available in some animation programs that enables
the computer to calculate and produce the in-between frames between two keyframe
positions. Motion tweening is suitable for moving simple objects around a canvas/stage,
but not for creating complex character in-betweens.
negative
charge
A negative charge
is the type of electric charge possessed by electrons.
NPC
NPC
- non-playing character - is a term used in computer games referring to characters
not directly controlled by game players.
NTSC
NTSC
- National Television System Committee - is an American Standard for television
and video. It differs from the PAL standard used in Australia in several ways,
including having a frame rate of 30 frames per second.
ones and twos
This refers to the number of frames taken
per image. If you were shooting on twos, for each drawing, cel or stop-motion
movement, you would take two frames or shots. This slows the action down and
cuts the number of drawings needed by half.
on the
fly
'On the fly' means
recorded in real time as opposed to programmed with the computer keyboard or
mouse.
opacity
Opacity is the degree to which you can see
through an object. Many programs give you the ability to change the opacity
of an object using a slider. Usually they allow 256 levels of opacity with 256
being fully opaque and 1 being fully transparent.
opaque
Opaque
means unable to be seen through - the opposite of transparent.
organic modelling
Organic
modeling is modelling of smooth, organic forms such as the human body.
overlay
An overlay is a type of layout (cel or layer in digital animation)
that is placed over the characters to help add depth of field.
PAL
PAL - Phase Alternate
Line - is the European television standard, also used in Australia.
palette
A palette is a set of colours that are stored in an ordered way
for ease of use.
pan
A pan is a shot type that describes the act of moving the camera
to the right or left to follow a character or reveal an object or a scene element.
In traditional animation the pan is achieved by moving the artwork under the
camera. The pan can be combined with a truck in or truck out to produce more
complex shot types.
panel
A
storyboard is made up of a series of panels.
parabola
A parabola is a curved path.
parallax
Apparent
change of an object's position caused by change in the point of observation.
To demonstrate this effect, look at an object first through one eye and then
the other. Its position will appear to change slightly.
particle
Particles
are non-surface, non-volume, 2D pixels in 3D space, often used in large groups.
Applied forces such as gravity, wind, and collisions affect particle behaviour.
path
of action
The path of action is the path that a character, or part
of a character takes within a scene. This is usually represented in a storyboard
by an arrow.
perspective
Perspective is the visual effect created by distance, which
causes a closer object to appear larger than a distant object and parallel lines
appear to converge (come together) at the horizon. Examples of perspective in
drawing are a row of telegraph poles gradually getting smaller as they become
more distant and railway tracks converging at the horizon.
To use perspective in drawing, draw lines from your object to a vanishing point on the horizon. This will help you to see the size at which you should draw other objects in the distance relative to those in the foreground.
phonemes
Phonemes are units of sound with a specific
language system.
photoconductive
Photoconductive means able to conduct electricity
as a response to light.
pixel
A pixel is a digital picture element made
up of bits.
pixelate
Pixelate
refers to an unwanted effect in a digital image in which individual pixels can
be seen rather than a smooth outline.
platen
A glass or perspex plate (usually hinged onto a rostrum
bed) which holds the layers of cel and background down. This prevents any cel
shadow or cel buckling from occurring.
polygon
A polygon is a closed plane figure bounded by straight sides.
polygon
budget
Polygon budget is the number of polygons allowed for a 3D model.
The lower the polygon count, the more easily the model can be rendered (in 3D
animation) or moved about (in 3D games).
pose-to-pose
Pose-to-pose is a method of animation in which the key drawings
are drawn first.
post
production
A film term that describes many of the production processes after
filming has occurred. These include editing, compositing, special effects, colour
correction, tape dubbing, audio dubbing and mixing, etc.
primitives
Primitives are basic geometric 3D objects such as cubes, spheres,
cones and cylinders, from which more complex objects can be constructed.
prop
sheet
A
prop sheet is like a model sheet but is for props (objects and articles)
that the characters will use. It shows the animators how to draw the props properly
and maintain consistency.
No listings under this letter.
RAM
RAM is random access memory of a computer.
ray tracing
Ray tracing is a technique
used in 3D graphics to create realistic images by calculating the paths taken
by rays of light which enter the viewer's eye at different angles.
registering
Registering is using of pegs to align animation drawings. Sheets
of paper used in animation have three holes in them so that they can be placed
on the three pegs protruding from the lightbox. You can place each sheet in
exactly the same position, so that the animation will flow smoothly without
jerking or stuttering. You can register multiple sheets at the one time, on
top of each other.
render
Rendering is the process of adding realism to graphics by
adding three-dimensional qualities such as shadows and variations in color and
shade. There are two major types of rendering, ray tracing and scanline rendering.
resolution
Resolution is the
amount of detail that can be distinguished in an image, usually described in
terms of Dpi, Dots per Inch or Ppi, Pixels per inch.
reverb
Reverb
is an effect that emulates reflected sound within a particular space, for example
a hall or cathedral.
rolling
Rolling
is the process of placing a finger between each of the pages and lifting each
page in succession backwards and forwards to get a feel for what is happening
to the character.
rostrum
The rostrum is the traditional stand for filming animation.
It consists of a vertical stand with a rectangular base supporting the movable
rostrum compound. The animation table (bed) is the flat surface on which the
animation cels or stop-motion cut-outs are placed. This often has a moveable
peg bar. The rostrum stand is vertically adjustable (with numbered increments)
so the camera can be physically zoomed in for a close-up or trucked out for
a wider view. A rostrum stand provides stability, ensuring that the camera and
artwork don't move around and allows the camera to face exactly 90 degrees to
the animation bed.
rotoscope
To rotoscope is to produce animation by tracing each frame of
filmed live action.
rough
drawing
A
rough drawing (also known as ruffs) is an original, first generation sketch
by the animator in creating the movement in a scene. Ruffs are often more spontaneous
and full of life.
ruff
'Ruff'
is an alternate spelling for 'rough' as applied to drawings done by the animator,
before clean-up.
sawtoothing
Sawtoothing occurs when an animator overuses the same shapes
or angles, prevalent in drawing of hair (for example Bart Simpson) or beards.
The effect looks somewhat like the profile of a saw. This overuse is difficult
to animate and can sometimes lead to a flickering effect at playback time. To
overcome this, the animator should vary the lengths and angles.
scanner
A scanner is a device that takes in an image and digitises
it, creating an electronic version. Scanners are widely used in producing 2D
digital animation to import hand drawn animation.
scanned
Scanned refers to an image converted to digital form using
a scanner.
scene
In
live action film every new camera angle is called a shot. Many shots make a
scene. A scene is generally thought of as all of the shots from one location.
When you collect all of these scenes into a passage of action they are called
a sequence. In traditional 2D animation shots are called scenes and many scenes
are called sequences. This is not always the case. In some animation productions,
like claymation and 3D animation, they may use the same system
of shot and scenes as live action.
scene
directions
Scene
directions first appear in the script and are then transferred to the storyboard.
They can establish a particular mood and convey what emotion is required or
the actions which should take place. For example: "This sentence is said
with humour", or "The man quickly runs out of the room", "A
loud bang is heard."
scene
folder
A folder (usually made from cardboard) that contains many
of the vital elements needed to animate a scene. It contains the X-sheets, a
copy of the scene's panel from the storyboard, a place for each person to sign
off and the layouts for the scene. As the scene moves through the production
process it collects the key animation, cleaned up animation and the in-betweens
before they are scanned into the computer.
scored
Scored refers to music written down or notated on manuscript
paper to produce a music score.
scratch
track
A
scratch track is an audio track that is recorded by the crew to be used as a
guide track. It is never intended to be used in the final film and it will be
replaced at a later date with the real actors' voices.
script
The
animation script is a fully developed story line including scene directions,
the same as you would see in a stage play script. Many animation scripts are
written in US film format.
script
revision
A script is reviewed many times before the final script
is edited.
scrub
A method for seeing and hearing frames of animation at a frame
rate determined by the speed at which you move your hand and mouse. It is done
by clicking and dragging on the playback head in the software Timeline.
shot
In
live action film every new camera angle is called a shot. Many shots make a
scene. A scene is generally thought of as all of the shots from one location.
When you collect all of these scenes into a passage of action they are called
a sequence. In traditional 2D animation shots are called scenes and many scenes
are called sequences. This is not always the case. In some animation productions,
like claymation and 3D animation, they may use the same system
of shot and scenes as live action.
shot
list
A list of shot types, such as Close Up, Long shot, etc,
that the Director writes on the script beside the scene directions. It is the
first step before creating the storyboard.
shot
types
Shot types is a term that describes a set of standard
camera angles and camera moves that can be used to tell a visual narrative in
film. In western culture they are an intrinsic part of film language. Examples
of typical shot types are close-up, pan, medium close-up and long shot. For
more details see Mack, the Storyboard artist in the Studio Tour.
skin
Skin is a modifier in 3D modelling and animation
that acts as a skeletal deformation tool. It allows you to deform one object
with another object. After applying the Skin modifier and assigning bones, each
bone has a capsule-shaped "envelope." Vertices within these envelopes
move with the bones. Where envelopes overlap, vertex motion is a blend between
the envelopes.
slugging
Slugging is the act of timing the storyboards and then transferring
the times to the X-sheets.
soft-body
dynamics
Soft-body dynamics is the 3D dynamics where objects react with
simulated real world environments, for example, hair blowing in the 'wind'.
soundtrack
breakdown
The soundtrack is broken down into phonetic sounds for voice
tracks and beats for music tracks. The phonemes (individual sounds) that make
up the words are first transferred to a bar sheet and then later transferred
from the bar sheet to the X-sheet where they are recorded against the frame
numbers.
special
effects
In traditional animation special effects are considered to be
any animation that is not of a character or used by a character. Some examples
of special effects animation are, waves, water, splashes, fire, storms, leaves
blowing in the wind, explosions etc. Special effects are drawn by Effects Animators.
staging
Staging
or "setting the stage" is the process of determining where each object,
character and item should appear in the field of view.
status
report
In animation status reports are generated by the production
manager and are based on the progress of all staff as indicated on the scene
folders.
stereo
field
Stereo field refers
to the range of positions between the left and right speakers.
storyboard
A
storyboard is a pictorial representation of a script, drawn in panels. To find
out more about storyboards, See Mack, the Storyboard Artist, in the Studio Tour.
straight
ahead
'Straight ahead' is
a method of animation in which you start with one frame then continue animating
frame by frame, based on the frame before.
streaming
Streaming sound or
video is played as it arrives as opposed to a video or sound recording (such
as a WAV file) that doesn't start playing until the entire file has arrived.
studio
tour
Within the Animation toolbox
there are two main areas of content (the Studio Tour - or reference information
- and the Jobs). The Studio Tour contains the general background information
on each person's role with the 'Lightbox Animation Studio' along with examples
of the product at each stage of animation production.
story
reel
The story reel or animatic is created by filming the storyboard
panels, then editing them together to test whether the scenes and sequences
are working. The production crew usually does scratch voice tracks for the animatic.
Music and sound effects may also be added. The animatic is used as a template
for the rest of the film. As final footage is composited, it is placed into
the animatic to build up the final film scene by scene.
squash
and stretch
Stretching
an animated character is used to highlight speed and direction of movement.
Squashing an animated character emphasises the effect of an abrupt stop or a
sudden change in direction.
texture
Texture (also known as material) is the digital representation
of the surface of an object. As well as such qualities as color and brightness,
a texture is also encoded with three-dimensional properties, such as how transparent
and reflective the object is. Once a texture has been defined, it can be wrapped
around any 3-dimensional object. This is called texture mapping.
tempo
map
A tempo map is a graph that shows tempo changes over time.
thumbnail
A
thumbnail sketch is a small drawing that captures a quick representation of
a scene.
tilt
lines
Tilt lines are light or dashed lines that are drawn on characters
basic shapes to indicate the amount of tilt in a particular direction. The tilt
lines help the animator establish where to place the features on the shape to
observe perspective and direction.
tonal
layout
A tonal layout is a background layout that has shaded tonal information
rather than just outline information. A tonal layout is usually only produced
for feature films.
topological
map
A topological map is a height map, used for creating various
surfaces.
trace back
Trace back refers to tracing from a previous
frame to keep part of the image the same.
truck
in
An animation term that describes physically moving the camera
towards or away from the artwork to achieve a zoom effect.
underlay
An
underlay is one of the types of layout drawing. For more information see Ian,
the Layout Artist in the Studio Tour.
vectors
Vectors are shapes
that can be defined by mathematical functions. These functions enable software
to draw images using a series of shapes. The advantages of vectors are that
they can be scaled without loosing resolution and the file sizes required to
store them are much smaller than bitmaps for artwork that has a lot of flat
colour regions, such as 2D animation. Vectors are not good for replicating photographs.
vertex
A
vertex is a point in 3D space that defines a corner of one or more polygons.
The plural is vertices.
video
legal
'Video
legal' refers to colours that have normal levels of luminance and saturation
and are considered safe for use in video transmission. Video illegal colours
cannot be properly displayed by some forms of video transmission, without problems
of visual distortion such as colour bleeding.
visual
style guide
The
visual style guide is a collection of art works and photographs that represent
good visual guides for how to draw objects from the period or place that the
film is set in, for example pictures of vases for a film that is set in a middle-eastern
country, or a photo of a rug design from South America for an animation that
is set in that part of the world.
Exactly what's in a visual style guide depends on the production and the studio. The number of photographs, paintings and drawings that make up the guide are dependent on the size of the production. Other elements that may be included are the model sheets, final concept art, location designs and prop sheets. All of these elements set the visual style for the production.
voice
talent
Voice talent is an
actor capable of producing voices suitable for animation dialogue.
volume
Volume is the capacity of an object and relates to the principles
of stretch and squash. It is important to note that when a shape (say a balloon)
or character face changes shape due the principles of stretch and squash that
the volume must be retained. For example when a balloon filled with water is
dropped and hits the floor the animator flattens out the shape. In this case
the overall volume (or the amount of water the balloon holds) should not change.
VR
VR - Virtual Reality - is a synthetic, computer generated
3D environment where the user wears a head mounted display (HMD) and position
trackers, which allow the computer to modify the display depending on the user's
position.
wireframe
Wireframe
is a mesh representation of a 3D object. The wireframe displays only the splines
or polygons that make up a model.
xerography
In
the late 1950's, the Disney Studios developed a xerographic process to transfer
the animator's drawings directly onto cels. 'Sleeping Beauty' was the first
film to include scenes using this process. At first, only black toner was used,
but later, browns, greys and other colours were introduced.
Xeroxed lines appear to be more sketchy than hand inked lines, but being directly transferred from the animator's drawings they often retain more life and spontaneity than hand inking.
No listings under this letter.
No listings under this letter.
2D
digital animation
2D
digital animation is a term used to describe the methods of using computers
to achieve animation as opposed to the more traditional methods of hand drawn
animation. Traditionally, animation was traced onto cel, the cels were painted
then filmed under a camera. The computer can now take care of all of these tasks,
however many animators still prefer to produce animation drawings by hand and
use the computer to complete the rest.
3D accelerated
3D accelerated refers
to increasing the speed of the display of 3D graphics by using a graphics card.
3D
animation
3D animation is the creation of three-dimensional objects
(or images) in a two dimensional space.
3D scribe
3D
scribe is equipment for creating 3D models by marking points on a real object
using a scribe. This process involves the same principles as using a graphics
tablet, only in a 3D environment.
From Vintage
Ink & Paint
Animation Art Glossary
http://www.vintageip.com/Term.html