Glossary

A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z

 

 

A

Alaised The stair stepped looking edge of a computer generated object.
Animascope Actors are photographed to enhance their silhouette and diminish their specific characteristics. They are photographed against a black background and later these images are combined with painted matte backgrounds
Animation Creating the illusion of drawings, models, or objects moving thorough the use of photography.
Animation Path An editable line that an object or character follows during the course of an animation.
Anti-aliasing A process to reduce the stair stepped edge of an object using the process of interpolation or oversampling.
Anticipation The use of a visual clues in animation that something is about to happen.
Array A list of items stored under a single variable name.
Artificial Intelligence The capability of a machine to imitate intelligent human behavior.
Artiscope A device similar to the rotoscope which special film which resulted in increased manufacture speed of animated figures based on live action photography
Avant-garde The development of new or experimental concepts.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

B

Bitmap A grid of pixels assigned a color and an x and y location which are resolution dependent.
Blur Lines Lines added using a brush or pencil tool left in the wake of an object or character that must provide the illusion of moving in a quick fashion.
Bouncing Ball A ball bounces on the words of a song as it is projected on the screen directing the audience to sing a particular word
Bumper Footage A certain amount of frames are left exposed preceding each scenewhich provides greater flexibility during the editing process.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

C

Caricature The distortion of parts or characteristics for the purpose of exaggeration.
Cel Animation The process of drawing characters on transparent celluloid sheets which are applied over painted background scenes.
Centrality No matter whether the compositon is round or spiral it always grows from the center of the frame - an immoveable point of movement
Character Animation Is the attempt to animate living things and to add life to nonliving objects.
Chroma Keying The use of a solid color background, usually pure blue or green(aka chroma blue/chroma green), so that during editing the background can be replaced with something else. Pure green and blue is selected because they are not naturally occuring colors in human skin.
Cinematograph A motion-picture camera, projector, theatre or show.
Chinese Shadows  
Claymation Stop motion animation that utilizes a modeling substance such as clay instead of drawn images.
Cut Out Animation  
Cycle The presence of a complete image on a television or computer monitor screen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

D

Depth-cueing A rendering technique that assigns color based on the distance from the viewpoint.
Digitizing The procedure of processing and production of animated features through computer technology.
Diffuse Reflection The scattering of light in all directions.
Dithering The simulation of unavailable colors using patterns that intersperse pixels from available colors with results that can look coarse and grainy.
Dolly Shot The character remains still and the background scene is slowly moved under its feet. Since a frame by frame technique is used the illusion of movement is created.
Drifting The separation of audio and video synchronization which occurs at approximatley the six to seven minute mark.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

F

Feature Film A full length film with a running time of nintey minutes or more.
Featurette A film that is under 60 minutes in length.
Field 12 or 16 These are terms are used to describe the size of a particular celand are determined by the size of the "field" of view of the camera photographing the artwork. A a 12 - field cel is roughly 10"x12", and a16 - field cel is approximately 14"x16". The actual framed size may differ. (" indicates inches)
Filmagraph A filmstrip printed on 16mm film with an optical soundtrack.
Flat-figure Animation Cartoons animation that uses hinged, two-dimensioned figures and front lighting instead of back lighting and silhouette animation.
Focus Pull A technique of leading a viewer to foucs on an object that you want them to look at which can be achieved by making other objects out of focus or by using a solid background.
Frame An individual picture on a strip of movie film.
Frame Rate Time resolution measured in the number of frames per second.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

G

Ghosting A technique used to convey speed by having an object or character leave a ghosted image in its wake.
Go-Motion The use of computer-controlled rods attached to the puppet which the animator moved and the computer recorded these positions. Computer-controlled motion was then effectively filmed and the rods were later blocked out through the use of Mattes.

 

 

 

 

 

H

Hands-on Animation This form of animation combines live performers with animated characters. The animated product is matted in combination with the live action photography to give the appearance of that both performer and cartoon are present at the same time.
Hold A photographic technique is used in animation where a single image is recorded on multiple frames of film in order to give the impression of a motionless (frozen, on hold) subject.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I

In-betweening The process of adding frames between keyframes to produce a smooth motion.
Interlaced The cathode ray scans every other horizontal line of phosphors as it produces the complete image on a television screen
Interpolation Filling in the space between exisiitng parts.
Isometric View A rendering that illustrates three-dimensional objects having height and width which provides the illusion of depth and in no way affects the objects dimensions..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

K

Keyframe A frame that marks the position of an object at a point in time. A series of keyframes shows the object at specific (key) positions during the course of some motion.
Kinematoscope A viewing device that consist of a series of photgraphs mounted on a wheel which is then rotated to give the illusion of motion.
Kineograph In simplier terms - a flip book. A toy consisting of a series of drawings that when flipped quickly creates the illusion of movement.
Kinetoscope The first machine that enabled one person at a time to view a movie. The viewer looks through an opening (slot) in the top and as a hand crank is turned gears move and sprockets guide the film around a series of reels. A ligth illuminates the film as it passes through the slot

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

L

Lathing The creation of a three dimensional surface by rotating a two dimensional spline around an axis.
Lumigraph A device used to create special lighting effects.

 

 

 

 

 

M

Magic Lantern The earliest form of slide projector. Images were painted on glass slides and projected on walls, cloth drapes or on a wet cloth from behind the screen.
Mapping The placement of an image on or around an object so that the image is like th eobject's skin.
Model Chart A chart illustrating all the characters in different poses which then served as a final guide for numerous animators working on a single film
Modeling The process of creating freeform three dimensinal objects.
Morphing The changing of one object into another over a period of time.
Motion Graphics A mechanism for moving graphics around the screen such as those used when introducing a logo at the beginning of a news broadcast.
Mutoscope An advanced version of the flip book . A large drum upon which was mounted a thousand or more picture cards and as a crank was turned each card would flip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

N

Noninterlaced The cathode ray scans every horizontal line of phosphors as it produces the complete image on a computer monitor screen.

 

 

 

 

O

Ones Refers to the individual frames in stop-motion photgrpahy that are exposed as a subject is being photographed
Opaquing The process concerns the coloring-in of specific areas on the animation cel.
Opposing Actions A set of motions that oppose each other which make an animation appear to be lifelike.
Optical Theatre A combination of a projector and more mirrors so that the image could be seen on a screen. Images were no longer limted to a terminating strip of paper but were painted on a ribbon that could be unwound from one spool and wound on another. An auxiliary "magic lantern" was used to project a fixed background on the same screen.
Overshooting The opposite of aniticpation in which th emotion goes beyond the desired limit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

P

Pan The view moves in a vertical, horizontal or diagonal manner with the camera staying stationary and the camera lens doing the movement.
Pencil Test The photographing of pencil drawings to determine the correctness of the animation
Perception View A rendering of a three-dimensional object that includes the depth dimension which results in a distortion of another dimension such as height become shorter with increased distance.
Persistence of Vision A visual phenomenon where an image is retained in the eye for a short period of time, creating an illusion of continuous motion when viewed in rapid succession. The eye has the ability to retain an image for roughly 1/20 of a second after the object is gone.
Phenakistoscope A device made of a pivot and a cardboard disk which a series of images of an object in motion drawn along its edge. When viewed through a slit as the disk was rotated, the illusion of the drawn object moving was created
Phi Phenomenon A result of human instinct. When two different images are seen close together it is automatic to try to create a relationship between them - connecting the images in this way defines motion and meaning.
Phonemes The small components or sounds that are made when making up words.
Pin Screen A white screen with thousands of vertically mounted retractable pins. When light sources are set at the sides of the screen each pin creates an oblique shadow - no retraction - black, full retraction - white.
Pop-in, Pop-out A technique used as an effective mechansim in making a character or object suddenly appear or disappear.
Praxinoscope A cylindrical box with a colored strip of paper attached to the inside face showing consecutive stages of movement and a mirrored prism attached to a pivot. When the cylinder rotated the images were reflected on the prism and a viewer would see the drawn image moving freely. A redefined zeotrope.
Pre-Loader A distraction element or an indicator that a download is progressing which is formed through a looping on a few frames giving time for the software to check if sufficient data has been loaded for the animation to run smoothly.
Printer Resolution The measurement based on the number of dots per inch.
Publicity Cel A cel, usually hand-painted, not actually used in a film or created for collectors, but made for publicity or promotional purposes.
Puppets/Puppet Animation An process that employs the use of three-dimensioned dolls subjected to manipulation in place of drawings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Q

Quicktime A compressed video format developed by Apple.

 

 

 

 

 

R

Rasterize The process of converting a projected line, point, polygon, or the pixels of a bitmap or image to fragments, with each corresponding to a pixel in the framebuffer.
Rendering The process of producing images or pictures applying such techniques as shading, light modeling or depth cueing with the aim of creating a more realistic image.
Rotoscope A device which permits live action sequences to be transferred to drawings frame by frame
Rotoscoping The art of tracing over film or video, one frame at a time to create an animated sequence.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

S

Sand Animation Drawings formed by sand spread on a sheet of clear glass and photographed against the light.
Scanimate A video-synthetizer which permits animation in real time while looking at a monitor.
Screen Resolution The measurement based on the number of pixels.
Scrubbing The function of dragging the playback head forward or backward across a timeline and hearing the sound that corresponds with the playback's head location.
Sericels The serigraphy process involves silk-screening each individual color to the cel, one at a time. Every distinct shade is a separate screen, and a separate pass in the procedure.
Silhouette Animation The figures are illuminated from the front and are completely visible and using stop-action techniques the shadowed forms are photographed against a light background.
Short An animated or live action film that is usually under fifteen minutes.
Simulation Animation Animators try and portray a techincal process or show something that cannot be filmed for example - a space craft orbiting Neptune.
Sound Waveforms The graphic representation of sound.
Speed Blurring A technique used in animation to convey the feeling of speed that what the aniamtors can physically achieve due to frame rate limitations
Spline A mathematically derived curve.
Stop motion Filming a puppet or clay figure by moving the object slightly and shooting the subject one frame at a time resulting in motion that appeared to be stilted and erratic instead of being smooth.
Story Board A series of drawings (sketches) that serve as an aid for filmmakers in planning the sequencing of shots

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

T

Texture mapping The process of applying a texture to a three dimensional surface in an effort to add visual detail.
Thaumatrope A disk with a complementary image on each side with strings attached at each end of its horizontal axis. When the disk is spun on the strings the two images appear to merge
Timeline A scale measured in either frames or seconds.
Transformation Translation, scaling and rotation of an object.
Translation Changing the position of an object without changing its shape, size or orientation.
Travelling Mask (Matte) System Action is photographed against a black background resulting in a neagtive that is transparent except for the action print. The negative action and mask are then printed on raw stock.
Tweening The process of adding frames between keyframes with the idea of creating smooth motion.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

V

Vitascope A film projection system that combined magic lantern and kinetoscope features.

 

 

 

 

W

Wax Machine A pipe shaped conglomerate of coloured waxes placed on a slicer with a rotating blade. A camera is placed in front and its shutter is sychronized with the movement of the blade

 

 

 

 

 

X

Xerography The xeroxing of the animators drawings directly onto acetate cels.

 

 

 

 

Z

Zeotrope An optical toy in the form of a cylinder with a series of pictures on its inner surface. When these pictures are seen through sites in the rotating cylinder, they appear to come to life. It was based on the phenakistoscope
Zoom In Using the camera lens to move closer to the object resulting in the magnification of the object.
Zoom Out using the camera lens to move further away from the object resulting in the reduction in size of the object.
Zoopraxiscope A primitive motion picture devicde that worked by showing a sequence of still photographs in rapid succession.