1 bit |
an
image that consists only of black and white pixels. In traditonal
photography, this would be referred to as a high con(trast) image. |
acquisition |
the
means by which video/film material is originated; a movie film,
for example, may be acquired on 35mm motion picture stock,
other productions may be acquired on video tape etc |
additive (colours) |
when
colours are added together, such as when coloured lights shine together,
this is known as additive colour. A yellow colour, for example,
will be seen when equally bright red and green lights shine on one
spot |
airbrush |
the
traditional airbrush is a loved / detested paint tool that works
similar to a spray can, using compressed air to lay a film of very
fine paint droplets down. It is ideal for painting soft fluffy imagery
like clouds. Well emulated in digital media |
alias vs. anti-alias |
bitmap
images can appear to have ragged edges in their "raw"
(aliased) state. A technique called anti-aliasing feathers the edges.
See the page here for more |
alpha channel |
means
of representing transparency in a computer graphic |
ambient light |
an
overall non directional light source. An example of ambient light
would be the appearance inside a very heavy daytime fog; everything
will be evenly lit without highlights or shadows |
amplitude |
term
used in sound = loudness |
this is a full length video
(or other medium) that is as near as possible to the final production
in terms of framing and timing but minus the animation, so it is
more like a slide-show. (At its simplest, it may just mean filming
the frames of the storyboard). Also refererred to as
a "leica" |
|
animation |
a
tedious way of making moving pictures |
armature |
the
"skeleton" of a model such as in clay or plasticine animation
that is under the "skin" and can articulate, usually by
means of ball and socket joints |
Antics |
the great great grandaddy of all computer ink and paint programs |
aspect ratio |
the relationship of the width of a video or film frame to its height, the two most common being 1.333:1 (4 x 3) and 1.77:1 (16 x 9). UK cinema widescreen is 1.85:1 |
AVI |
picture
file format for moving images (including sound) on computers - more
common on PCs (see Quicktime). Depending on the codec
being used, AVIs can be pure uncompressed imagery or can be heavily
compressed |
banding |
distinct
shades seen in colours that should instead appear seamlessly gradated |
bar sheet |
looking
a bit like a dope sheet, but in horizontal format - this is a frame
breakdown of sound, usually dialogue or music. (It was called "bar
sheet" because originally it would have been divided into bars
of music). This can then be used as the timing basis for animation.
A well designed bar-sheet will use frame spacing the same as on
the dope-sheets for the same production so that it can be cut up
and pasted in to the sound column of the dope-sheet |
bg |
abbreviation
for "background" |
bit depth |
the
accuracy with which digital information is stored |
bitmap |
a computer graphic
composed of little (usually square shaped) blocks called pixels. |
boiling |
this
is the shimmering effect in hand drawn animation where lines are
copied over and over in a sequence of drawings. Originally due just
to the mechanics of trying and failing to copy lines exactly
by hand, it is sometimes introduced deliberately as a stylistic
feature in computer generated animation - random fluctuations in
line quality may make the animation look hand drawn |
breakdown |
the
frame by frame analysis of sound tracks so that animation can be
frame accurately synchronised to the sound |
camera shake |
a
traditional animation cliché - when something violent has
occurred, such as an explosion, a heavy weight has hit the ground,
or door slammed, the entire scene can be seen to shake |
cel |
traditional: a sheet
of clear plastic on to which artwork is painted. A scene would be
composed of up to 6 or so layers (levels) of cel. |
CGI |
computer generated imagery |
chroma |
colour |
chromakey |
a
means of separating a foreground image from its background by use
of chroma. Most often used chromakey colours are blue or
green |
click track |
a
recorded beat used to synchronise animation to |
clock |
a
countdown to the start of a film or commercial used to help cue
up the start. Often consists of production title, date etc. plus
a schematised image of a clock with just a second hand counting
down |
CMYK |
four
primary colours (cyan, magenta, yellow and black) of subtractive
colour processes. Exclusively used in printed media, not film or
video |
codec |
=
compress / decompress - think of a codec as being
software on your computer that enables you to record or play a specific
type of moving image file such as an AVI. Each codec differs in
offering various amounts or methods of picture compression, hence
quality |
colo(u)r bars |
a
still image of vertical strips of saturated colours used by technicians
to calibrate colour fidelity |
colour depth |
a
value which determines the maximum number of colours and shades
that can be used in a computer graphic or digitally generated image |
colour space |
this
is a way of describing the range of colours available within graphics
systems. There are specialised colour spaces such as Adobe RGB and
one widely used colour space called sRGB which has a reduced
gamut, but is "understood" by almost all digital
graphics devices |
colour temperature |
the
colour quality of light (whether it is "warm" or "cool");
it is measured using the Kelvin scale. The
colour temperature of daylight, for example, is approx. 5500ºK.
If a camera is using film or sensors for a specific colour temperature
and the light is not of that colour temperature, the colours will
be recorded incorrectly. Colour temperature can be adjusted with
filters over lights or the camera's lens. Another, easier, way is
to set the camera's white
balance for
each scene.
As a last resort, footage shot with incorrect colour temperature
exposure can be tweaked using colour correction in post
production. |
component (video) |
system
of video signal distribution that offers the best picture quality
in terms of colour purity etc. |
composite (video) |
one
of the worst forms of video in respect to picture quality. Fortunately
dying slowly out |
compression |
many
image files, both still and movie, can be greatly reduced in size
using compression. Lossless compression gets rid of redundancy
but leaves the image pristine. Lossy compression reduces
the size of images by throwing away information that the eye should
not miss. Done badly, lossy compression can cause visible artefacts |
crossing the line (don't!) |
the
rule for composing shots where two characters are speaking. Imagine
a line joining the characters. For editing to work unobtrusively,
the camera must always stay one side of this imaginary line for
every shot within the scene |
cutout animation |
pre-computer:
card or paper was animated directly under camera. Computer: programs
such as Flash are the digital equivalent |
cutting frames |
extra
frames added at the beginning and or end of a shot |
cycle |
any
repeatedly looped animation e.g using drawings 1,3,5,7,1,3,5,7
etc. |
depth of field |
photography
/ live action: depth of field is two numbers which predict how much
of a scene will be in focus, given as distance from the camera.
The depth of field is affected by how much the lens is "stopped
down" - the closer a lens comes to being like a pin hole, the
greater the depth of field (the more will be sharp). This effect
can be replicated, with some effort, in animation |
diffuse lighting |
3D
cgi term. Lighting that is directional but soft, like illuminating
something made of velvet or very dry skin |
dissolve |
see
mix |
dither(ing) |
method
by which the apparent colour depth of a graphic can be increased;
derived from the 19th century pointillism painting style. |
DivX |
a
high quality codec especially good for live action |
dope sheet |
or
dopesheet or exposure sheet - timing chart written by animators.
Extensive notes on writing dope sheets can be found on this site |
down-res |
reducing
the resolution of an image or film |
dpi |
=
dots per inch. A way of specifying the resolution of a bitmap image
in printed media. DPI settings are normally of interest in animation
only in order to specify the degree of detail needed when scanning
in images |
DVI |
=
Digital Visual Interface. For connecting digital video equipment.
See also HDMI |
ease in / out |
see
fairings |
elliotropic |
live
action term - a slow motion hand-held camera style used to evoke
a dream state |
exponential |
one
type of mathematical curve. If you move towards a target at a constant
speed, the target seems to be speeding up the closer you get to
it - this apparent acceleration is exponential. |
fade in / out |
a fade in is where the screen starts totally black and lightens until the picture is 100%. A fade out is the opposite. Note that you only come from or go to black in fades. If, say, the screen were to slowly turn 100% blue, this would be dissolving to blue, not fading to blue |
fairings / fair in /fair out |
acceleration or deceleration at either end of a move, whether of camera or artwork. For instance, a 12 frame fair in means that the move starts from rest, then in half a second accelerates up to speed. The American terms "ease in / out” are sometimes used |
feather(ing) |
softening
the edge line of an object in an image, usually when the object
is to be cut out then composited on to another image |
field (1) |
a unit of area that is the shape of an animation frame. A 12F, (a “12 field”) for example, is a 12 inch field – this being its width. The height of the field will depend on the aspect ratio |
field (2) |
in standard TV, a frame is made up from two fields - see interlace |
field chart |
also known as a graticule. A guide printed on to acetate showing the dimensions of animation fields. Field sizes most often used are between 2F and 16F |
field render |
It
is possible in some animation software to render individual
fields. This is done to obviate strobing caused by
fast animation whose outer lines are too sharp. I would advise never
to use it but instead use any available form of motion blur. |
fill |
filling an area on a cel with colour – the job of the cel painters |
Flash |
vector animation software made by Macromedia (now part of Adobe). Originally developed purely for web use, it is also widely used for broadcast animation work. The newer Flash MX variant, although still an animation tool, is also part of a very complex set of components for highly interactive web content. For straightforward narrative broadcast work, it is far better to use dedicated programs like Anime Studio, Toon Boom and Tab |
foley |
sound effects that are added after animation has been completed. A classic foley effect is someone treading in a tray filled with gravel to create the sound of footsteps |
foot |
an imperial measure, equal to 12 inches. When an animator uses the term "foot”, it means 16 frames. This is a historical throwback to the time when 35mm film ran at 16 frames per second, (before sound!). Since there are 16 frames of film per foot of film stock, the terms “second” and “foot” became synonymous and it is has stuck |
footage |
the
length of a film or piece of film. It is now rarely used as a literal
measurement (e.g. "6 feet long") but simply means running
time and can be expressed in seconds, minutes etc |
frame rate |
the
number of frames per second a film is intended to be seen at. Silent
films ran at 16 frames per second, cinema films are generally at
24 frames per second, European TV runs at 25 frames per second...and
so on |
frequency |
in
sound: how high or low a musical note is. This is directly analogous
to colour in the visual realm, where different colours are due to
their frequency value in the electromagnetic spectrum |
FX |
abbreviation
for "effects", which in turn usually means special
effects |
gamma |
a
setting used that determines the overall contrastiness of images.
If in doubt, go for a default value of 2.2. This is
suitable for most applications |
gamut |
the
range of colours that any specific device (a monitor, for example)
can reproduce - this is never going to be all visible colours |
gate |
(film only) the small aperture in a film camera in which the frame of film is exposed to light. The equivalent in a modern video camera will be some variant of a CCD array |
GIF |
bitmap file type best not used for animation - with the exception of specialised use on the web - note that you can have more than one image within one single "animated gif" and so create very simple looping animation:
|
grading |
the
tweaking of colour balance in post production. This can be
subtle, as in making the overall image, say, warmer, or be a profound
alteration to a scene's appearance. Will usually take place at the
telecine stage if footage has been originated on movie stock |
greyscale |
this
is one of two possible kinds of black and white images; greyscale
is a black and white image that also has tonal information - that
is, it is made of black and white pixels plus a range of greys between
them. Compare with 1 bit |
graticule |
see field chart |
HDMI |
(High-Definition
Multimedia Interface) uncompressed, digital-only audio video interface.
HDMI provides an interface between any audio video source, such
as a DVD player and an audio and/or video monitor, such as a digital
TV over one cable. Backwardly compatible with DVI |
HDTV |
high
definition TV (that is, it's sharper looking and has more picture
information than SDTV - regular TV). Beware! This is
not one single standard. Frame rates and actual resolutions vary
and there are arguments about the relative merits of interlaced
versus progressive scan still to be settled |
hold |
when
an action "freezes", that is remains the same for more
than one frame, it is a hold |
HSV or HSB |
An
alternative way to measure or describe colours to RGB. |
hue |
another
word for colour |
inbetween (-er) |
inbetweens are the drawings that fill-in between the keyframes. The inbetweener is the person who draws them |
inch |
an inch is a so-called “imperial” measurement (see foot as well). It is 2.54 cms. Animation field sizes are normally given in inches |
ink |
US
term for trace |
interlace |
in SD (standard definition) video, each frame is made of two interlaced "fields". An SD TV picture has roughly 600 lines; the first field will show lines 1,3,5...etc and one fiftieth of a second later the second field will display even numbered lines 2,4,6..etc. The viewer's brain combines the two fields which are seen as simultaneous frames shown at 25 per second. See also progressive scan. These figures are for the European PAL system. The American NTSC system runs at 30 frames per second, so each field will be seen for one sixtieth of a second. HD (high definition) video comes in various flavours some of which use interlace and some don't See also progressive scan and segmented frame |
jitter |
an
image that shakes or fluctuates rapidly is said to jitter |
JPEG |
bitmap
file type that uses lossy compression. File extension names: |
JPEG2000 |
a
newer type of jpeg file. Uses superior compression
method plus lossless compression. Can have alpha channel. File
extension names: |
key frame |
a keyframe is a main pose within a sequence of animation. A key animator will draw key poses and indicate the timing and number of inbetween drawings required |
layout |
a good storyboard frame is almost a miniature layout drawing. The layout should show the placement of characters in a shot, the extremes of their actions, their scale relationships to one another and to the background. It is drawn to the same size as the final animation. If it is not too cluttered, indications of camera moves can also be put on the layout drawing, otherwise the camera moves are indicated on a similar looking but less busy separate camera guide |
leica |
pronounced
like-er. (The name of a German camera). Another word for animatic |
lightbox |
a
box with a light in it. Photographers use them to check transparencies,
2D drawn animators use them to animate on |
line test |
the
animation drawings are shot on film, tape, or disk so that the movement
and timing can be checked before colouring takes place |
lip sync |
the synchronisation of characters’ mouth movements to a soundtrack. Usually in animation, the dialogue soundtracks will be recorded before drawn animation commences as it is far easier that way round |
live action |
it
is not always straightforward to distinguish live action from animation,
but as a rule: live action is the photographing of subjects in the
real world using a camera that runs continuously, the most common
speed being 24 frames per second |
lossless |
see
compression |
lossy |
see
compression |
luma / luminance |
brightness
=shade |
lumage |
a
form of cutout animation using backlit semi-transparent plastics |
luma key |
a
means of separating a foreground image from its background by use
of differences in luma |
master |
this
is the general term for a first generation tape etc. A digital copy
will normally be identical, but in pre-digital days the master was
a unique and irreplaceable item |
matching |
this is where an element of an animation scene must be seen to go behind another element. Often this happens automatically because one element may be in front of another, but there are often instances where one part of a scene is partially in front of and partially behind another part and this is where the bit that would be hidden must be drawn or rendered that way - it needs to be matched |
matte / matting |
a
matte is usually a black and white image. It represents those parts
of one image that will be cut out then pasted on top of another.
Mattes are derived from alpha channel, luma key or chromakey information.
|
mix |
picture: best thought
of as a fade-in happening simultaneously with a fade-out (aka dissolve).
The visual effect is of one scene becoming progressively more transparent
as, at the same time, a second scene becomes more opaque and replaces
the first. |
motion blur |
this
is an effect created in 3D cgi and sometimes faked in 2D; whatever
moves in a scene is deliberately blurred. The faster the movement,
the greater the degree of blurring. This emulates what happens in
live action and can make a scene easier on the eye. |
motion capture |
key
points on (usually) an actor are tracked so that their xyz
positions are recorded over time. This data can then be used to
transfer realistic movements to computer generated models. |
motion control |
use
of computer to capture the movements of a camera in live action
or stop motion. Enables moves to be duplicated precisely for special
effects work. Readout data from motion control rigs is used in 3D
cgi for matching animation to live action. |
motion tracking |
using
software to lock on to an area in a shot, then follow that area
from frame to frame. For example, using motion tracking, you can
replace the number plate of a car in a film sequence |
MPEG |
a
(compressed) bitmap file format expressly for moving images including
sound; comes in various "flavours", one of which (MPEG-2)
is used for publishing programmes on DVD. MPEG4 has better compression
and is likely to become standard, for example in high definition
and digital TV transmission |
mp3 |
the
most widely used of several available sound file formats using compression
to reduce file-size compared to the "raw" original |
multiplane |
a
pseudo 3D effect created in 2D animation by separating artwork at
different values in the z axis. (In plain English, the animation
cels are placed at varying distances from the camera. Thus, if the
camera moves towards the artwork, the distant artwork will seem
to move slower towards us and nearer artwork will seem to move faster.
The effect is of real depth, though the artwork itself of course
remains flat) |
noise |
this
is a technical term meaning any random meaningless data added to
either a picture or sound. Whilst noise is usually regarded as undesirable,
some forms such as film grain may be actually added to produce a
less clean and mechanistic look to an image. (See also boiling) |
NTSC |
TV
system used in USA, Japan and elsewhere. It runs at 30 frames per
second and so broadcasting movie films shot at 24 frames per second
requires technical fixes |
ones |
(aka
singles) - where one animation drawing or artwork instance is used
per frame. In traditional drawn animation, much work can be saved
by using twos instead |
onion skin(ning) |
in
drawn animation, an animator will draw on sheets of paper that become
semi-opaque when illuminated from below as on a lightbox. This
effect, of semi-transparency, is often emulated in animation software
where it is known as onion-skinning. The idea is that you see up
to several consecutive frames of animation on top of each other
at one time so you can check that the movement flows smoothly |
opaque |
US
term (rare) for paint |
optical |
an effect that used to be carried out in-camera: fade in, fade out, dissolve (aka mix) |
original |
term
used on tapes to indicate that it is raw footage; in live action,
this would be the tape that has actually run through a camera. Pretty
much meaningless for animation |
paint(ing) |
traditional: the cel, having been traced, was turned over and acrylic paint applied. When it was dry and the cel was turned back the right way, the paint would be almost perfectly flat. digital: a click of a mouse and a whole area is painted. Usually, the colour is opaque so that when one cel goes over a background or other cel, it obscures what is behind it. (Transparent colours are of course used for such things as water and dust etc.) |
PAL |
TV
system used in most of W. Europe, Australia and elsewhere.
It normally runs at 25 frames per second. Cinema film is shot at
24 frames per second. When film is shown on PAL TV, it is generally
run at 25 as the slight speed up is not noticeable, (the exception
being for people with perfect pitch) |
pan |
in live-action, a pan is the horizontal swivel of the camera as, for example, when it sits on a static tripod and follows someone walking across a room. (The vertical equivalent is called a “tilt”). In 2D animation, this effect is pretty much impossible to achieve as every element of an image would have to change in perspective. The word “pan” therefore has its own usage in 2D animation and generally means any movement in any direction of either characters or the camera itself except for moves “in z” – that is towards and away from the camera. Note that the live action term that would best describe an animation “pan” is “dolly” or “track” – that is, a shot where the camera itself is moving through space. |
particles animation |
2D
and 3D cgi software animation option to create many physical effects
such as smoke, fire, water etc. based on streams of "particles".
These can be as simple as tiny dots or any other small shape repeated
many times |
path |
term often used to
describe the non-linear movement of an animation element or the
camera within a scene. It will be drawn as a guide on the camera
layout. |
pegbar |
a thin strip of metal or plastic on to which animation drawi |
