GLOSSARY

Abstract: A type of art that uses colors and lines to express emotions and ideas rather than concrete pictures or events.

Acetate: A clear sheet of plastic film that can be purchased at crafts stores, office supply stores, and art stores.

Angle: The position of a camera as related to its mount on a tripod.

Animation: A movie-making technique that uses a series of graphics, photographs, drawings, paintings, handmade puppets, or three-dimensional printed models.

Armature: The metal skeleton of a puppet or sculpture, which is then covered with fabric or clay.

Backdrop: The background of a set, often a piece of cloth or paper painted to look like the area in which the action takes place, such as outdoors or in a room.

Bird’s Eye: A type of shot taken from high above, as if from the point of view of a bird in the sky.

Camera: A tool used for recording pictures and movies. With today’s technology, a camera can be as simple as a smartphone or as advanced as professional photography equipment.

Cel: Short for “celluloid,” a piece of clear film that can be drawn on as in classic cartoon production. We use this traditional technique in Lab 6, but not the same material.

Character: A person or other subject who is a part of a story either as the main focus or in a supporting role.

Charcoal: A black, chalk-like material used in art for lines and shading.

Claymation: A stop-motion animation technique that features clay figures as the subjects.

Close-Up: A type of camera shot that highlights details or showcases the emotions and facial expressions of a character. An “Extreme Close-Up” is even closer.

Copyright: Laws that protect the creative work of an artist. Materials, such as music and images, under copyright may not be used without permission.

Downshoot Camera Angle: A type of production setup in which the camera is pointed down toward the ground, a tabletop, or any other flat surface. This angle is used for a wide range of animation techniques, including those where gravity poses a problem, such as puppetry, and creates a two-dimensional effect.

Editing: Part of the postproduction process, the act of arranging images, adding sound and text, and putting other finishing touches on the film.

Film Stage: The surface on which a scene is set up. We suggest a no-frills table with a top measuring at least 24 by 12 inches (61 by 30.5 cm).

Flip Book: A collection of pages featuring slightly different images so that when they are turned quickly, the pictures seem to have movement. The more pages, the smoother the animation will appear. We recommend 15 to 24 frames per movement for a good range of motion.

Foley: The process of creating and sourcing everyday sounds for a film, such as footsteps and creaking doors.

Incremental: Making small changes to something at a gradual, evenly-spaced pace.

Lens: The part of a camera that collects light and converts the image in focus into a photo.

Light Box: A desk-like tool with a flat plastic or glass surface that can be lit from underneath to help make tracing and copying frames easier.

Lighting: Equipment that produces light; or the arrangement of lights to create a certain effect. In this book, we recommend at least two direct light sources to create balance.

Loop: A sequence that starts and ends at the same place.

Medium (angle): A type of camera shot that combines information with a clearer focus on detail. Often used to capture conversational moments.

Medium (art): A material used to create a piece of art, or the method an artist uses. The plural of “medium” in this case is “media.”

Motion Arcs: Guides that help to map out the course of an action to make it more precise and strategic. In stop- motion animation, the most lifelike movements tend to follow a curved path through space, or an arc.

Multiplanes: A stack of plexiglass with space between each sheet, giving more than one surface on which to work and creating the illusion of depth.

Narrative: A story, which is made up of plot, theme, characters, settings, conflict, and so on.

Onion Skin Function: A common tool in editing software programs that layers the last photo taken over the one about to be taken so that it’s easier to plan the next move.

Over the Shoulder: A type of camera shot used to record the back and forth of a conversation or to show a character’s unique perspective.

Pan: A type of camera shot that slowly moves along a straight line, taking photos of each incremental change.

Penned: Drawn in, such as lines for a background.

Perspective: Point of view; or balancing the proportions of objects in relation to each other’s size, height, and position when seen from a certain angle.

Pixilation: A style of stop-motion animation with humans or other living beings as the subjects.

Postproduction: Work done after filming and photography has finished, such as editing, adding sounds, and putting scenes in the right order.

Public Domain: Creative materials, such as music or images, not protected by copyright laws and therefore free and available for use.

Production: The process of making a film, including setting scenes, adding subjects, and photography.

Rigging: Equipment, such as fishing line and dowels, that enables puppets to fly in a straight-ahead angle or three-dimensional environment.

Scene: A segment of a film that contains action and moves the story forward.

Script: A written document containing the words characters say and directions for their emotions or movements.

Scrolling Backdrop: A long background that can be slowly moved, creating the illusion of forward motion even though the character or vehicle in front of it remains still.

Sequence: A series of scenes or shots that depend on one another. A film may be shot out of sequence to eliminate switching out sets and resetting up a scene.

Set: The stage on which the action will take place.

Shot: A camera or software trick used to shape a scene. Examples include a close-up, wide shot, or pan.

Shot List: A written plan of the essential shots (animated moments) needed to make a story complete.

Sound: The part of a film that can be heard, such as everyday noises, speaking, or music.

Stop-Motion Animation: A type of film making during which action happens in real life, not constructed in a computer. Subjects and sets are incrementally manipulated by animators and photographed, creating the illusion of movement.

Storyboard: A visual aid outlining a story and breaking down each scene to plan for camera shots, select camera angles, and create shot lists.

Straight-Ahead Camera Angle: A type of production setup in which the camera is pointed forward, rather than pointing down, creating a three-dimensional world.

Subject: A person or thing being focused on and animated.

Three-Dimensional: An image or object that has length, width, and depth. In this book, “three-dimensional” refers to real-life filmmaking, not computer-generated images and movements.

Title Cards: Text that introduces a film and closes a film, such as the title, the name of the production company, and the names of people who participated in the project.

Tripod: A stand, typically with three legs, on which a camera can be mounted to make sure each shot is steady and focused.

Two-Dimensional: An image or object that has length and width, but no depth; flat. In animation, the down-shoot camera angle is most often used.

Viewpoint: Or point of view, the place from which a story is presented.

Voice-Over: Narration, or spoken words, added to a film even though the speaker is not shown on screen.

Wide: A type of camera shot that shows the subject as well as its surroundings to convey a lot of information at once.

Worm’s Eye: A type of camera shot taken from the ground pointing upward into space, as if from the point of view of a worm.

Zoetrope: Literally “wheel of life,” a term coined by William F. Lincoln for his cylindrical “moving picture” device. It is created by cutting vertical slits into the sides of a cylinder, the inside of which features a band of sequential images that when spun creates the illusion of motion.

Zoom: A type of camera shot that slowly expands or contracts the lens to move from a close-up angle to a wide angle or the other way around.