Definition of TermsLiketheinstructionmanualsthatscreamatus,"Readmefirst,"Irecommendaperusal of these terms before diving into the nitty-gritty of the text. Many of the terms may already be familiar to you; some may have my ownpersonal twist. In any event, knowing this stuff will justmake going through the book easier, sinceit is written for the most part without stopping to define terms every two sentences.Accents-Thepartsof the soundtrack that arelouderormorestressed,which shouldbeindicatedintheanimation.Indialogue,itcanbelouderpartsof words or words that carry emotionalstress;inmusic,it canbemajor beats orparticularly present instruments.Anticipation-The smaller preparatory action that precedes amajor action,used to show that a character must physically prepare toperform an actionor gesture. AttitudePose-A pose that expresses, through the entire body, what a character is thinking and feeling.AttitudeWalk-A walk that expresses, both throughposes andmovement,how acharacter feels.Background-The painted(usually) scene against which the full-color characters performin a finished scene.("BG" for short.)Breakdown- Theinitialdrawingorpositionmadebetweentwokeys,which defines how a character transitions fromone idea to the next.("BD" for short.)Boil-The slang termusedfortheevident flickeringofdrawings whenascene isrun at speed, whichresults whenlines andformshavenotbeendrawncarefully enough to follow through fromone drawing to the next.CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSECel-Short for celluloid, the flammable materialon which animation drawings were inkedandpainted.Replacedinlater years by non-fire-hazardous acetate, the termis stillin commonusage (as in "held cel"), although almost all hand-drawn animationis now digitally inked andpainted.Clean-Ups-Thedrawingsinananimationscene that arerefined for finalinking or scanning,usuallymadeby placing anew sheet ofpaper over theroughandperfectingboththelinework andthecharacternuances.Intraditionalanimationtoday, these are the drawings the audience sees on the screen.Cushion-OutandCushion-In-Thedrawings that accelerateoutof apose, spacedprogressively farther apart (so the actiondoes not start abruptly), anddecelerateintothe followingpose,spacedprogressively closer together (tocomplete the action with a smooth settling-in). Alsoknownas "Slow-Out and Slow-ln."Drag-The drawing of action that indicates aportion of a character lagging behind, used to create more fluidity in the perceivedmovement.EccentricAction-Specialized movement within an action that cannot be articulated throughnormalinbetweening.Thiscanincludelegpositionsinawalkorrun, mouthpositions,hand gestures, and elaborate movement on the entire body. ExposureSheet-Thebibleof asceneinhand-drawnanimation,showing the timing, thedialogue frame-by-frame,cameraand fieldinginformation,thenumber ofcellevelsrequired,andhowmanyframeseachdrawingshouldbeexposed. ("X-sheet" for short.)Extreme-Akey drawingorpose thatisthemost exaggeratedordynamicpoint of aparticular action.Favoring- Makinganinbetweenpositionthat favorseither thepositiondirectly before it or after it,insteadof making it directly in the center.Foot- Unit by which 35mm filmismeasuredandexposure sheets are subdivided. 1foot =16 frames, thus1/2 feet = 24 frames, or1secondof screen time. There are 90 feet of filmper minute of screen time.FilmGrammar-Thelanguageof filmmaking,comprisedof different types of shots, staging andediting principles, and scene transitions, and how they are used by filmmakers tohelp tell a story.Follow-Through-The naturalelaboration of an action that shows how one part leads organically to thenext until the actionis resolved.Frame-One single picture, usually equaling /24of a second in the cinema, whether filmor digitalprojectionisused.24 frames =1secondof screen time;16 frames = 1foot.Becauseof differing electricalsystems aroundtheglobe,some alteredframe rates occurontelevisionbroadcasts.U.S.NTSC televisionruns at 60Hzper second, sosomeanimationistimedto30 framesper second(fps),althoughmostisstill producedat 24 fps andconvertedelectronically.ThePAL systeminEuropeisbased on a50Hz per second cycle, so animationis timed for 25 fps.HeldCel-Portion of a character that is not moving andis drawn ontoits owncel level,used to avoidredrawing the non-moving part over a series of frames. Inbetween-A drawing or positionmade in a scene that comes between the keys andbreakdowns.At times they canberightinthemiddle;at other times they can favor either the earlier or the later position.InbetweenChart- Chartonakey drawing thatindicatesboththespacingof the inbetweens and the order in which they are tobe drawnupuntil thenext key. Keys-Theimportant drawingsorposesinascene thatestablishthebasic tent- poles of themovement andperformance.Layout-The settingin which the animatedactiontakesplace,indicating sizesof charactersinrelation to their background,perspective,camerapositionandmovement,majorpositionsofcharacters withinthescene,lighting,andcompositionof the shot.LimitedAnimation-Animation with areducednumber of drawings for either stylistic or economic reasons,most commonly seenin television cartoons.LineofAction- Thefirstlineindicatedinapose,showingthebasicoverall posture, prior to adding the rest of the details.Lip-Sync- Theanimationoflipandmouthshapesinsynchronizationtothe number of frames indicated for eachdialogue soundon the exposure sheets.Mass-A character'spersonaldimensionality; whathisshapeslooklikeinthree dimensions,moving around.Moving Hold -A minimal amount of movement used to keep a character alive while still communicating a strong pose or attitude. Also known as a "GlorifiedPose."XXCHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSEOnes- The exposure of drawings or positions for one frame each; there wouldbe 24 drawings on ones for asecond of screen time.Overlap-Theactions thatindicate thatnot allparts of a characterarriveat the sametime,andcangopastthepointof arrivalandsettleback.Usedtoindicate weight,movement of clothing,hair, etc.Pantomime-Ananimationscene thathasnodialogue,inwhicha character's thoughtsandemotions areexpressedentirely throughhisposes,expressions,and movement.Partial-Aroughanimationdrawing that onlyincludes theeccentric actions(lip- sync, leg positions, ashut or partially shut eye),leaving the remainder tobe done as a straight inbetween(usually by an assistant animator or roughinbetweener). PassingPosition-In a walk, the intermediate posein which one leg is passing in front of the other.Phrasing-Theprocessof containing asentenceof dialogue withinanorganic pattern of movement.Pose-to-Pose-Themethodofanimatingbyestablishingkeyposesfirst,and then going back in to complete the breakdowns andinbetweens.Recoil-The after-effect of an abrupt stop, where a character (or parts of him)go past the eventual finalpose and settle back into it.Roughs-The drawings in an animation scene made prior to clean-up, usually associated with the animator's first pass of realizing themovement andperformance. SecondaryAction- Actionanimatedinadditiontoa majoraction,usedto show nuance within the mainidea.For example, amajor actioncouldbe acharacter settling intoanimpatient pose; the secondary actioncouldbe the character tapping his foot impatiently to afaster rhythm.Silhouette-Theoverallshapeof apose, whichshouldreadclearly evenwhen the pose is blackedin without its internaldetails.Spacing-The process of determining how far apart the positions shouldbe from one another, based on the knowledge that the farther apart, the faster the action, the closer together, the slower the action.Stagger- Themechanicalmanipulationofframestoachieveavibrationonscreen.StaggeredTiming-Parts of a scene or piece of animation that do not occur at the same time.For example,severalcharactersdoing the same dance step couldbe on staggered timing (one frame earlier, two frames later,etc.)inorder for the group action to appear more naturally on the screen.Staging-The positioning of characters in a scene for maximum emotional content and clear readability of actions.StorytellingDrawings-The drawings in a scene that succinctly communicate to an audience the important ideas expressed through the action.Straight-Ahead-Thetechniqueof animatinginorder,fromthebeginning to the endof ascene,toachieveanaturalflowfromonedrawingtothenext.Not as easily controlledas thepose-to-posemethod,straight-aheadanimationrequires strict attentionto themaintaining of volumes andsizes,but canresult invery fluid looking movement.Strobing-The unwanted effect of a vibration across the screen, usually associated with vertical shapes perpendicular to the horizon. Strobing would occur if acharacter were animatedon twos while the camerapannedonones -almost theoptical version of a"stagger." The way to fix thisproblemis toput inthe singleinbetweens on ones for the duration of the pan.SuccessiveBreakingof Joints -The term first coined by animator Art Babbitt to describehow acharactercanmove fluidly basedonanatomy.Youcanshowa"wave" actionina character's arm, for example,by having the arm traveldownward, "breaking"at the elbow,andthensuccessively"breaking"at the wrist as therest of the armcatchesup,andthenbreakingintheoppositedirectionatelbow andwrist on the way back up.Texture -The appearance of differencesin timing,spacing,pacing, and emotional range withinananimationscene,inorder tokeep the sceneinteresting andbelievable to an audience.Thumbnails -A series of quick sketches (usually small, thus "thumbnail") used to figure out major poses and storytelling drawingsina scene.Tie-Downs-Thedrawingsmadeasasecondary stageinroughanimationthat further refine theexpressions anddetails throughout ascene,usuallymadebyan animator on top of his owninitialroughs.Timing-Theprocessof determininghowlongeachdrawingorpositionshould beonscreen,basedontheknowledgethat24framesequalonesecondof screen time.Twos-Theexposureof drawingsor positions for twoframesapiece; there would be twelve drawings on twos for one secondof screen time.Traceback- Portionofa character thatisheldfor severalframes,but"traced back" toanoriginalsourcedrawing over theremaining amount of thehold.Thisis used tokeep acharacter feeling alive,rather than separating the heldportion onto aseparate level.Volume-The amount of space acharacter takes up; even if acharacter is squashed, stretched,or distorted,his volume shouldremainconsistent.Weight-Indication of a character's poundage, shown through the timing, overlap, and style of movement.Layout and StagingAnimators need to have agood working knowledge of the mechanics of film and film composition to understandhow these tools of communicationcanbest support their performances(andhow theperformancescanbeengineeredtocomplement the filmic concepts).FilmGrammar: TypesofShot sEstablishing Shot -shows the overall setting (and perhaps characters involved) to define for the audience the place, the time of day, and the atmosphere of the sequence. MediumShot(M.S.) -shot that shows characters' fullbodiesin a framing spacious enough to include reasonablebackground(andpossibly foreground)detail.Long Shot (L.S.) - camerais far away fromsubjectmatter,characters quite smallin frame.Close-Up(C.U.)- closedetailshot(oftenfacial)withlittleornoextraneousbackground detail.[Also "Medium Close-Up" (M.C.U.) -say, a waist-up shot of characters, and "Medium Long Shot"(M.L.S.) -characters farther away thanin amedium shot,but not tiny, plusExtreme C.U. andExtreme L.S.]P.O.V.(point of view)Shot -composed and staged asif the audienceis experiencing the shot first-hand through the character's eves.CraneShot -shot withshifting composition(heightofcamera,distance fromsubjectmatter,turning aroundacharacter or stationary object),socalledbecause of the hydraulic crane required to execute such a shot inlive-action.Panning Shot, or Pan -which has the camera moving up, down, or across the scene, either to follow the action of acharacter, or to establish ascene and "locate" the focus of attention.76 CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSETruckingShots- "TruckIn"shotsareusedtozeroinonanareaofdeveloping importanceasthesceneunfolds."TruckOut"shotsareusedtorevealthings of developingimportanceinthe surroundingareaoriginallyoutsidethe fieldof vision.Inlive-action,executed withtelephotolensesinsteadofphysicallymoving the camera(also known as "ZoomIn" and "ZoomOut").Cutaway -cut to areaction shot of asecond character (other than the one performing or speaking).Tracking Shot -follows acharacter's actionthroughout a scene.DollyShot- like atruck-inor -out,but executedwiththe cameraontracks toget closer toor farther away fromthe subject(asopposedtodoingit solely withthe lenses), givingmore depth and changing background perspective.Scenet ransi t i ons:Cut - most often-used way of changing scenes:one scene finishes, and the next follows,buttedup against it.Fade- establishesapassageof time."Fadeout/fadein"meansone thoughtor sequence ends /anew one begins at alater time. "Fade in" opens asequence and determines thestartof a newidea."Fade out"isthe "period"at theend,which says that the sequence or chain of ideas has beencompleted.Dissolve -also establishes apassage of time,but because the two scenes overlap,it usually denotes ashorter lapse of time than fade out/fade in(unless the dissolve is quitelong).Dissolves can alsobeused to compress time (when two scenes are too short to convey anidea, the dissolve lengthens bothof them).Wipe- ananimated,opticallyprinted,ordigitallycreateddevicethatobliterates the existing scene andreveals the next(sometimes seenas a "clock"), whichalso denotes passage of time."Whip"pan- high-speedblurredpanthatmovesrapidlyaway fromtheexisting scene to thenew scene- oftenina completely different areaor time,theblur "fudging" the geography betweenthe two."JumpCut"- a mistakethatoccurs whenonescenedirectly followsanotherand repeats elements from i t onlymarginally differently,thusresultingina "jump." (Cuts workbest whentheircomposition,sizeof subject,andcameraangleare markedly different fromeach other.)HARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSEhavethemoveslightlyprecede theanimationtomoreclearlyreadthecharacter's landing.You will encounter many more situations like these as you animate; the more well- versedyouareinthesemechanics,themoreyoucanensure that your animation communicates your intentions for the scene.CompositionConsider the designof the overall frame -what makes apleasing combination oflargeandsmallshapes,light anddark,angles andstraightsagainstcurves, etc.?Noteverythingthatisimportantmustbecenter-screen;oftenamajor character canlookbetterinacompositiontoone sideoranother,if theBGelements are designedtoleadyour eye tohim.Allow certainareasof the layout tobeless cluttered so your characters are in avisually "quiet" area of the frame for maximum readability.Don't compose aBClayout withoutconsideringcharacterplacementandmovement;youcanmake avery pleasing and artfulBGlayout that works wellby itself but lookslousy on film when characters are placedonit. Also, the lengthof screen time has direct bearingontheamount ofdetailyoucaninclude-thelonger themore chance the audiencehas to see interestingdetails; the shorter the scene, the simpler the composition shouldbe.Consider thecharactersthemselvesascompositionaldesignelements:their shapes, sizes,andplacement may be the major designpoints of a scene (especially a group scene).Insteadof adull compositionlike this... ...try adynamically staged onelike this!Further examples:88 CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSEGeographyEstablishan overallplanof the environment in which your characters willbe moving (perhaps atop view and a front view)andimagine the camera stationedaroundit to give the various shotsneededin the sequence.Most filmmakers prefer not to break the180 arc:Where youplace thecameradependsonhow elaborate yourstaging shouldbe for readability and visualinterest:"Prosceniumarch" - Imagine thesetlikea theater stage,where alltheaction takesplacebehind the prosceniumarchandimagine thecamerapanning,cutting fromclose-uptolongshot,etc.,directlyinfrontof theaction.Thisis the simplest formof camera placement.LAYOUTANDSTAGI NG 89Moreelaborateframingrequiresmoreconsiderationofvariouselements. Establishscreendirection:If your characters are moving and facing fromleft to right,don't throwinascene where thecharacter relationshipsare throwninto completereverse;it willlookasif thecharactersareswappingplacesinthe roomrather thanthecamerachanging its point of view.Evenif yourcamera placementdiffersradically fromscenetoscene,screendirectioncanbethe cohesive element.Example:view of character running in ertM.C.U. of character center screen while BGpans pastCharacter runs downinto distance, having entered fromscreenleft.Bykeeping thescreendirectiongenerallyleft toright, thesescenescut together fluidly even though the cameraplacement shifts radically. But imagine audience confusionif the second scene were flopped:90 CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSEEstablishlogic of cameraplacement:If, for example, you're dealing withsmallcharacters, youmay want the cameraclose to the groundwiththemat all times.If your sequence deals withspeed(atypicalRoadRunner chase, for example), youmay want a successionof scenes with characters center-screen andBGsrushing past (rather than interrupting the flow with,say, one scenein the middle of the action withastationary cameraand the characters whizzingpast the lens).If you want a"fragmented," offbeat look, you may want to use discontinuous scenes with a variety of angles. Or, as with the runner, youmay want to make a series of interestingly composed shots with the movement of the character as the logical thread that holds the sequence together.Doyouwant amovingor astationary shot?Basically, thecamera needn'tmove unlessitisintegralto tellingthestory.Don't stickina5-field truck-inwhengetting closer to the character doesn'tilluminate thesceneany further.Don't cutback and forth,inandout,just for the sake ofmoving the cameraaround. The exceptionis agentle"moving camera,"quiet1- or 2-fieldtrucks or pans that take the edgeoff the hard cuts andlendproduction value.StagingStaginginanimationisaboutcommunicatingeffectively to your audience,utilizing elements of layout,background, composition, andorganization of characters.A large part of staging is layout and film grammar: knowing when to use aclose-up, whentopan, when to truckin or out, when tocut fromone scene to another.Much of this can be learned from watching live-action editing and seeing how the camerais placed(and why!).Knowing how screen geography worksis also a necessary tool.StagingYourCharactersWho has themain actionin the scene? If it is a group scene, is themajor character in a clear enougharea to dohis acting?Does the scene require a close-up for him to punchhis point home? Are the poses well-delineated?Doesthesceneshiftinimportancefromonecharacter toanother?Isitcomposedtoaccount for thisshiftinimportance?Canthesecondarycharacters add,throughmovement,importance to thisshift throughheadturns,changes of posture,reactions to what isbeing said, etc.?Has continuity of characters from scene to scene (which ones are included, their posturesandmovements)beenaccountedfor?Is therecontinuity fromsceneLAYOUTANDSTAGI NG 9 1tosceneof the character'srelationship to theBG?(If acharacteris standingin front of a door in the medium shot, is apiece of the door and its relationship to the character shownin the close-up?)Leading the audience's eye ina two-character sequence:Arounda frame:92 CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSEStage yourcharactersasinterestingcompositionalelements withinthescene. Contrast tall and short,near and far,lit and shaded, etc.Example:Hero is sad, Sidekick is sympathetic.Herohas the dialogue.OK,but kind of boring profile.Better,because it emphasizes Hero, andhelpsyou feelmore about what he is feeling. Also, by making Sidekick even smaller,he looks evenmore helpless.Example:Slimeballis trying to force his charms uponunwilling Gal.Better,because Slimeball's diagonal thrust contrasts Gal's straight vertical. Alsobetter because Galnolonger is facing Slimeball-her physicalrefusal to listenmakes himhave to work harder and get closer!StagingYourCharactersinaDialogueSceneAllow enough time for what one character is saying or doing tosinkin tojhe other character'sbrain.Dont have the "listening"characterreact toosoonor he'll step on the active character'sperformance.LAYOUTANDSTAGI NDon't break the180 line whenplanning compositions or cuts.CAMERA( C ) OK Camer a(D)N/ G!!94 CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSEOther more extreme but OK cuts might be:Theoccasionaloff-screenreaction(someonelisteningtothemainspeaker)is nice, too,but remember tokeep them facing in theright direction to the established relationship:A little air on theleft of screenisbest:in theevent youcut to aC.U.of theother guy, their body shapes won't overlap somuch from cut tocut!Get valueout ofmovingholds andtraceback holds while themaincharacteris emoting.Justbecauseonepersonis talkingdoesn'tmeanthelistenershould be dead.He canstillbe doing anunderplayedmovement to show he is paying attention!LAYOUTANDSTAGI NG 95Plan your characters' actions so they overlap the cuts alittle.Shot 1:Hero's head turns toward Sidekick as he finishes his line.Shot 2: Sidekick says his line, whileHero's headresolves upinto ahold to watch.StagingM u l t i p l e CharacterScenesWhat do you want your audience to see? If you're trying tohighlight a particular character amongst acrowd,afew thingsmighthelp:brightercolorsonthat character,adriftingcameramovetowardthecharacter,other charactersanimated to reveal your lead character.Does the focus shift in the scene? Perhaps youwant to start with one character walking through a scene amongst a crowd of people and you then want topick up another character trying to follow him.Example:1: Starts as dog walks toward screenright.Cameradriftsin topick littlepuppy coming towardus.Shot 2: Cut to puppy center screen while crowd andBGpass by.96 CHARACTERANI MATI ONCRASHCOURSE