Jeremy Cantor
(Senior Animator, Insomniac Games)


Jeremy Cantor first became interested in growing up to be an artist when he received praise for being the only student in his kindergarten class to accurately draw a house's chimney perpendicular to the ground plane rather than to that of the slanted roof. Years of having his doodles confiscated by frustrated schoolteachers followed. Then, understandably frightened by the image of the digital nerd he might become, Jeremy left his sensible Computer Science / Math / Pre-Med University studies and ran away to Art School (in NYC & PA), much to the chagrin of his guidance counselors and more importantly, his Dad.

The art department at Scranton's Marywood University had an exciting, new Apple IIe computer program which allowed you to type in the XYZ coordinates of each vertex of a cube and in less than 20 minutes, you'd get a wireframe printout of your cube in proper perspective! Jeremy's future career fate was sealed when he was awarded extra credit for creating a cylinder!

After graduating with a degree in Illustration, Jeremy fulfilled his dream of actually getting paid to produce artwork by landing a minimum-wage job running the art department of a small t-shirt factory in a nasty suburb of Washington D.C. Six months later, he moved on to another silk-screen shop down the road. But this place was different. They had a Macintosh.

L.A. beckoned soon thereafter (a friend needed to sublet his room actually), so Jeremy packed up his art supplies & headed out West to learn more about this "animation" thing. After a year of waiting tables, taking animation classes & almost building a successful freelance illustration career (mostly doing TV storyboards), Jeremy accidentally stumbled into an Amiga store and saw a $65 program called "Turbo Silver" spewing out 3D images that his new Macintosh could only dream about. So he worked some extra shifts, bought an Amiga, and began teaching himself 3D animation. Given that software manuals (if they existed at all) were written by programmers in those days, the years Jeremy thought he'd wasted studying computer science finally paid off, as he was actually able to decipher the cryptic "Imagine" tutorials.

A few months later, a short 3D animated film had emerged, which was included in the 1991 L.A. Animation Celebration. This (now embarrassingly primitive) film helped Jeremy land his first job as a computer artist/animator for a small games company called Acme/Malibu Interactive, where 2 years of 3D design/animation and a whole lot of pixel pushing followed. Art directing SuperNintendo's "Battlecars" was the highpoint of his experience at Malibu (but nobody bought the game). In his spare time, Jeremy produced a second animated short, which toured with Spike & Mike's Animation Festival in the early 90's.

Northern CA beckoned (a recruiter from Sega actually), and Jeremy seized the chance to try out the Bay Area. The job at Sega only lasted a year (but he learned Softimage & made some great contacts there), and a small interactive house called P.F. Magic was the next stop. A variety of work was to be found there, which included directing the animation on the million-selling "Catz" (digital pet) product.

Jeremy then "made the jump to light speed" when he landed a job as a creature animator on Tristar's "Starship Troopers" at Tippett Studio in Berkeley. Jeremy stayed at Tippett for a couple of years, working on various demo projects and helping with the animation supervision on Disney's "My Favorite Martian". In late '98, Sony Imageworks recruited Jeremy back to L.A. to be the Animation Supervisor on "Hollowman". A hierarchy restructuring occurred in midstream and he shifted into the role of character setup supervisor for the duration of that particular project.

Jeremy is now gearing up for "Harry Potter", seeing if he can manage to stay at the same studio for more than 2 years, enjoying life as a newlywed, and slowly accepting the fact that he was ultimately unable to avoid becoming a digital nerd after all..

Currently, Jeremy is the Art & Animation director on "Full Spectrum Warrior", a console-based training simulation project for the U.S. Army, on which he is responsible for all visual assets and animation-related tools programming. He also teaches CG Character Animation at the California Institute of the Arts in Valencia, and his latest CG short film, "Squaring Off" will be featured in “North America’s Best Animated Shorts” (DVD collection) scheduled for release this Spring.
Source : Internet

Jim Berney
(Visual Effects & CG Supervisor)

Since joining Sony Pictures Imageworks in 1996, Jim Berney has served as visual effects and CG supervisor on a number of notable projects Most recently, Berney supervised the creation of over 500 shots for "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe." Work for the film included creation of the photo-real, fully CG characters: Mr. and Mrs. Beaver; Fox; and Maugrim, the wolf lieutenant who leads army of the White Witch. In 2004, Berney was visual effects supervisor on the IMAX version of the state-of-the-art performance capture feature "The Polar Express." He was responsible for supervising the conversion of over 780 shots from the already beautiful traditional 2D version of the film into the large format 3D IMAX version.

In 2003, Berney was the visual effects supervisor on "The Matrix Reloaded" and "The Matrix Revolutions," having recently completed his supervisory role on "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers," the second installment of the acclaimed trilogy. He was also supervisor on the international phenomenon "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." Under his direction, more than 100 Imageworks artists created the CG characters Fluffy, the Troll, the Centaur and the exciting Quidditch sequence, complete with Harry and fourteen of his friends in an entirely synthetic environment.

Berney served as CG supervisor for "Hollow Man" (2000 Academy Award® nominee, Best Visual Effects), responsible for the Burning Man/Elevator Sequence. This heart-stopping sequence involved creating a photo real "burnt" version of Kevin Bacon, and incorporating him into a miniature/pyro set with digital set extensions.

Previously, he was invaluable as CG supervisor on the feature film "Stuart Little" (1999 Academy Award nominee, Best Visual Effects), having been involved in the development of the costuming technology. These cloth dynamics enabled the design, building, and simulation of 13 costumes for three CG characters. Berney also supervised the development of the versioning and publishing system and co-supervised the development of the lighting pipeline, which facilitated the seamless integration of the Stuart Little character into live action scenes.

Before "Stuart Little," Berney served as CG supervisor on the feature film "Godzilla" and was lighting lead on "Contact", "Starship Troopers"(1997 Academy Award nominee, Best Visual Effects) and "Anaconda" , where he developed rendering tools and the pipeline for photorealistic lighting techniques.

Prior to joining Imageworks, he worked at MetroLight, where he was a research technical director and part of the software development team, authoring flocking software for "Batman Forever" and procedural natural phenomenon lighting software for "Under Siege 2" and "Mortal Combat."

Berney began his career working for DARPA as an ADA programmer for a large software engineering consortium. He received his Master's degree in Computer Science from California Polytechnic, San Luis Obispo, specializing in the research and development of a new global illumination paradigm. He holds two undergraduate degrees in Computer Science and Economics from the University of California, Irvine, focusing in AI research. Berney also studied computer architectures at the Royal Institute of Technology, Stockholm, Sweden.


Sources : Internet

Richard Hoover

(Visual Effects Supervisor)

Academy Award® nominee Richard Hoover is one of the industry's most highly regarded visual effects supervisors. Most recently, he completed work on Superman Returns as senior visual effects supervisor for Sony Pictures Imageworks.

Hoover’s work at Imageworks prior to Superman Returns includes visual effects supervision on DarknessFalls, and Seabiscuit, the film adaptation of the best selling novel.

Prior to joining Sony Pictures Imageworks in 2002, Hoover worked for Dream Quest Images, which later became The Secret Lab, for more than ten years. While at the company, he was visual effects supervisor on Reign of Fire for director Rob Bowman, Unbreakable for director M. Night Shyamalan and Inspector Gadget for director David Kellogg and producer Jordan Kerner.

In 1998, Hoover teamed with director Michael Bay and producer Jerry Bruckheimer on Armageddon, which was nominated for an Oscar® in the category of Achievement in Visual Effects. During his early career, Hoover also served as visual effects supervisor on Jungle to Jungle and Freejack. Preceding his work on feature films, Hoover was one of the first directors at Dream Quest Image’s commercial division, DQ Films, where he designed, shot and supervised effects shots. During his tenure at DQ Films, Hoover directed the movie trailer for Total Recall, which went on to win a Special Achievement Award for Visual Effects from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 1991.

Before moving to DQ Films, Hoover directed live action spots for New York-based Triplevision and Robert Abel & Associates.

At Robert Abel & Associates, a leading pioneer in the use of computer graphics in television commercials and film, Hoover worked with renowned and innovative commercial filmmaker, Robert Abel. With Abel, he had the opportunity to direct a variety of high profile commercials for national clients combining live action, computer graphics and a wide range of visual effects. With spots for Levi's and Wang, Hoover won several prestigious Clio awards and honors at film festivals in Cannes, New York and Chicago.

Hoover’s career began at Mid-Ocean Motion Pictures in Los Angeles where he tackled both live action and computer generated visual effects assignments. Here he demonstrated a keen understanding of character and drama, as well as a mastery of cutting edge technology.

Hoover is a graduate of the University of Oregon where he majored in Design with an emphasis in animation.
Sources : Internet

Rob Legato

(Visual Effects Supervisor)

Academy Award®
winner Rob Legato received a Masters Degree in Cinematography from Brooks Institute of Photography in Santa Barbara. Upon graduation Legato went to work for the newly formed H.I.S.K. Productions (Hagmann, Impastato, Stephens & Kerns) as the live action commercial producer for director David Impastato. After a period of three years Mr. Legato joined Robert Abel & Associates where he served as producer, visual effects supervisor and ultimately director of visual effects oriented TV spots. The experience led to serving as a free lance supervisor and director for various commercial companies for several years before turning to television production.

Mr. Legato served as alternating visual effects supervisor for the TV series "The Twilight Zone" during its second season. This series led to the Paramount Studios production of "Star Trek: The Next Generation" where Mr. Legato served as visual effects supervisor, second unit and episode director for a period of five years. Legato then took over as visual effects producer/supervisor for the newly created series "Deep Space Nine" as well as directing one of the episodes of its first season. Both "Star Trek: The Next Generation and Deep Space Nine" earned Legato two Emmy Awards for Visual Effects.

He brought the experience gained in television, to his work in the cinema, receiving Academy Award nominations for Apollo 13 in 1995. He was also incharge of the effects on Neil Jordan's "Interview with the Vampire". In 1998 Legato received an Academy Award for his work on James Cameron's 1997 "Titanic", which took the use of digital special effects to new heights, particularly in the combining of computer generated images and live action shots.

Legato left Digital Domain to join Sony Pictures Imageworks where he served as visual effects supervisor on two Robert Zemeckis films, What Lies Beneath and Cast Away.

Legato was senior visual effects supervisor on Bad Boys II, which was recently nominated for a VES Award (Visual Effects Society) for Outstanding Supporting Visual Effects in a Motion Picture, and on the international phenomenon Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, based on the best selling books by J.K. Rowling. He is currently second unit director on Martin Scorsese's The Aviator,a film about the life of Howard Hughes.


Richard Harris (Up)
Albus Dumbeldore - I (Down)



Michael Gambon (Up)
Albus Dumbeldore - II (Down)



Ralph Fiennes (Up)
Voldermort (Down)



Gary Oldman (Up)
Sirius Black (Down)



Robbie Coltrane (Up)
Rubeus Hagrid (Down)



Brendon Gleeson (Up)
Alastar Moody (Down)



Maggie Smith (Up)
Professor Minerva McGonagall (Down)



Ian Hart (Up)
Professor Quirinus Quirrell (Down)




Alan Rickman (Up)
Severus Snape (Down)

Motion tracking or motion capture started as a photogrametric analysis tool in biomechanics research in the 1970s and 1980s, and expanded into education, training, sports and recently computer animation for cinema and video games as the technology matured. A performer wears markers near each joint to identify the motion by the positions or angles between the markers. Acoustic, inertial, LED, magnetic or reflective markers, or combinations of any of these, are tracked, optimally at least two times the rate of the desired motion, to submillimeter positions. The motion capture computer software records the positions, angles, velocities, accelerations and impulses, providing an accurate digital representation of the motion.

In entertainment applications this can reduce the costs of animation which otherwise requires the animator to draw each frame, or with more sophisticated software, key frames which are interpolated by the software. Motion capture saves time and creates more natural movements than manual animation, but is limited to motions that are anatomically possible. Some applications might require additional impossible movements like animated super hero martial arts or stretching and squishing that are not possible with real actors.

In biomechanics, sports and training, real time data can provide the necessary information to diagnose problems or suggest ways to improve performance, requiring motion capture technology to capture motions up to 140 miles per hour for a golf swing.

Motion Capture is defined as "The creation of a 3D representation of a live performance." This is in contrast to animation that is created 'by hand' through a process known as keyframing.

Motion capture (AKA Mocap) used to be considered a fairly controversial tool for creating animation. In the early days, the effort required to 'clean up' motion capture data often took as long as if the animation was created by an animator, from scratch. Thanks to hard work by the manufacturers of motion capture systems as well as numerous software developers, motion capture has become a feasible tool for the generation of animation.

Software tools for working with motion-captured data, such as MotionBuilder, have evolved to the point where animators now have the means to edit and blend takes from multiple capture sessions and mix and match them with keyframed animation techniques; allowing great control of style and quality of final output, for anything ranging from realistic to 'cartoony' motion.

The term camera angle means slightly different things to different people but it always refers to the way a shot is composed. Some people use it to include all camera shot types, others use it to specifically mean the angle between the camera and the subject. We will concentrate on the literal interpretation of camera angles, that is, the angle of the camera relative to the subject.
  • Eye-Level
    This is the most common view, being the real-world angle that we are all used to. It shows subjects as we would expect to see them in real life. It is a fairly neutral shot.

  • High Angle
    A high angle shows the subject from above, i.e. the camera is angled down towards the subject. This has the effect of diminishing the subject, making them appear less powerful, less significant or even submissive.

  • Low Angle
    This shows the subject from below, giving them the impression of being more powerful or dominant.

  • Bird's Eye
    The scene is shown from directly above. This is a completely different and somewhat unnatural point of view which can be used for dramatic effect or for showing a different spatial perspective.

    In drama it can be used to show the positions and motions of different characters and objects, enabling the viewer to see things the characters can't.

    The bird's-eye view is also very useful in sports, documentaries, etc.

  • Slanted
    Also known as a dutch tilt, this is where the camera is purposely tilted to one side so the horizon is on an angle. This creates an interesting and dramatic effect. Famous examples include Carol Reed's The Third Man, Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and the Batman series.

    Dutch tilts are also popular in MTV-style video production, where unusual angles and lots of camera movement play a big part.

Technique and Concepts for Showreels

  • Kiss -> Keep it Simple Silly
  • Quality not Quantity.
  • Usage of sound in a showreel.
  • Discussions on showreel for various streams :- Modelling, Animation, SFX, VFX, Compositing etc.
  • Show reel not more than 2 or 3 minutes.
  • Best part shown first after that put the second best part.
  • Editing is also play a vital role in the show reel.

Role of a compositor

A compositor in any studio will be doing

  • Compositing (for blue/green or live shots u r going to use keying ,paint ,roto or tracking tools only so master it )
  • Wire Removal- Retouching (it may work in different combinations provided little logic)
    Few examples as well as tips for beginners If it is a still shot try to cut and paste the nearest related objects to the maximum extent to save time If there is some camera movement try to cut a portion of the single nearest frame and try to track according to the wire ….this will also save ur time Or do manually (so master the paint tool again)
  • Rotosplining - The main tool will applicable in any area so must to b good in this tool..
    Opticals – only for people with knowledge in cutlist not need for all compositors but try to learn this also..
  • Multiplication - again u r going to use keying, roto ,paint and track tool only here..
  • Morphing ,Warping – Morph tool only which will have tools inside like roto,deformations etc..
    Tracking and Stabilizing – going to use track ,keying roto and paint tools only
    Titling – Filters
  • Effects like particles, filter effects etc jobs only ( if anything else is there pls let me know also)

So in overall u r going to repeat the same tools in multiple areas …so if u have indepth knowledge about the tools to do the above mentioned ( only few unlilke 3d) that itself will be more enough to become a good compositor provided with good quality of outputs from u…This will come by practise only ….

Compositors:
To become a good compositor ,u need to specialize atleast two compositing softwares..Shake/Combustion is the ideal combination nowadays since all the studios are having these softwares.

Don’t learn without knowledge which is very important..Try to learn all the basic concepts of compositing which will be really helpful in interview point of view also..I am listing some tips for freshers to follow while doing the course which I think may help to some extent..
Whenever a compositing batch starts don’t let the faculty to start the softwares immediately..First ask him to teach the basics of compositing and its related areas..for example
Basics like
1. History of compositing
2. Difference between Film/Video and their resolutions…
3. File formats for films like Cineon,Rgb etc ,Video formats like Sgi,tiff,tga etc..
4. Scanners/recorders.. and the process of converting films to digital vice-versa…
5. Shooting techniques ..

Pre Production :

  • Concepts
  • Storyboard
  • Previz (Previous Visualization)
  • Animatics

Execution :
  • Modelling
  • Texturing
  • Rigging
  • Camera Placing / Tracking
  • Animation
  • Simulation
  • Lighting
  • Rendering

Post Production :
  • Composition
  • Editing

  • Rendering In 2D drawn animation: Rendering is the process of adding animated texture to artwork.
  • Rendering In CGI: Rendering is the process of out-putting a shot as a sequence of images and is the final stage of the computer production process.
  • Rotoscope (In 2D drawn animation): Rotoscope can be used to describe a technique which utilises live action 'trace-offs' as a style of animation
  • Rotoscoping (aka Tracing Off): In 2D drawn animation, Rotoscoping is the process of tracing off live action images, taking whatever is required from each frame. These 'trace-offs' can provide reference for movement or establish the points at which the animation interacts with, or matches to, the live action.
  • Rotoscoping (In CGI): Rotoscoping is the process of tracing elements of live action images - characters, objects or backgrounds - frame by frame. The tracing is done with a vector line in order to obtain a sharp, clean matte. Mattes are needed to allow the final images to be manipulated and composited without affecting the rest of the frame. The technique is also used to make changes and fix mistakes; eg. a live action character has been shot with a red hat but now it has to be changed to green. A Roto Artist can trace every frame of the hat to enable the Compositor to change the colour.
  • Rolling: Rolling four or five drawings between the fingers in order to view movement while drawings are anchored to the peg bar.
  • SECAM: Sequential Couleur a Memoire. French Television and Video format, also used in some Eastern European countries. Plays at 25 frames or 50 fields per second.
  • Scene or Shot? This can be a source of some confusion. In most, but not all, 2D drawn animation (including feature films, television series, shorts and commercials, etc), a scene is the footage between two cut points; the camera angle or amount of background usually changes with every scene. However, most CGI projects have adopted the live action interpretation of the word; a scene is the action that takes place in a single location and can be composed of several shots. So a shot can also be the footage between two cut points and there can be as many shots as are necessary to make up a scene. In this case, a scene usually takes place in a single environment but there may be several cuts (shots), changing angles, close-ups, long shots, etc.
  • Sequence (see also 'Scene or Shot?'): Animation has traditionally been made up of scenes and Sequences. A sequence is a section of the film, made up of as many scenes as are necessary to tell that section of narrative.
  • Singles (aka Ones): Creating one image for every frame, which means 24 frames per second for film projection or 25 frames per second for UK television. There can be several reasons for choosing to work on singles: if the action is very fast, or the camera is panning, or the lip synch is crucial, or the animation is matching to live action or CG backgrounds that are moving every frame. Animating on singles takes longer but produces smoother movement.
  • Slow in/Slow out: If starting a movement from a hold or a stop, it is likely that there will be a gradual increase in the speed of the action (Slow out) to overcome inertia. Equally, at the end of a movement, the action slows to a stop (Slow in) – unless the action is hitting something like a brick wall and has to stop instantly.
  • Squash and Stretch: Any animate object or character can contract and extend to enhance a performance, improve timing, give elasticity and, often, to create humour. The 'Squash' extreme is a flattened pose and the 'Stretch' extreme is the same form in an exaggeratedly extended pose. But the volume should remain constant. In most cases, an in-animate object will not squash and stretch unless there is an implication that the object is alive.
  • Stagger: Drawn or computer generated vibration
  • Stagger Cycle: A 'cycle' of drawings or images that give the impression of vibrating movement.
  • Straight Ahead: Animated movement created by a sequence of consecutive images as opposed to keys and inbetweens. Most often used for fast action.
  • Strobing: As a result of certain incorrect camera speed to image size ratios, a blurred effect is created. This is Strobing and usually occurs when the camera is panning. It can be seen in all forms of film. In animation, it is sometimes caused by panning the camera on 'singles' but animating the action on 'doubles'. A similar effect can be created by moving the camera in or out on 'singles' over action that has been animated on 'doubles'.
  • Threes: Creating one image to be exposed for three frames of film. This can be used when there is very little movement otherwise it can read as jerky animation.
  • Timing (used in the context of Animation): Timing relates to the number of images required to create an action. The more images per action, the slower that action will be; and, conversely, the fewer images there are, the faster the action will be.
  • Timing (used in the context of Direction and Planning): Timing relates to the structure of scene or sequence. It is what establishes action and performance, and paces the overall narrative.
  • Trace back: Any part of a drawing that has not moved from the previous pose is traced very accurately on to the next drawing(s). This is always 'traced back' from the first drawing in the sequence to make sure it remains as steady as possible. This is done when it is more practical to trace back rather than introduce an additional held level.
  • Tracing off (aka 'Rotoscoping'): Tracing elements of live action frames, either as reference or to define areas to which animation has to match.
  • Track Breakdown: The soundtrack is broken down by the Editing Department to let the animator know what sound is happening on each frame of film. This may include a phonetic breakdown for dialogue and a beat breakdown for music and sound effects if animation needs to synch to the soundtrack.
  • Track in or Track out (Truck in or Truck out in America): Moving the camera in or out.
  • Turnaround: A page of sample poses of a character or a prop, drawn from several positions of a 360 degree rotation.
  • Tweening: An abbreviation of Inbetweening, it refers to the middle pose or drawing between a breakdown and a key, or between two keys. More likely to be called Inbetweening in 2D drawn animation.

  • Facility House: Post-Production Company
  • Fettling: Trimming and making seams on models or puppets after the moulding process.
  • Field: In 2D drawn animation, the area of the drawing to be seen by the camera is referred to as the field size. The format of the field depends on the screen ratio at which the material is being shot.
  • Field: A very basic explanation for the meaning in video is that there are two fields for each frame of film. One field contains the odd scan lines of the frame, the other contains the even scan lines. When run at the correct speed, a complete image is seen. (UK television runs at 25 fps, i.e 50 fields per second; U.S. television runs at 30 fps, i.e. 60 fields per second).
    For images that originate from a film frame, the two fields appear identical to one another, because they are both captured from the same source frame. For images recorded as video, the two fields look different, representing different moments in time, recorded 1/50th second after one another. Moving images that are 'field based', and generated on video, will appear smoother when motion is present than those generated from film but can lack the texture of film.
  • Flipping: Holding a pile of drawings and flipping them repeatedly to check the animation prior to shooting a line test. Same principle as a flip book.
  • Follow through: Actions have a natural follow through. A follow through is the continuation of movement after the main action. For example, in tennis, after the player serves, the arm 'follows through' the arc of the movement, after the ball has been hit.
  • Fours: Creating one image to be exposed for four frames. This will create jerky animation. Four frames is the shortest number of frames that will be perceived as a hold so animation on fours can look like a series of short holds.
  • Fps: Frames per second
  • Frying: American for 'Boiling'.
  • Keys (aka Key Poses, Key Drawings or Extremes): The keys are the extreme drawings or images of an action, produced by the animator to create the structure of the animation.
    Leica Reel: Similar to an animatic. Effectively a filmed storyboard to demonstrate the composition of scenes and overall pace of the film. (Name originated because early story reels were shot on Leica cameras.)
  • Model sheet: A page of sample poses of a character or prop, giving character details and expressions.
  • Moving hold: Although there is no change in the movement, the image is redrawn to keep it alive.
  • Multiplane (Camera): A set up of layers of glass above a table that allows a rostrum camera to travel a significant distance, pulling focus as the camera 'tracks in'. This is used to achieve a feeling of depth, i.e. background, middle ground, foreground. A famous example of a Multiplane Shot is the opening scene of “Bambi”.
  • NTSC: National Television Standards Committee. N. America Television and Video format. Plays at 30 frames or 60 fields per second.
  • Overlap: Occurs when not everything is moving evenly so, for example, the clothes or hair carry on the momentum once the body has stopped moving.
  • PPE: Personal Protective Equipment. Use of such equipment is very important in Model Making and Stop Frame.
  • Paint Pop: When there is a paint mistake on a single frame, it creates a visual pop.
  • PAL: Phase Alternate Line. This is the UK TV and Video format. It also applies in some other European countries. Plays at 25 frames or 50 fields per second.
    Pegbar: A thin strip, usually made of metal, on which are fixed three pegs, one oblong on both sides of a central round one. This provides an accurate system of registration when working on punched paper.
  • Peg reinforcements: Animation paper can get worn being taken on and off the pegs regularly, so thin card or plastic reinforcements can be used to strengthen the punched holes in the paper. If the paper does not fit tightly on the pegs, the registration may not be good enough for certain accurate types of work.
  • Peg Strips: Strips of paper or card, often self adhesive, in which peg holes have been punched. These can be used to add peg holes to unpunched paper or to move pegs to an irregular position for a particular camera set up.
  • Off the Pegs: An animator is 'off the pegs' when the animation drawings are taken off the peg bar. This can make it easier to draw a breakdown or an inbetween in an accurate position between two other drawings. It can also make it easier for animators to control shapes and volumes because they can adjust the position of one drawing on top of another.
    Plates: Sometimes referred to as Background Plates, these are the background elements, usually live action, to which CGI or drawn animation, will be matched.

  • 3-2 pulldown: Digital process required to extend 24 'fps' to 30 'fps' when converting from 'PAL' to 'NTSC' for US viewing.
  • Accent: In timing a scene or shot, the most important action is called the accent. In animating, the most emphatic pose of an action is the accent. Both are often related to the soundtrack, eg. the downbeat of a conductor's baton.
  • Anticipation: A movement that anticipates a specific action, often in the opposite direction of the intended action. Eg. when a golf player is about to to hit the ball, the backswing anticipates the main action.
  • Arc: The path of an action. Most movement follows some kind of arc, as opposed to a straight line from A to B.
  • Aspect Ratio: The relationship of width to height of a film or video frame. Specific examples include: Standard Widescreen cinema format is 1.85:1; High Definition TV and Widescreen TV is 1.77:1 (or 16:9 width to height); Regular Television (aka Standard Academy) is 1.33:1 (or 4:3).
  • Bar Sheet: A chart marked up in frames and seconds on to which the 'track breakdown' can be transferred by the Editor. This is often used by the Director to plan scenes/shots.
  • Boiling: Movement of lines or fluctuating colour, sometimes a deliberate style but often due to inaccurate inbetweens or uneven application of colour.
  • Bouncing Ball: A preliminary animation exercise to study weight, timing and the basics of 'Squash and Stretch'.
  • Breakdown: The middle drawing or pose between two keys.
  • COSHH: Control of Substances Hazardous to Health. These regulations are very important in Model Making and Stop Frame.
  • Camera Shake: Vibration created by filming artwork or models with calibrated degrees of camera movement in alternating directions.
  • Clean up: Cleaning up or re-drawing the rough animation, referring to models sheets to ensure that the animation is 'on model', and preparing artwork for scanning or tracing.
  • Comp-ing: Compositing or combining various elements to create the final image.
  • Cycle: Continuous action created by repeating a sequence of drawings or images, typically used for walks and runs. Cycles are also used in Effects Animation, eg. rain, snow, flags, etc.; in fact, anything that is repeated action.
  • Describe the Curve (aka follow the arc): Follow a path of action. See 'Arc'
  • Dope Sheet (proper name: Exposure Sheet. aka: X Sheet or Worksheet): Chart used by Director and Animator to time out action, identifying the numbering of the animation and giving all instructions relating to action planning, animation levels, camera moves, exposures, etc. There is one Dope Sheet for each 'shot or scene'.
  • To Dope: To enter information on to a 'dope sheet'.
  • Double bounce: In a normal walk cycle, there is only one pose per step in a downward position. For a double bounce, there are two down poses per step which gives a syncopated type of movement. (e.g. Mickey Mouse.)

  • Life is what happens when you plan to do other things
  • Learn from the mistakes of others... you can't live long enough to make them all yourselves!!
  • A person should not be too honest. Straight trees are cut first and Honest people are screwed first." - Chanakya
  • "Even if a snake is not poisonous, it should pretend to be venomous." - Chanakya
  • "The biggest guru-mantra is: Never share your secrets with anybody. It will destroy you." - Chanakya
  • "There is some self-interest behind every friendship. There is no friendship without self-interests. This is a bitter truth." - Chanakya
  • "Before you start some work, always ask yourself three questions - Why am I doing it, What the results might be and Will I be successful. Only when you think deeply and find satisfactory answers to these questions, go ahead." - Chanakya
  • "As soon as the fear approaches near, attack and destroy it." - Chanakya
  • "Once you start a working on something, don't be afraid of failure and don't abandon it. People who work sincerely are the happiest." - Chanakya
  • "Education is the best friend. An educated person is respected everywhere. Education beats the beauty and the youth." - Chanakya
  • Nothing is "Impossible" in this World, As the word Impossible itself means "I M POSSIBLE"
  • Prosperity is only an instrument to be used, not a deity to be worshipped. - Calvin Coolidge
  • Failure comes only when we forget our ideals, objectives and principles. - Jawaharlal Nehru

Cel Animation

Drawings are made on transparent sheets (celluloid) which may then be laid on top of each other to combine characters and backgrounds


Stop Motion Animation

A model or puppet (shadow puppets were used in early stop motion) is shot a frame at a time, with tiny changes in position being made between each frame


Computer animation

Computers can be used to entirely create the shapes and colours of animated action, working from a series of mathematical codes, or they can be used to enhance hand-drawn characters.

Animation means, literally, to breathe life into some thing. A transformation is involved, what was still now moves. Here we explore its place in stimulating learning.

In the English language animation is mostly associated with the work of film makers. Illustrators create action from a series of images and we have the illusion of something living.

Animation is a very special media form. More than any other it allows the complete re-presentation of reality. As we move into the 21st century, and computer generated graphics, animation and live-action filming merge, we can be less and less sure of the 'true' nature of what we are seeing on screen. Animation has never been so powerful - nor so widely used. From computer games, to TVCs, to blockbuster movies, animation is used to fill in the gaps when reality simply doesn't look real enough.

Animation is the process of linking a series of slightly different drawings together to simulate movement. There are normally 24 frames per second in moving film, and the best animation (ie the most flowing and detailed) will use a different drawing for each of those 24 frames. Limited animation will move to a new drawing less frequently, and this results in a jerky image.

Animation is both time-consuming and costly to produce. For this reason, most of the animation made for television and film is produced by professorial studios. However, there are also many independent studios. In fact, there are many resources, such as lower-cost animation programs and distribution networks, that make the work of the independent animator much easier than it was in the past.

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