Midterm - Important Terms

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automata

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Mechanized puppet designed to automatically perform a small task, such as writing a short note. A precursor to stop-motion puppets.

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chromatrope

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Small device used for entertainment. Colorful transparent slides blend together to display a moving array of color.

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cutout

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Paper figures that were cut out into pieces and moved around to be used for puppet shows, as film puppets, or for stop motion films.

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film stock

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Paper/celluloid sheets used in animation

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flexible film base

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Film strips or celluloid film stock used for ease in display of film/animation

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flipbook

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a series of drawn (or photographed) images bound in a book to display a motion/animation

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frame

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a single image in a sequence of images that compose an animation/film

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linear

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invention of animation/motion display that proceeded as a single sequence (such as a flip book) as opposed to static or cyclical (such as a thaumatrope or zoetrope)

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magic lantern

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a type of early 1900s theater show that employed projection and cutouts. Became a precursor to film/animation theater.

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medium

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the method/materials used to create and display an animation or film

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motion capture

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the use of photography or film to analyze a motion, usually broken down with a high frame rate per second (slow motion)

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narrative

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A type of display that has a story and characters, revolutionized film and animation in the early 1900s

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phantasmagoria

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use of light display/lantern shows to convey a "haunted" or "supernatural" theater experience in the early 1910s

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phenakistoscope

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Following the thaumatrope, two disks parallel to each other, one with slits and the other with a sequence of images. the disks are spun and, by looking through the slits, a short, cyclical animation can be seen.

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praxinoscope

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Similar to the zoetrope, except instead of seeing the cyclical animation through slits, the animation is viewed with angled mirrors in the middle of the drum.

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single-plate chromatography

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A technique of motion capture where a figure's entire sequence of motion is captured on the same photographic plate.

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stereoscopy

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A technique in photography by Etienne-Jules Marey that used a dual-image capture device to create the first 3-dimensional imagery (illusions).

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thaumatrope

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A device thought to be a primitive example of the idea of animation, where two images were placed back to back on a small card, with two strings attached at opposing ends. When the device was spun, the two images were connected to form a single scene. This (incorrectly) offered support for the (incorrect) theory of 'The Persistence of Vision'

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zoetrope

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Following the phenakistoscope, a drum-like device with slits on the rim, and below the slits, a sequence of images. When the drum is spun, and by looking through the slits, a short, cyclical animation can be seen.

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framing story

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A story, sometimes done in film, to establish the purpose of an animation. For example, Winsor McCay created the animation for Gertie the Dinosaur to follow up a framing story

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genre

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The type or mood of a narrative or peice

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hand of the artist

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A technique in animation, derived from the lightning sketch format, where the artist's hand appears to be drawing and interacting with the characters in a piece

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hand-coloring

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A special effects technique in the early days of film where film strips were painted manually for a color presentation

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intertitles

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In the silent era of film (pre 1930) dialogue was displayed between segments of film/animation

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lightning sketch

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A type of performance origination from vaudeville acts where the performing artist swiftly draws, and redraws an image as a means of interactive performance. The 'lightning sketch' formula was present in many early animations

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live action

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Film that depicts real life straight from live recording of events

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melodrama

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A type of story that employs drama and theatrical storytelling

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minature

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Small sets that were designed and constructed for use as a background in animation or for special effects in film.

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nickelodeon

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a short cinema performance (usually) costing 5 cents (a nickel)

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reversed footage

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An early cinema film effect where frames of a sequence were reversed and then repeated to extend a sequence or action

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scratch and paint

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a method of early cinema where film strips were colored/scratched in order to create color film/special effects

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set

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a constructed area to provide a background/performance area for film/animation

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short

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a short (usually animated) movie typically lasting under 10 minutes

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silent era

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Era of film and animation from roughly 1900-late 1920s where movies were presented without synchronized sound on film

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special effects

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edits/manipulations of film that create imagery that can not be filmed

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stop-motion

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A method of animation where a film/animation is composed one frame at a time, manually moving figures frame by frame to perform an action

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trick film

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film that was used to present magical tricks, popularized in ~1910s. For example magicians would make things appear/disappear by pausing the filming and moving something in the frame before resuming the recording process.

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caricature

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An exaggerated presentation of a person or figure

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cel

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a transparent sheet used in animation, developed in the early 1910s to make animation more efficient by removing the need to redraw an entire scene in a animation

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cycle

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A motion or sequence that repeats

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distribution/distributor

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The business method by which animations and films are taken from the production studios and sold and distributed to theaters for viewing

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patent

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The method by which a studio or person can claim a legal right to ownership of business practice or idea

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peg-and-perf system

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a system of animation that used pegs to orient frames for better accuracy and efficiency during the production process

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personality animation

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animation whose primary objective was the display of a personality of a character, rather than simply displaying motion. McCay's 'Gertie the Dinosaur' or his 'How a mosquito operates' were early examples of this.

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rotoscope

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An animation technique by which realistic movement was captured on film and transferred on to animation frames, invented by Max Fleischer of the Fleischer Bros

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rubber-hose style

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Style of early animation (~1920-30s) where limbs and appendages were drawn as "rubber hose-like" curves rather than realistically straight and jointed

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slash-and-tear system

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A process of animation where layers of paper were used and cut away to reveal the moving area of the image. Developed by Barre studio to provide an alternative to the cel system that was patented by Bray

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squash and stretch

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A principle of animation where a figure or character is animated in an exaggerated way to suggest weight and force.

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block-booking

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Type of business-minded distribution by which a studio would bundle together an entire year's worth of output as a single package, forcing theaters to buy the whole package even if they just wanted one of the animations.

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cel washer

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A studio employee who's job was to wash transparent animation cels for re-use

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drawn animation

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animation that is drawn by hand (as opposed to cutouts, stop motion, ect)

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feature

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An animation of film length (roughly an hour to 70 minutes)

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hold

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A technique in animation where still pieces of a scene are reused for each frame creating a 'hold'. A 'moving hold' is similar, but instead employs a repeating cycle of images so that the figure is in constant motion.

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ink and painter

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A worker in an animation studio who is responsible for taking roughs and inking and painting them so they are ready for the final animation

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silhouette

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A figure that is black/not filled in with details but has a distinctive and recognizable outline to it's shape

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sound-on-film technology

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A type of film that allowed for sound to be synchronized with moving pictures (revolutionized in the early 1930s)

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state's rights distribution

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Type of distribution whereby studios sold their films/animation to an agent that took them from state to state to be shown and multiple theaters

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synchronized sound

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Sound that was designed to correspond in lock-step with an animation or film

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absolute film

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Film that seeks to transcend the use of film to present real life in an effort to display moods, thinking, emotion, and non-visual experiences, for which there is no visual parallel in nature.

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abstract

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a type of art or artistic style that seeks to represent moods/emotions/thoughts/ideas over realistic display

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collage

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use of cutouts or pieces of visuals combined to created a new image or to enhance a mood

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counterpoint

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A movement in music where two melodies were played against each other to enhance a mood or create conflict in the music

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direct film

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Method of abstract film/animation where images are created directly on filmstrips

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dissonace

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A incongruity that occurs when two sounds or images or ideas conflict with eachother

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expressionism

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A movement in art taking place in the early 1900s where art moved from realism to more abstract and emotionally expressive methods imagery

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kinetic art

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art that was designed for movement or to be seen in a sequence that often produced an animation

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modernism

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a movement in western art where artists moved from traditional realistic approaches in favor of more immediate and subjective forms of experience

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montage

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a series of scenes cut together to convey a mood or passage of time, coined by Sergei Eisenstein, a Russian filmmaker

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morphing

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a process of (usually drawn) animation where a figure's lines morph into another figure

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pin screen

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A tool/method of animation where screens are back-lit and an array of pins are adjusted to let certain amounts of light through, creating an image/frame

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multiplane

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A type of camera for animation with multiple planes developed to create 3D perspective effects in 2D animation

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synesthesia

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A neurological disorder where certain stimuli are presented with an additional, unusual perception response (for example, certain numbers may appear to be certain colors: 2s are red, 3s are blue)

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visual music

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Animation that was intended to create a visual display to represent music or sounds

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Big Five

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5 Major film production studios on the west coast in the 1910s: Loew's Inc/MGM, Paramount pictures, Warner Bros, Fox Film corp, and RKO radio productions.

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Little Three

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Three studios on the west coast that were important, but not apart of the big five: universal pictures, columbia pictures, and United artists.

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in-betweener

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a worker in a animation studio who is responsible for filling in the animated sequences between key frames

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pencil test

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A development by Disney studios in the 1930s where unfinished, pencil-only, animations were compiled and tested to see how the movement and sequence was working

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pre-production

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A development pioneered by Disney Studios where planning and story development took place before the animation production began.