The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

Recorded:
Videos record images; recording sound etc.
Registration:
Animation process, aligning each image.
Release:
The moment when a fi lm is available to be viewed by an audience 
either at a cinema or equivalent or online.
Representation:
This is the way in which narratives in fi lm and literature show the 
audience particular subjects in specifi c ways that relate to a range 
of issues and conditions in which a fi lm has been made. For 
example, the way that women are represented in fi lms from 50 
years ago is different to how they are represented now.
Rotoscope:
A device that projects live-action, fi lm, 1 frame at a time, onto 
a glass surface below. When drawing paper is placed over the 
glass the animator can trace off the live action images in order to 
get realistic movement.
Rotoscoping:
Rotoscoping is the act of fi lming live-action reference footage, for 
example of somebody walking along, and then tracing a drawn 
image over it which is then used as an ‘animated’ element. The 
use of rotoscoping in animation might be regarded as resulting 
in an image that is not authentically and fully animated but has 
instead been traced. Rotoscoping has been a part of animation 
production since the earliest days. The Fleischer Studio in 
New York city in the 1920s produced 
Out of the Inkwell 
series 

---

168
Glossary of Terms
using rotoscoping and the Disney studio used it occasionally 
in their production of 
Snow White
. The most current version of 
rotoscoping is the form of cinema called performance capture, 
which is the technology that has been used for the production of 
fi lms such as 
The Polar Express
and 
Beowulf
.
Script:
The script is the document that details the structure of a story 
for realization as a fi lm. The script typically works out at a page 
per minute of screen time. Dialogue and action usually form the 
basis of a script. A script can be more or less detailed depending 
on the requirement. The script serves as the basis for the budget 
and schedule and these three documents should always work 
together when producing a project.
Script writer:
The person, or persons, responsible for taking a concept and 
developing into a detailed rendition of the story idea using 
dialogue and action. The scriptwriter might also be the producer 
and director but will often not be and so will work in collaboration 
with the producer and director to defi ne their intentions.
Sequence:
A series of scenes that are unifi ed by a common point. We 
could talk of the opening sequence of a fi lm which establishes 
characters, settings, plot etc.
Short:
A short fi lm, usually up to around 30 minutes, but typically 5 to 15 
minutes. The term also suggests a certain kind of story and way 
of telling it. Animation and the short format have a strong history.
Shot:
A single uninterrupted take in a fi lm; could be long, mid or 
close-up, static or moving, live action or animated, with or without 
human presence etc.
Showreel:
A collection of clips that showcase highpoints in a fi lmmaker or 
studio’s work.

---

Glossary of Terms