The Teachers' Animation Toolkit

Feature:
Any fi lm running over 60 minutes.
Film:
The material on which images can be recorded. Also the term 
we use to suggest the kind of narrative and aesthetic experience 
that tends to centre on characters experiencing dilemmas and 
emotional and intellectual problems that the audience is invited 
to relate to. We still use the word ‘fi lm’ when referring to making 
projects using video.
Focus:
By focusing through an adjustment of the camera lens the 
fi lmmaker can control the degree to which the image you are 
showing is absolutely clear and sharp. It may be that you want an 
image to be out of focus initially and then to come into focus for a 
particular effect and reason.
Frame:
The frame is the border of an image. Framing refers to the 
composition of a shot, and what it includes. If you frame the 
image as a wide shot, for example, this indicates to your 
fi lmmaking colleagues that the image will contain a lot of varied 
information because we get some kind of ‘overall’ view of a 
setting and action and the characters in it. If you frame a shot as 
a close-up, your colleagues will know that the shot is about the 
detail of a face, an object, an event or a place.
Genre:
This is the term we use to defi ne, identify and classify narrative 
fi lms. Genres cross both live action and animated fi lms. Genres 
are comprised of repeating character types, situations, motifs, 
themes and visual styles. Genre also embodies the values of a 
culture and can change over time. Genres fuse and mix with one 
another so that, for example, we have the romantic-comedy or 
the science fi ction western. Genres are a quick and easy way to 
indicate to your audience the kind of story they will watch. If you 

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Glossary of Terms
say that it is a comedy people will have some idea of what to 
expect, for example. Live: occurring in real time, not recorded.
Key Frame:
The major points of movement in animation–see also Richard 
Williams’ book 
The Animator’s Survival Handbook
.