← Animation Glossary

Aspect Ratio

The aspect ratio is the shape of a picture, like how tall and wide it is. It's important in animation because it helps to make sure everything fits on the screen and looks good. Think of it like a puzzle piece - if it's too big or too small, it won't fit with the other pieces. The most common aspect ratio for movies and TV shows is 16:9, which means the picture is 16 units wide and 9 units tall.

Aspect ratio is an essential aspect of animation that can have a significant impact on the final product’s overall look and feel. In animation, aspect ratio refers to the relationship between the width and height of the animation frame and is usually expressed as a ratio such as 4:3 or 16:9. Choosing the appropriate aspect ratio is crucial in creating an optimized animation that suits its intended display format.

The aspect ratio of an animation can significantly affect how a scene looks and feels. For example, a wider aspect ratio like 16:9 can give animators more space to showcase scenic landscapes or panoramic shots. This can be useful in creating an immersive experience for viewers by allowing them to take in more visual information at once. On the other hand, a narrower aspect ratio like 4:3 may be better suited for close-ups or portraits, allowing animators to focus on important details without overwhelming the audience with too much visual information.

One common aspect ratio used in modern animation is 16:9, which has become increasingly popular due to its compatibility with modern devices like smartphones, laptops, and TVs. However, it’s important to note that not all animations are created equal, and choosing the right aspect ratio largely depends on the content being created.

For instance, traditional hand-drawn animations often have a 4:3 aspect ratio since it was widely used during the era of analog TV sets. On the other hand, digital animations created for modern devices may require a wider aspect ratio like 16:9 or even 21:9 to ensure optimal viewing experiences across different devices.

Moreover, some animators may choose non-standard aspect ratios to create unique visual experiences. For example, an animator may opt for a square aspect ratio instead of a rectangular one to create an Instagram-friendly animation that looks great on social media.

The aspect ratio of a video is most clearly visible when watching a movie at home, since Cinema screens often have very different ratios to home televisions. When you watch these movies at home you will get black bars at the top and bottom of the screen. Older movies and television had a squarer ratio and this introduces black bars at the sides of the screen.

In addition to determining the overall look and feel of an animated scene, choosing the right aspect ratio can also impact the animation’s budget and production timeline. For example, a wider aspect ratio may require more time and resources to render since there is more visual information to process. Therefore, animators must carefully consider the aspect ratio and its impact on their production workflow.

Animation Terms

2

2D Animation

3

3D Animation

A

Alpha Channel

Ambient sound

Animation

Anti-Aliasing

Anticipation

Aspect Ratio

B

Bezier Curve

Bitmap

Blue Screen

Bone Animation

Bounce

Broadcast Standards

C

Camera Angle

Camera Shake

Casting

Cel Animation

Character Animation

Character Design Sheets

Cinematic lighting

Claymation

Clean-up

Close-up

Color Correction

Color Grading

Compositing

Composition

Concept Art

Continuity editing

Cross-cutting

Cut

Cutout nimation

D

Depth of Field

Dialogue

Dissolve

Distributed Rendering

Dolby Atmos

Dope Sheet

Dutch Angle

E

Easing

Emitter

Exaggeration

Eyedropper

F

Foley

Follow through

Forward Kinematics

Frame Rate

Frame

Framing

Freeze Frame

G

Ghosting

GIF File Format

Golden Ratio

Graph Editor

H

High key lighting

Hue and Saturation

I

Inertia

Infographic Animation

Inverse Kinematics

J

Joint

JPEG File Format

Jump cut

K

Keyframe Interpolation

Keyframe

Kinetic typography

L

Layers

Lens distortion

Level of Detail

Lighting

Line of action

Lip syncing

Low key lighting

M

Match cut

Matte painting

Montage

Morphing

Motion blur

Motion capture

Motion graphics

Motion path

Motion trail

Mouth shapes

MP3 File Format

MP4 File Format

N

Network rendering

Non-linear editing

O

Occlusion culling

Onion skinning

Overlapping action

P

Pan

Parallel rendering

Particle system

Persistance of Vision

Phonemes

Playback speed

Plot

PNG File Format

Pose-to-pose animation

Props

Puppet animation

R

Render farm

Rendering

Resolution

Rigging

Rotoscoping

Rule of thirds

Run cycle

S

Safe zone

Scene

Score

Screenplay

Script

Shot

Silhouette

Skeletal animation

Slow Motion

Smears

Sound Design

Sound effects

Soundtrack

Special Effects

Split screen

Squash and Stretch

Staging

Stop Motion Animation

Storyboard

Straight-ahead Animation

T

Time Remapping

Timeline

Timing

Title Card

Title Sequence

Tracking shot

Tweening

V

Vector graphics

Visemes

Voice acting

Voice-over Narration

W

Walk cycle

WebM File Format

Weighting

Wide shot

Z

Z-depth

Zoom

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