← Animation Glossary

Playback speed

Playback speed is how fast or slow an animation plays.

Playback speed is a fundamental aspect of animation that can make the difference between a stunning and engaging piece, and a choppy, unappealing one. The rate at which frames are played back in sequence to create the illusion of movement is referred to as fps (frames per second), and it is crucial for animators to pay close attention to this metric.

At higher fps rates, animations will appear smoother and more fluid as there are more frames per second to convey motion. On the other hand, lower fps rates will cause the animation to appear jerky or choppy, as there are fewer frames per second being displayed. As such, it is important for animators to choose an appropriate fps rate for their animations based on the desired output quality.

In addition to choosing the appropriate fps rate during initial production, playback speed can also be adjusted during the editing process. This adjustment can help achieve specific storytelling or artistic goals, such as when creating slow-motion effects or speeding up footage for comedic effect.

One common use for adjusting playback speed is in creating slow-motion effects. This technique involves reducing the fps rate of certain sequences of frames, resulting in an elongation of time and a feeling of suspended motion. This technique can be used to great effect in action scenes where every detail needs to be highlighted or emotional moments where time seems to slow down.

In Brush Ninja slow motion can be done by adjusting the duration of individual frames. If you only want slow motion for a few frames this can be better than changing the fps rate for the whole animation.

On the other hand, speeding up footage can be used for comedic effect or to convey a sense of urgency or excitement. By increasing the playback speed, animators can create a sense of rapid movement that can add energy and momentum to their work.

Another technique that can be used with playback speed is animating on β€œtwos” or β€œthrees”. Animating on twos involves displaying each frame twice (or every second frame) while animating on threes involves showing each frame three times (or every third frame). This technique can reduce the number of drawings required while still maintaining a smooth animation.

Playback speed is a crucial aspect of animation that animators must pay close attention to during production and editing. Choosing an appropriate fps rate and adjusting playback speed for artistic or storytelling purposes can greatly enhance the quality of an animation and help achieve specific goals. By utilizing techniques such as slow-motion, speeding up footage, or animating on twos or threes, animators can create engaging and visually appealing animations that captivate their audience.

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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