← Animation Glossary

Staging

Staging in animation is the process of setting up the scene. It's when the animator decides where to place the characters, objects, and backgrounds in a scene. It's the same thing a movie director does when deciding where the actors will stand and what props they will use in a scene.

Staging in animation is an art that requires careful planning and execution. The placement and movement of characters, objects, and elements within the scene can make or break the entire animation. Effective staging is critical for an animation to be impactful and engaging as it helps the audience to understand what is happening on screen.

Camera angles are an important element of staging as they determine how the scene is viewed by the audience. Different camera angles can be used to highlight important elements or convey emotions. For example, a close-up shot can be used to show the expressions on a character’s face during an emotional moment, while a wide shot can be used to show the entire scene and provide context.

Lighting is another essential element of staging as it creates atmosphere and mood in a scene. The use of light and shadow can help to emphasize certain details or characters, creating depth and adding visual interest to the animation. For instance, a bright light shining on a character can indicate that they are important or powerful, while dim lighting can create a sense of mystery or suspense.

Composition refers to how characters and objects are placed within a scene. It involves determining their size, position, and placement in relation to each other. This helps to create balance and harmony within the scene, making it aesthetically pleasing to the eye. For example, placing characters on opposite sides of the screen can create a sense of conflict or tension between them.

Blocking is perhaps the most important element of staging as it involves planning out the movement of characters and objects within a scene. It ensures that their motion flows naturally and effectively conveys the story. Good blocking can help to create dynamic action sequences or emotional moments that resonate with the audience. For instance, carefully choreographed fight scenes can be thrilling to watch, while slow and deliberate movements can create a sense of calm or reflection.

Effective staging is critical for an animation to be impactful and engaging. It involves determining the most effective way to visually communicate the story and emotions to the audience through camera angles, lighting, composition, and blocking. By carefully planning and executing these elements, animators can create animations that are not only aesthetically pleasing but also emotionally resonant.

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

Icon for Brush Ninja: Online Animation Maker Brush Ninja Online Animation Maker
Icon for Paint Ninja: Draw and Paint Online Paint Ninja Draw and Paint Online
Icon for Code Ninja: Make Art with Code Code Ninja Make Art with Code
Icon for Emoji Art: Make Emoji Art Emoji Art Make Emoji Art
Icon for Photo Collage: Make Photo Collages Photo Collage Make Photo Collages
Icon for Comic Maker: Make Comics Comic Maker Make Comics