Animation, Video & Sequential Storytelling

Time-Based Media & Electronic Art

Time-based media encompass visual art forms where temporal duration, sequential progression, and kinetic movement constitute fundamental structural elements of the work.

Animation Principles and Mechanics

• Apparent Motion: Animation presents successive still images at intervals that the visual system perceives as movement. The familiar phrase persistence of vision is not a complete scientific explanation of cinematic motion; apparent-motion processing and continuity cues are essential.
• Frame Rates:
  • 24 fps (Frames Per Second): The historical international cinematic standard established for sound film, providing natural, lifelike motion blur and fluidity.
  • 30 fps (or 29.97 fps): The North American NTSC broadcast television and consumer video standard.
  • 12 fps ("Shooting on Twos"): In traditional hand-drawn 2D animation, artists frequently create 12 unique drawings per second of screen time, displaying each drawing for two consecutive frames on a 24 fps playback timeline. This balances fluid visual performance with hand-drawn production efficiency. High-velocity action scenes are animated "on ones" (24 unique drawings per second).
• Core Animation Methodologies:
  • Stop-Motion: Tactile, physical animation where dimensional figures (clay armatures, articulated puppets, paper cutouts) are physically repositioned by miniscule increments and captured one frame at a time.
  • Rotoscoping: Invented by Max Fleischer in 1915, this technique involves tracing live-action film footage frame-by-frame to generate realistic, fluid figurative movement in animated form.
  • Keyframing and In-Betweening: Keyframes establish the critical start, peak, and terminal positions of an action. Intermediate transitional drawings—termed "in-betweens" or tweens—fill the temporal progression between keyframes. In digital animation software, tweening is calculated dynamically via mathematical interpolation.
  • Onion Skinning: A software display feature that renders ghosted, semi-transparent overlays of preceding and succeeding frames beneath the current active frame, allowing the animator to judge spatial spacing, timing, and kinetic continuity.

Digital Video Basics

• Resolution Standards: Common digital video formats are defined by their horizontal and vertical pixel dimensions:
  • 1080p (Full HD): $1920 \times 1080$ pixels (the 'p' signifies progressive scan, where every horizontal line is drawn sequentially in each frame).
  • 4K UHD (Ultra High Definition): $3840 \times 2160$ pixels, offering four times the total pixel count of Full HD at the same image dimensions.
• Aspect Ratios: The proportional relationship between image width and height. Classic television utilized a 4:3 ratio; modern standard widescreen video utilizes 16:9; cinematic widescreen typically adopts 2.39:1; and mobile social platforms frequently use vertical 9:16 formats.
• Storyboarding: The essential pre-production workflow in time-based media. Storyboards consist of sequential graphic panels arranged in comic-strip fashion with written scene descriptions, dialogue, camera framing instructions (close-up, wide shot), and kinetic direction arrows, serving as the visual blueprint for production.

Plan time as part of the artwork

A storyboard gives a sequence a visual structure before filming. Decide what information a viewer needs at the beginning, how the image changes, and where the action ends. A wide shot can establish a place, a medium shot can show interaction, and a close-up can emphasize a gesture or detail. These are available choices, not fixed emotional codes. Compare two arrangements and explain how the sequence affects interpretation.

For a stop-motion exercise, a class plans 10 seconds at 12 captured images per second. It needs 120 images, since 10 × 12 = 120. If each image is displayed twice on a 24-fps timeline, playback still lasts ten seconds. A six-image walk-cycle repeated twenty times supplies 120 displayed source images, but repetition should support the artistic purpose rather than conceal an incomplete narrative.

Timing differs from spacing. Holding a pose for more frames changes duration; moving an object a greater distance between frames changes apparent speed. Keep lighting and camera placement consistent when continuity matters. Secure the camera and use a remote trigger or timer to reduce unintended bumps. Record a short test before making the whole sequence.

Editing joins images and sound into a controlled experience. A cut can move directly to a new view; a dissolve can suggest transition; either can also be used experimentally. Review whether a change communicates the intended relationship. Add captions or other appropriate access features, credit source material, and follow the school’s rules for recording and publishing students. Storyboard, rough cut, feedback and revision provide assessable evidence beyond the final file.

Diagnose a sequence before adding effects

A student makes a stop-motion clip of a paper bird crossing the frame, but its position jumps unpredictably and the room brightness changes every few frames. Ask for the contact sheet or frame timeline. Uneven distance between successive positions explains the motion jumps; changing illumination explains flicker. Adding a decorative transition will not correct either cause. Mark consistent positions or deliberately planned acceleration, stabilize lighting, and reshoot a short test. If a jump cut is an intentional expressive choice, document that intent and judge whether the audience understands it. Technical correction serves the communication goal rather than imposing uniform smoothness on every artwork.