45. Animations

Dated: 14-07-2025

Another method of describing the concept of time is through the "three arrows of time"

Thermodynamic - can be seen operating when sugar dissolves in hot water.
Historical - a single celled organism evolves to produce more complex and varied species
Cosmological - the universe is expanding from a "big bang" in the past.

Timing for Tv Series

TV series often use limited animation to reduce costs, relying heavily on dialogue to drive the plot. Since animation is expensive and dialogue is cheaper, shows frequently use pre-recorded dialogue, which must remain mostly unchanged to preserve its dramatic impact. This means the overall timing of the animation is largely dictated by the dialogue. However, within these constraints, directors can adjust the non-dialogue portions of the film to improve pacing and impact. The available animation time is calculated by subtracting the total dialogue time from the total film length, allowing for creative flexibility in those remaining segments.

Limited Animation

On 24 frames per second, we try to use as much repeats as possible. A hold is also lengthened to reduce the number of drawings which need to be drawn. As a rule, no more than 6 drawings should be produced for one second of animation.

Full Animation

Full animation involves creating many drawings per second—up to all 24 frames—to achieve smooth, fluid motion. This process is costly and time-consuming, making it feasible mainly for TV commercials and feature-length animated films. Unlike live-action films, where extra footage can be shot and edited later, animation must be precisely planned in advance to avoid unnecessary work. Directors must pre-time every action so animators draw only what’s needed. While it's ideal to review line test loops during production for adjustments, limited animation often doesn't allow time for corrections, so the goal is to get it right the first time.

Timing for Animation in General

Timing in animation is a subtle and complex concept—like a melody, it only truly exists when experienced, not easily described in words. What works well in one mood or context may fail in another, making timing hard to define with rigid rules. The only real test is whether it works effectively on screen. This book encourages flexibility: if a better method achieves the desired effect, use it.

The focus is on classical or full animation timing, exploring how natural movement expresses ideas and emotions, and how these movements can be simplified or exaggerated for animation. While it’s impossible to cover all forms of timing, the goal is to provide a foundation rooted in nature to help animators use timing effectively in their work.

Animation Principles

Good timing in animation is what gives meaning and expression to movement. Simply creating motion between two positions isn’t enough—it’s not true animation unless the movement reflects the forces and motivations behind it.

In nature, nothing moves without a cause (as per Newton's first law). So, in animation, the focus isn’t just on how something moves, but why it moves—what forces, physical or psychological, drive that motion. For inanimate objects, it might be gravity; for characters, it could also involve muscle action, emotion, intent, or instinct.

To animate a character moving from A to B convincingly, an animator must consider:

Gravity pulling downward,
Body structure and muscles resisting gravity,
The character’s psychological motivation (e.g., fear, joy, aggression).

Unlike live actors who move naturally from habit, animators must deliberately simulate both weight and intent through drawings. Timing is crucial in both making objects feel physically real and making characters feel emotionally alive.

In early stages like storyboarding, timing also supports storytelling through the flow of visuals, editing, and camera movements, all of which contribute to how the audience experiences the story.

The Storyboard

A smooth visual flow is essential in any film, especially animation, where continuity relies on coordinating character actions, choreography, scene changes, and camera movement. These elements must work together to effectively convey the story and character behavior.

The storyboard acts as the blueprint of the film, providing the first visual representation and guiding major decisions about content and direction. Production should not begin until the storyboard is finalized and most creative and technical issues have been addressed.

There’s no fixed number of storyboard sketches required—it depends on the film's style and complexity. A general estimate is about 100 sketches per minute of film, though technically complex projects or TV commercials may require many more, due to frequent scene changes and faster pacing.

The Basic Unit of time in Animation

Timing in animation is based on the fixed projection speed of film and video. For film (16mm, 35mm, 70mm), the standard is 24 frames per second (fps). On television, it's typically 25 fps for PAL and 30 fps for NTSC, though the difference is usually not noticeable.

This frame rate forms the foundation of all timing decisions:

1 second = 24 frames (film)
0.5 seconds = 12 frames
and so on.

In single-frame animation, each frame requires a new drawing—24 drawings per second. In double-frame animation, each drawing is photographed twice, so only 12 drawings are needed per second, but the on-screen speed stays the same.

Regardless of the scene’s mood or pace—whether fast action or slow romance—timing is always measured in these fixed units (1/24, 1/25, or 1/30 of a second). A key skill for animators is developing an instinctive feel for what different frame durations (e.g. 3, 8, 12 frames) look like on screen through experience and practice.

Animation and Properties of Matter

The core question every animator must ask is: “What happens to this object when a force acts on it?” The quality of the animation depends on how convincingly this question is answered.

In nature, every object has weight, structure, and flexibility, so it responds uniquely to forces. Animation, however, uses weightless drawings, so to create believable movement, the animator must simulate the effects of weight and force—primarily through timing and positioning.

While some animation styles (like abstract or limited animation) focus on motion patterns, most animation draws on Newton's laws of motion, not in textbook terms, but in an intuitive way—through observation. For instance:

Objects gradually accelerate and decelerate.
Motion doesn't start or stop instantly—inertia and momentum affect behavior.

Good animation doesn't exaggerate weight itself but rather the tendency of weight to move in a certain way.

Timing has two key aspects:

Inanimate objects – These follow clear physical dynamics (e.g., how fast a door slams or a cloud drifts).
Living characters – These require both physical realism and psychological depth. The character must seem to think, decide, and act, as if motivated by will and muscle.

Ultimately, the illusion of life in animation comes from how well the animator makes still drawings respond—as if they had weight and were acted upon by real forces—with expressive, exaggerated timing.

Movement and Caricature

Most movement in the real world is caused by forces acting on matter, and we naturally interpret these movements to understand both the object’s properties and the forces involved. This applies to people and living things as well as inanimate objects.

An animator’s task is to recreate and exaggerate these movements to make them look natural within the cartoon medium, which thrives on caricature. In animation, both the subject and the forces acting on it are caricatured—pushed beyond realism to enhance clarity, humor, or drama.

Cartoon animation is not meant to mimic real life exactly; instead, it simplifies and exaggerates real motion. Naturalistic movement often appears weak or dull in this context. For effective animation:

Study how real matter behaves,
Identify the essential elements of its movement,
Then exaggerate those elements for maximum effect.

With experience, animators develop a feel for how to balance caricature, humor, and drama, using timing and exaggeration to communicate the intended emotional or narrative impact.

Examples

Rope Wrapped around an Object

Newton's Laws of Motion

Balloon Flicking

Fast Run Cycles

Timing and Music

Since the earliest animations like Disney’s Steamboat Mickey and Fischinger’s Hungarian Dances, it has been clear that animation and music share a strong connection. This bond exists for two main reasons:

Both have a mathematical foundation and progress at a fixed speed.
Animation, created frame by frame, can be precisely synchronized to music, capturing its rhythm, mood, and beats with exact timing.

While it's easier to match beats—since they're based on measured, repeatable time units (bars and frames)—it's more challenging to reflect the mood of a musical piece. Once beats are mapped to frame counts (e.g., 36 frames per waltz beat, 4 for fast rock), animators can plan motion accordingly.

Effective musical animation often involves the whole body moving in sync with the beat, not just isolated actions like foot movements. For very fast rhythms (3–6 frame beats), hitting every second beat can maintain rhythm without overwhelming the animation.

Ideally, animation should be timed to specially prepared music, which allows for precise synchronization and better expressive control.

Camera Movements

Tracks in animation are camera movements used to zoom in (move closer) or zoom out (pull back) on a scene. This is achieved by moving the camera frame by frame along its vertical column, while the field center (the visible area of the frame) also moves horizontally, done by shifting the table beneath the camera.

Here’s a summary of the track and table move process:

The director plans the overall timing, field sizes, and scene content on bar sheets.
The animator finalizes the movement, converting it into precise instructions for the cameraman on the exposure chart, noting:
- Field sizes
- Start and stop frames
- A drawn field key showing field centers
The cameraman then:
- Moves the camera vertically for the track.
- Moves the table in the opposite direction to match horizontal movement.
- Divides the movement (both table and camera) evenly over the number of frames to ensure smooth motion.

For example, if the screen center moves southeast, the table must move northwest. This ensures the subject appears to track smoothly.

Tilted movements can also be added as table moves and are planned similarly.

All these movements—camera and table—are usually done on single frames for smoother and more precise animation.

Key components involved:

A. Exposure sheet with camera instructions.
B. Field key showing track path.
C. Enlarged path for dividing smooth motion.
D. Complex move including tilt.

In short, tracks and table moves are carefully choreographed between the director, animator, and cameraman to create precise, fluid zooms and pans within animated scenes.