The Language Of Animation

1.Settings & Props：

• Setup and location play an important role in movies and animations.
• Scenarios are either built from scratch or spend a lot of time finding scenarios that already exist.
• Scenarios can manipulate the audience by establishing specific expectations and then act differently

2.Costume, Hair &Make Up

Clothing, hair, and makeup can be instant indicators of our characters’ personality, status, and work.

3.Facial ExpressionsBody Language

• Facial expressions clearly indicate how someone is feeling
• Body language can also indicate how one character feels about another, or can reflect their relationship status

4.Lighting and Colour

• To highlight important characters or objects within the frame 
• To make characters look mysterious by shading sections of the face & body 
• To reflect a characters mental state

Light：

Low Key Lighting

High Key Lighting

Natural lighting

Colour and Film：

cold color, color contrasts, cooler or warmer

5.Positioning of characters/objects within the frame

• Positioning within a frame draws our attention to an important character/object
• Animators can use positioning to represent relationships between people.

Depth-of-field：Deep Focus, Shallow Focus

9 Types of Shot:

• Extreme Close Up (ECU)
• Close Up (CU)
• Medium Close-Up (MCU)
• Mid-Shot (MS)
• Long Shot (LS)
• Extreme long shot
• A one-shot
• A two-shot
• A group shot
• High angle shot
• Low angle shot
• Point of View Shot (POV)
• Moving Shots