Conducting Frames In Animated Movies

The number of frames in an animated movie depends on how fast the film is shot. If the movie is not going very quickly, then there are more frames to show the same amount of time.

This is because it takes longer for the camera to move down, sideways, up and back again than it does to stay still for a shorter period of time. This results in your watch being able to see more of the next frame before the moving camera gets there.

There are some things you can do to have faster paced animations like what we discussed earlier! But unfortunately, that isn’t always possible so it is best to just work with what you got.

That way everyone will be able to enjoy the speed of the animation, even if it is not totally smooth.

Second frame

The second or what some refer to as the “second frame” of an animated movie is usually just a brief, static image that ties into the first frame. It is not like a normal frame where there is an action occurring within it.

In the case of some movies, this second frame can be quite elaborate and flashy. For example, during the opening credits of Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 2, there are several different scenes used for each of the main characters. There is one scene per character which includes their name, house they belong to, and then a short flashback of them performing an action.

These flashbacks take up around a minute of the two-minute long credit sequence, making the whole thing feel very deliberate. This is because the audience needs to get familiar with these characters before the story actually begins.

The same goes for The Lion King, where we see Simba slowly walking towards his father who has been eating while he was away. He comes close enough to make eye contact and when you do, you see him looking at his dad with wonder.

This creates more of a sense of urgency because you want to know what will happen next! Because the lion cub clearly looks hungry, his father assumes he wants food and starts preparing lunch. At this point, you already understand these characters and how they relate to each other, so you are invested in the story.

Third frame

The third or middle frame is usually considered to be the longest, as it can take up to eight minutes of runtime. This is because it typically contains only one shot of the movie’s main character.

In our example, this would be Chris (the main character) walking towards his car after leaving work.

Since it takes so long for the audience to process what was shown in the first two frames, we get some time to analyze who he is, what he does, and why he is going home.

This gives us enough time to understand his emotions, which are clearly visible through his facial expressions.

So although there may not be much happening in the third frame, you should pay attention to everything about the person being depicted.

It’s like listening to a story; you have to focus on both content and form to enjoy it fully.

Fourth frame

The fourth or final frame of any given sequence is often overlooked when talking about animated movies, but it’s an important part of the movie you’re watching! This article will talk more in depth about what the fourth frame is used for, how to identify one, and some examples.

The first three frames of a scene are usually considered its “shot”. A shot is just a way of organizing time into discrete chunks within a narrative film.

A lot of times, shots become very long and there’s a reason for that. For example, a lot of films will have a few minutes of action before the next little bit happens. So instead of having a short break between those two events, the writer will create a longer break so that we can spend extra time inside the mind-set of the characters during the second event.

This is why scenes with lots of dialogue typically have a much longer third person cut than ones without many lines. We get to watch the character process their thoughts while listening to what they say next.

Fifth frame

The fifth frame is often overlooked when talking about animated movies, but it’s an essential part of the movie you watch. This frame comes just before the end of the film and usually includes some sort of conclusion or reflection on what happened during the movie.

This can be something like where the character leaves the setting, or someone else arrives at a location for a scene, but it can also be something more narratively complex.

In Zootopia, there is a very important fifth frame that happens right after Nick and Judy meet each other for the first time. In this frame, we see them walking away from each other with nervous looks on their faces. Then, they turn around to look at each other one last time, making it clear how much impact the meeting had on both of them.

That final shot really sets up the rest of the movie and creates a nice flow between the two scenes that happen later in the movie.

Sixth frame

Another key part of animation is what we call the sixth frame or sometimes referred to as the neutral frame. This is when the screen does not change, there are no decorations or shapes that stick out from the image. It is just white space that serves as a backdrop for the movie.

This is important because it gives you time to process the previous shot before moving onto the next one. If the film doesn’t give your brain this time, then the rhythm may be off-balance. You could also say that it lacks flow.

A good example of this would be the opening scene of Spiderman where he swings down from the roof. He lands with his feet together but only has six frames to work with before he jumps into the street.

It looks funny because he is landing very hard and fast but he is never given time to feel this impact due to the limited amount of time spent in total stillness at each stage of the jump.

Seventh frame

The seventh frame is sometimes referred to as the “spoiler” or “reveal” frame because it usually contains key information that was not revealed before. In this case, the key information comes at you very quickly - almost like someone slammed the door behind you as you were walking out of the room.

So what happened in the sixth frame? Well, we saw Daniel and Leah break up for good!

That leaves only one person who can possibly be Zoe’s father - Gabriel. We also know from an earlier scene that he works nights so he will not see his daughter until morning.

This means that there is a short window of time where Gabriel could kidnap Zoe. Plus, she just told us that she doesn’t remember him, which makes her even more vulnerable during his visit. All these factors add up to a perfect situation for Gabriel to snatch the child.

Eighth frame

The eighth or final frame of any animated movie is almost always a still image. This is because most films have at least ten frames in total, with eight being used for brevity or to create an effect.

The term “eighth frame” comes from film makers that were familiar with how many exposures it took to get a clear picture in normal photography. Eight was the number needed to make sure you got your whole subject in one shot.

This is similar to how some filmmakers use the word “thridate” when creating a new narrative element. Three creates suspense, so adding three more makes people try harder to find out what happens next.

Ninth frame

The ninth frame is sometimes referred to as the “breakdown” or the “finale” frame of an animated movie. This is because it typically contains a lot of detail, and everything comes together at this point!

The nine-frame sequence we looked at earlier was the first example of a breakdown scene in an animated feature film. A breakdown scene occurs when one element ends and another begins. In that case, the new element is the camera moving into closer proximity with the subject.

In the case of our movie, the climax of the film happens during the final shot where the mouse runs away from the cat. We could say that the final shot is the 9th frame, but more accurately, the last few seconds of the final shot are the 9th frame.

During these last few seconds, you can see the mouse running off screen right before the camera pulls back. As it does, you can see the cat chasing after him, and then both disappear out of sight.