Beyond TV Safety

Japanese Animation Camera Work (continued)

Match or Multi or Reg(istration) Lines, Kumisen
Books can be expensive because they need to be done by the background people and they cost the same as a normal background (which can cost 40 times what a cel does). In shows with smaller budgets the animators specify objects on the background that they want the characters to appear "behind" and draw their outlines on a cel then do not draw past that line. The background artists paint the BG taking great care that the objects fit the lines on the cel. The cel painters must be sure that no part of the image on the cel "invades" the BG object.

Red line indicates kumisen. Actual line would be invisible.

final image of kumisen cut

This can also be used for cels. Let's say you have 2 characters on different levels, one slightly in front of the other. The top character reaches back behind the character in the rear. This could be done by having a separate arm cel to go on the bottom but separate cels cost more so they often do it by using a reg line, cutting off the parts of the character's arm that would be behind the character in back.

Follow

This is similar to a pan but the camera "moves" along with the action.

3D Follow image

There are often multiple foreground and background levels in the cut which move at different rates. A follow is normally done by sliding books and the BG past the camera. The movement of each of the elements is specified on the time sheet, usually how many millimeters it moves to the right or left per frame or per second.

The background and other elements are sometimes too short so once they are moved to the end the camera operator moves them back to the beginning and moves them through the cut again. (Remember in THE FLINTSTONES when Fred runs through the house and passes the same table and lamp a few dozen times?)
A follow can also be done with a multiplane.

Follow Pan, (tsuke Pan)

This is similar to a pan except that the camera stays locked onto an element (character or whatever) and follows its movement through the cut. The difference between a follow and a tsuke pan is that the camera rotates like a normal pan during a tsuke pan where it effectively retains the same viewpoint throughout a follow.

Sometimes this movement is nonlinear. A tsuke pan has a guide, called a Memory, for the camera operator to follow.

Multiplane, (maruchi)

This refers to a camera setup with a number of different racks between the camera and the stand. This allows depth of field as the elements would be in different degrees of focus depending on their proximity to the lens and where the camera was focused and also allowed more interesting things to go on in various parts of the cut.

Gondola

The uppermost rack on the camera, just below the lens, is known as the gondola. It is most commonly used for cuts where there is something very close to where the viewer would be and other elements in the distance. Only one of these can be focused on at a given time so this gives great depth to a cut.

image with gondola

The focus can be changed from one level to another. This is knows as a focus pull or rack focus. Focus in/out usually refers to the entire cut or a superimposed element.