Motion Design
Glossary
German – English Terms
From A to Z. English technical term in small print above the German term.
All technical terms from the course from A to Z, with the English equivalent as used in software, tutorials and technical articles.
A
Animatic
Storyboard played back in real time, often with sound; indicates early on whether the timing works.
ANTICIPATION
Anticipation
Minor countermovement heralding a major move.
B
MOTION BLUR
Motion blur
Blurring of rapid motion, like with a camera using a longer exposure.
FRAME RATE
Frame rate
Number of frames per second, such as 24, 25, 30 or 60 fps.
E
EASE-IN
Ease-in
Movement that starts slowly and accelerates. For everything that's possible.
EASE-OUT
Ease-out
Movement that starts quickly and slows down gently. For whatever comes next.
Easing
Easing
Progression of the speed of a movement, described as a curve.
Feather
Movement driven by tension and damping rather than fixed duration; feels natural when dragging and throwing.
F
FRAME
Frame
A single frame of an animation.
K
KEYFRAME
Keyframe
Keyframe at which a state is defined. Values in between are interpolated.
KINETIC TYPOGRAPHY
Kinetic typography
Animated typography expressing the content and tone of a text.
L
LOTTIE
Lottie
Vector animation format as a JSON file, compact and sharp at any size.
M
MICRO-INTERACTION
Micro-interaction
A subtle interface reaction to a single action.
N
FOLLOW-THROUGH
Ringing
Parts continue to move after stopping, such as hair or fabric.
P
PARALLAX
Parallax
Layers move at different speeds, creating depth.
POSE TO POSE
Pose to Pose
First establish the key poses, then add the in-between frames.
R
REDUCED MOTION
Reduced motion
System setting for people who are sensitive to motion. Websites query it using prefers-reduced-motion.
Skeleton
Grey placeholders matching the shape of the content while loading; they feel faster than a spinning circle.
S
STAGGER
Graduation
Staggered start of multiple elements so they appear one after the other.
SQUASH AND STRETCH
Compressing and stretching
Change in shape showing material, weight and tempo.
STORYBOARD
Storyboard
A storyboard of key frames, with duration and description.
T
TIMELINE
Timeline
Timeline in the software where keyframes and layers are arranged.
TIMING
Timing
Selection of the duration and timing of a movement.
Tweening
Tweening
Automatic calculation of in-between frames between two keyframes.
U
CROSSFADE
Crossfade
One image dissolves as the next one appears.
TRANSITION
Transition
Movement between two states or views.
OVERSHOOT
Overshoot
The movement briefly overshoots the mark and returns.
SUBTITLES
Subtitles
On-screen text matching spoken words. Makes videos understandable without sound.
V
DELAY
Delay
Waiting time before movement starts.
Z
IN-BETWEEN
Intermediate image
Frame between two keyframes, formerly drawn by hand.