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Several layers of artwork moved past the lens at different distances. The figure is taken from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.

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Mondo Knows Facts

Disney's multiplane camera added depth to cartoons

Several layers of artwork moved past the lens at different distances The multiplane camera held up to seven layers of painted glass or cels at different distances from the lens and moved them at different speeds as each frame was shot. Backgrounds drifted slowly and foregrounds quickly, creating a sense of depth that flat animation lacked. Disney used the rig from the late 1930s. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

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Tags: animation, disney, cameras

Disney's multiplane camera added depth to cartoons: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Several layers of artwork moved past the lens at different distances. The figure is taken from Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, which is linked in full on this page. Every fact on Mondo Knows names its source rather than repeating an unsourced claim.
Is this really a movies & tv fact?: Yes. It sits on the Movies & TV shelf, one of 2,600 sourced facts grouped into space, animals, the human body, history, science and more. Category pages collect every fact in the same field.
What else can I read about it?: The links under the fact point to a quiz, game, puzzle or calculator on the same subject, and the shelf below shows related facts. The wording here is original, and quoted phrases are marked as quotations.