Where does this come from, and can I check it?

Cels stack on metal pegs under a lens that can move a hair at a time. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, 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.

Mondo Knows Facts

An animation camera looks down at a table

Cels stack on metal pegs under a lens that can move a hair at a time The rostrum camera is mounted on a column above a flat bed, with registration pegs holding each acetate cel in the same spot. Motorised moves let it zoom, pan or track across a painted background, one frame at a time. The same rig films titles and stills for live-action films. It sits in Mondo's movies & tv collection, one of 200 facts that each trace back to the reference below.

Where this comes from

Encyclopaedia Britannica

Facts that can change over time are reviewed and updated. If something here looks wrong, Mondo would rather know than be confidently incorrect.

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Technology trivia

More facts like this

Disney's multiplane camera added depth to cartoonsSeveral layers of artwork moved past the lens at different distances Most hand-drawn animation is shot on twosEach drawing is photographed twice, so twelve drawings fill a second Pixilation animates real people a frame at a timeActors hold still while the camera takes single frames between tiny moves Squash and stretch keeps drawings from looking stiffA bouncing ball flattens on impact and stretches as it leaves the ground Walt Disney has won more Oscars than anyone elseHe took home 22 competitive awards and four honorary ones Snow White was the first full-length American cel-animated filmDisney's 1937 gamble took three years to make

Tags: animation, cameras, technique

An animation camera looks down at a table: the short answers

Where does this come from, and can I check it?: Cels stack on metal pegs under a lens that can move a hair at a time. The figure is taken from Encyclopaedia Britannica, 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.