When an object in a film appears to be alive by virtue of its movements, this impression is most often produced through animation. Frame-by-frame animation is usually applied for this purpose—especially in live-action films. The animation of inanimate objects thus…
Tag Archive for Agency
Animating Agency: Robots, Humans, and the Art of Unexpected Roles
by Nea Ehrlich • December 11, 2025 • 0 Comments
Etymologically, the term ‘animation’ is derived from the Latin word animatio, from animare. Probably originating in the 16th century, ‘animation’ has two key meanings, one referring to movement and the other to bestowing life (Wells 2011). These meanings are central to how…
Levels of agency in idle animations: mapping (in)activity in video games
by Maria Pagès • November 25, 2025 • 0 Comments
In one of the most iconic idle animations, if the player does not interact with Sonic the Hedgehog (Sega, 1991), he will tap his foot and look annoyed at the player expecting to move (see Fig. 1). When the player releases…
Picturing Security: exploring democracy and agency through drawing and animation
by Benjamin Hall • November 13, 2025 • 0 Comments
This text presents the 2023/24 research project Picturing Security, which was funded by the Independent Social Research Foundation (ISRF) to explore experiences of security, risk and threat using collaborative arts practice as a tool for conversation. What follows are reflections…
Editorial: Animation and Agency
by Julia Eckel, Maike Sarah Reinerth, Vera Schamal • November 6, 2025 • 0 Comments
Over the past thirty years, the concept of agency as the ability and power to act has sparked engaging discussions across fields like Gender Studies, Science and Technology Studies, Philosophy, and Media Studies, offering unique insights for animation research. Agency…