External Film & Animation Dictionaries

This page gathers external glossaries and dictionaries relevant to film, animation, and technical production.
They complement the Stop-Motion Dictionary by providing broader industry terminology and reference material.

Film & Cinematography

• Columbia Film Language Glossary (Free)
  Academic glossary with visual examples and film clips.

• Glossary of Film Terms — University of West Georgia (Free)
  Covers standard film vocabulary used in study and practice.

• Glossary of Motion Picture Terms — Kodak (Free)
  Technical glossary of film stocks, processing, and cinematography.

• Glossary of Motion Picture Terms — Wikipedia (Free)
  Broad overview of motion picture terminology.

• The Ultimate Filmmaking Glossary — StudioBinder (Free)
  Contemporary, production-focused glossary.

• Glossary — Moving Image Education (Free)
  Educational glossary for teaching film analysis.

• Glossary of Film and Television Terms — BFI/Screenonline (Free)
  British Film Institute’s glossary for film and TV.

Animation

• Animators Dictionary — Move Animation (Free)
  Focused on animation production terminology.

• Animation Glossary — Creature Art Teacher (Free)
  Covers foundational principles and animation vocabulary.

• Terms and Definitions — Bloop Animation (Free)
  Animation filmmaking dictionary.

• Toon Boom Glossary (Free)
  Software-specific glossary for Harmony and Storyboard Pro.

Technical / Industry & Writing

• FIAF Glossary of Filmographic Terms (Restricted)
  Multilingual glossary for credits, cataloging, and archival metadata.
  Full access requires FIAF membership or library subscription.

• The Essential Motion Design Dictionary — School of Motion (Free)
  Covers motion graphics, compositing, and animation in design.

• Glossary of Screenwriting Terms — Movie Outline (Free)
  Screenwriting and story development terminology.

Access Summary

• The are Free / Open Access (13 resources)
  Columbia, West Georgia, Kodak, Wikipedia, StudioBinder, Moving Image Education, BFI, Move Animation, Creature Art Teacher, Bloop Animation, Toon Boom, School of Motion, Movie Outline.

• Restricted (1 resource)
  FIAF Glossary of Filmographic Terms.

Suggested Use

• Film students & educators → Columbia, BFI, StudioBinder, Moving Image Education.
• Animators → Bloop Animation, Creature Art Teacher, Move Animation, Toon Boom.
• Technical/archival work → Kodak, FIAF, Wikipedia glossary.
• Screenwriters & storytellers → Movie Outline glossary.
• Motion design & VFX → School of Motion, StudioBinder.