This might help...

Animation is no different, fundamentally, from 'normal' film or video, except in the manner that the images are created. All moving pictures, to borrow an old expression, are formed of a series of still images that differ from one another slightly. These are projected quickly and the brain interprets the sequential still images as continuous motion. Film has a frame rate of 24 frames/second, fps, and video has a frame rate of 30 fps (NTSC) or 25 fps (PAL and SECAM). Animated moving pictures can be created in any manner of ways, including: - Drawing directly on or scratching transparent film stock one frame at a time. - Stop-motion animation, in which objects are photographed, moved slightly, and photographed again, over and over until the physical action is complete. - Hand-drawing a series of images that are photographed individually. This is probably the most common form of animation to most people. Most computer animation uses this method, with software replacing pen, pencil, and ink. - Filming activities in a conventional manner, but dropping frames to create a different image. For example, a person jumping in the air repeatedly can be made to appear as if they are standing in the air, by using only the frames of them while they are airborne. A very simple animated sequence can be made by drawing small images on the edge of the pages of a pad of paper. The pad of paper is then flipped quickly by hand, producing the appearance of a moving image.