Graphical image processing with enhanced editing facility

A method for modifying characteristics of an animation. An animation is created for a live broadcast and comprises graphic data including first parameters and references to editable parameters. The editable parameters have their characteristics, including a value and a description for each editable parameter, stored as metadata. The graphic data is instantiated by a metafile containing the metadata to determine the overall characteristics of an animation used during the live broadcast. The metadata may be independently modified on remote processing systems without having access to said graphic data. Finally, the animation is rendered during a broadcast, during which both the first and editable parameters are used to determine characteristics of the rendered animation.