The animation depicts a SOAP message passing between Application 1 and Application 2 and travelling over SMTP or HTTP.
In the animation, two computers labeled Application 1 and Application 2 are connected with an arrow. Over the arrow are two layers. One has SOAP written in it. The other has SMTP/HTTP written in it. At the top left corner of the SOAP layer is a cloud that has Internet written in it. An envelope superimposed against a page that has XML written in it, emerges from the Application 1 computer and travels over the SOAP layer to the Application 2 computer.