Rotoscoping

Rotoscoping (verb: rotoscoping ) is a product now used in the production of animated films method to draw the image sequences. It ( usually specially recorded ) scenes as projected frame by frame from behind a frosted glass that the animator can draw it (as in the tracing ). The Rotoskopieverfahren was first used in 1914 by Max Fleischer for animation series Out of the Inkwell ( and patented), with the aim to obtain a convincing realistic movement in less time. The method was later used mainly for realistic human characters designed, especially when very complex movements were as required eg dance scenes.

Since the early 1990s, tracing usually takes place on the computer, either in pixel-based programs by hand or semi-automatically by vectorization ( like the two respective films Richard Linklater ). In contrast to the motion detection (motion capturing ) is the rotoscoping a two-dimensional method. The results may be of reasonably realistic to very stylized. One problem with the animation technique is that the emotional acceptance of the movements generated by rotoscoping from a certain level of detail level decreases, even though the underlying data clearly of natural origin. This effect has since been designated by the term Uncanny Valley.

Rotoscoping has as its own style means a permanent place in commercials, music videos and short films. Thanks to new computer-based methods such as vectorization she has stylistic effects approximated that used by optical printers ( " optical bench " ) were produced, namely the graphical alienation of footage.

In addition to the style -giving function, rotoscoping is also used for error correction. In addition, they found already in the times of chemical copying process rich application when compositing visual effects. It is still used extensively for it, as an alternative to blue screen technique - mostly to (eg with violent camera movement ) easy to hold for complicated settings to plan and not have to readjust consuming the lighting in the Blue Screen Studio. Rotoscoping is today, therefore in most of the movies with visual effects used.

Examples of films and videos in which rotoscoping was used

• In Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 ) some dance scenes from Snow White were rotoscoped.
• In Gulliver's Travels (1939 ) by Max Fleischer, the title character is rotoscopied.
• The dancer in the short film Two Silhouettes, part of Disney's Make Mine Music ( 1946) are rotoscopied.
• Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds ( 1963)
• The sequence of " Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" in Yellow Submarine (1968 ) by George Dunning
• Ralph Bakshi's animated version of Lord of the Rings from 1978
• In Episodes IV -VI of the Star Wars series, the lightsabers were rotoscoped.
• In the animated film Heavy Metal 1981 the rotoscoping for Taarna sequence was used.
• Tron (1982 )
• Fire and Ice (1983 ) by Ralph Bakshi
• The music video Take On Me, The Sun Always Shines on TV and Train of Thought of group a -ha (1985 and 1986 )
• Waking Life (2001) by Richard Linklater
• The music video Brothers in Arms the group Dire Straits (1985 )
• The music video of the group ring Turntable Rocker ( 2003)
• The music video Breaking the Habit of the group Linkin Park ( 2004)
• A Scanner Darkly - A Scanner Darkly (2006) by Richard Linklater was completely produced by this method.
• Alois Nebel is a Czech feature film of director Tomáš Luňák from the year 2011. The film was produced in Rotoskopieverfahren.
• The anime Aku no Hana (2013 ) ( to German: The Flowers of Evil ) is a Japanese television series that was completely created by rotoscoping.

Examples of computer games in which rotoscoping was used

• In Prince of Persia in 1989 came on the market for different computer systems, the technique was used for the first time.
• For Another World, the technique was also used for the animations.
• The Nintendo DS video game Hotel Dusk: Room 215 (2007) uses throughout the game characters that were created after the rotoscoping process.

Related Links

• FX Guide - Art of Roto (English)
• Scott Squires explains rotoscoping (English)

• Animation