Understanding Animation: Rotoscoping in Early and Modern Animation

Rotoscoping is a technique in animation which uses live footage as a foundation upon which animators draw frame by frame. In other words, with rotoscoping animators are able to create animation using live video as onion-skin, where they trace over the projected images. The rotoscope had been invented by the American inventor and animator Max Fleischer, and got patented under his name in 1915 with his debut "Out of The Inkwell" cartoon series. Initially, the rotoscope that Fleischer had invented used recorded live-action film images and projected them under a frozen glass panel - a complex mechanism that was quite the size. However, ever since its creation, the rotoscope had gradually advanced and its conventions of functionality had simplified, while still being used over the years to this day. Ranging animations from the Golden Era of Animation up to modern animation series, the rotoscope is still among the prevalent animation tools that help animators create life-like characters, as well as practice live drawing and tracing of lines. For example, A-ha's famous 1985 song "Take on Me" features a rotoscope animation which encompasses the story of a comic book character coming to life. In the music video, both live-action and animation are combined to create a phantasmagorical essence between what is real and what is not. Furthermore, according to Richard Shicklel, many sequences in Disney movies are rotoscoped, as actresses' performances were filmed and then used for lip-syncing and gestures. It goes without saying that the rotoscope still influences modern animators and has revolutionized the way we bring something still to life, as creators, as artists.

"A-ha - Take on Me" - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djV11Xbc914