Digital Content

ROTO.1 Intro to rotoscoping

Rotoscoping is one technique used by animators and artists to easily capture, trace and animate movement and motion filmed in "real life". Conventionally, Rotoscoping is based on photographic frames of video, film or even still image sequence photographs. It doesn't really work to rotoscope something that is already a 2D animation, although I believe it would be interesting to hand draw or trace 3D animation frames, or even programmatically generated sprite animations for an interesting visual effect.

Rotoscoping was a technique originally explored in the 1900s, where artists would trace photographic images by painting them on a plane of glass. This was originally so that artists could project those “moving” photographic images, since the film technology had not yet been developed. I describe this process a bit more in the frame animation lecture content.

Rotoscoping continued to be utilized as an animation form after the development of film projection technology, as a way to accurately depict and animate realistic motion, however, it did not become a widely adopted technique for animators or animation studios. While animators still base motion and animations on real-life observations, they are primarily used as only a starting point for developing the final, exaggerated and “cartoonish” movements of animated characters.

Before the rotoscoping process was digitized, which made it a much more accessible process to more artists, filmmakers and animators, there were a few notable examples of rotoscoped animations that were created for mainstream audiences. From the examples below, consider why the animator or film maker decided to work with rotoscoping as a technique, and what impact this chosen style has on the final piece.

Below a quick fast-forward to the recent Weezer music video that might look familiar….

For the examples below from the 1990's Prince of Persia series, focus on the animation and action sequences, not the content, which is questionable in terms of cultural appropriation and representation. The use of rotoscope was very unique at the time - it completely blew my mind, even on the original black-and-greenish 8-bit Gameboy.

ROTO.2 RotoScoping in Film

1990's to 2000's

In the late 1990’s, rotoscope entered into the digital space with automated processes that made it much more accessible to artists and filmmakers. This included the ability to automatically convert video frames, which are pixel based, into a sequence of vector-based image files, that could be further manually processed, edited and adjusted. These vector based files are more visually similar to animation than photographic frames, and produced an interesting visual effect that, for the time, was very unique.

This digital process was applied to film footage in order to produce the 2001 feature-length film Waking Life. The film’s subject matter explored various philosophical concepts, including the distinction between the “reality” and “imagination” and the use of the rotoscope technique worked well to represent these ideas visually. The captured footage, including the camera movements and the faces, expressions and movements of the actors was photorealistic, and rooted in reality, while the visual style, and the abilities to augment these images (sometimes subtly, and other times drastically, such as when one character lights themselves on fire and burns up while calmly conversing with another character) produces uncanny, fantastical images and situations.

Just a few years later, the film A Scanner Darkly picked up where Waking Life left off in terms of the progression of more mainstream films using the roto-scope technique, this time utilizing the medium to work with a Sci-Fi theme. Again, the rotoscoping processes produced visuals that were both realistic AND fantastic, lending themselves to the imagined science fiction world.

MORE RECENT EXAMPLES

I would argue that as this automated process became more and more accessible and more widespread (as the iPhone X Scene Filter Effects can attest to), the impact of the visuals themselves on the audience has changed. For these earlier films, just the effect alone was enough to evoke a sense of wonder and awe among viewers (along with some reports of motion sickness) similar to how early 3D animations were so captivating even though they were often of simple objects. As the technology has improved, the visuals, detached from content, have become more common place, so, animators and film makers have had to develop different styles and approaches to the medium and the process in order to return the viewer to that place of the uncanny, powerful image.

This can be seen in the examples below of films that utilize rotoscoping techniques and push the medium beyond just the technical process or visual enhancement. Consider how these artists work with rotoscoping, but also apply strong visual styles to their animations. How does this change or impact the meaning for you as a viewer, compared to the earlier digital rotoscope films?

Above is clip from Dee Hibbert Jones' Last Day of Freedom (2015). This Oscar nominated documentary short uses roto-scope techniques for both stylistic and conceptual reasons. Link to and read this interview where Jones talks about this technique in relation to race and representation in film.

ESPN 30 x 30 Hoodies Up Preview Spot: The animation below (click on image to link to full animation) is different from most rotoscopes in that the figures are highly abstract and simplified, and the motion that is captured is primarily that of the “camera”, which is actually achieved in an automated process called keyframe animation that we will discuss more starting Module 3. The reason why I am showing this as an example, however, is because the figures are based on original photographs and “real-life” footage, and then identifying characteristics and details are obscured to emphasize the film’s overall narrative, which focuses on violence against communities of color by police and other “security” agencies, both public and private. This is another example of how the technical aspects of rotoscoping can be used to influence meaning in animations beyond just visual style and aesthetics.

ROTO.3 ROTO-SCOPING ELEMENTS

As the previous examples begin to demonstrate, there are a lot of ways to work with the rotoscope technique in animation, and use it to explore the motion captured by film and video. Below are a few different components to consider when planning out your rotoscope project.

Accuracy of trace
The traces can be very precise and true to the photographic quality of the stills, or they can be more loosely or abstractly applied. This accuracy level can vary or fluctuate throughout the animation’s duration.

Style of drawing / animation
There are a multitude of styles that can be applied to traces. Figures can be composed by points, lines or shapes or a combo of all three. The properties of these elements can also be altered - lines can be thick or thin, neat and precise or more messy and sketched out. Shapes can be geometric or organic, complex or simple, can look more like a realistically rendered painting  or like a stencil or a more graphic image.

Color
Color can be applied to drawings in many different ways. The animator can decide to reduce the number of colors in the original footage, apply a completely different color palette to the animation or even go to black and white.

Add / replace / Exclude Subjects + objects
When working with original footage, the animator can decide which elements to include in the final animation. This type of decision has the potential to greatly influence or change the meaning of your final animation. For example, envision a rotoscope where only the shadows of moving subjects were traced, or, similarly, creating a rotoscoping by redrawing a static background ”around” the negative space of a moving figure or subject. It is also possible to replace moving subjects with other artifacts or elements.

Camera Movement and framing of original footage
For some rotoscoping animations, if the animator is only interested in capturing the moving subject, the composition of the frame does not matter as much, since the drawings can be re-composed into whatever frame dimensions are desired. However, rotoscoping can also offer the opportunity to translate complex camera movements into an animated form, which can be very challenging with traditional frame animation. This can be something to consider when sourcing out video or planning on taking your own videos for your projects.

ROTO.4 ROTOSCOPING COMPARISON

The two videos below are excellent examples of the many different directions animators can go when working with rotoscoping. For each of these, watch the original video first, then the corresponding rotoscope animation. Note how the rotoscoped animations differ from the original videos, and also how the different styles of rotoscoping influence the visuals.

Below are a few links and videos discussing animator Pinot Ichwandardi’s recent project, a re-creation / rotoscope of Childish Gambino’s dance choreography from the “This is America” video { TW: gun violence}.

Instead of using cutting edge rotoscoping or some other frame capture technique, the animator instead decided to use a 30 year old Apple SE running what I think is animation software that eventually turned into Macromedia Flash.

According to this Vice article describing the animation’s production, Ichwandardi wanted to focus on the artist’s dance and movement from the video in a way that he could present it in to his very young children. In doing this, he was able introduce and discuss some of the song’s social and cultural meanings separate from the realistic and violent imagery of the original video, but without also completely obscuring Childish Gambino and his work and message. Through this approach, Ichwandardi is using animation and rotoscope as a way to bridge an important artwork that is prevalent in mainstream culture to a younger audience, in addition to others who might not be able to view the original artwork. Be sure to read over the VICE article for more information on this process, and also check out Ichwandardi’s Twitter - his animation experiments are short and inspiring.

To conclude this content module, I have linked to 2 more of Ichwandardi’s animation / rotoscope projects, both re-creations of a Star Wars: The Last Jedi trailer using very different technologies and output techniques. Hopefully these animations, along with the others from this module, can start to demonstrate how rotoscoping can be much more complex than merely “tracing”, and how these complexities can influence and make all kinds of new meanings.