History Main / RotoScoping

[[caption-width-right:350:I'm not posterized. [[WesternAnimation/WhoFramedRogerRabbit I'm just drawn that way]].]]

* Spoon, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dInnbQrYVhQ "Everything Hits At Once"]] and Zero 7, [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZncATpZre_w "Destiny,"]] both directed by ''Waking Life'' animators.

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEVfHmjKOrM&ob=av2e "Shadrach"]] by the Music/BeastieBoys features a heavily stylised example of Rotoscoping.

** And before that, it was in ''VideoGame/{{Karateka}}'', developed by the same guy behind [=PoP=].
* ''VideoGame/AnotherWorld'', also known as ''Out of This World''
* ''VideoGame/{{Flashback}}'', from the same developers.
* Smoking Car Productions's ''VideoGame/TheLastExpress'' (by the same developer as ''Prince of Persia'').

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'' uses this method for creating backgrounds, with their crew touring Taiwan's Dadaocheng district and taking multiple photos to recreate the 1900s Colonial Era aesthetics.

* The ''VideoGame/JustDance'' games.

* Rotoscoping animated the characters in ''VideoGame/ProjectFirestart''.
* When the animators of ''Franchise/StarWars: VideoGame/DarkForces'' had difficulty animating Darth Vader, they had C. Andrew Nelson (who had suited up as Vader for commercials, print ads, etc) perform the actions that they wanted the Dark Lord to do. The animators then used rotoscoping to match the already drawn cutscenes.
* ''VideoGame/FAITHTheUnholyTrinity'' features rotoscoping to intentionally terrifying results. While the game usually uses very primitive animations similar to early video, during cutscenes the characters are represented by jarringly life-like rotoscoping. Combined with the primitive text to speech, ''FAITH'' burrows its entire experience deep into the UncannyValley.

Computer technology has created new life for rotoscoping as a medium, allowing for more photorealistic renders and smoother movement. SerkisFolk is the result of capturing an individual performer, isolating in either manually or through MotionCapture and creating a new character in its place, similar to traditional animated characters via RogerRabbitEffect.

Rotoscoping is the process of drawing animation over live-action film.

Rotoscoping has been used lightly (to create realistic movements for otherwise stylized characters) and heavily (nearly tracing an entire actor's movements, form, and facial expressions). The downside of heavy rotoscoping is that the animated actors tend to teeter on the edge of the UnintentionalUncannyValley.

More recently, computer technology has created new life for rotoscoping as a medium, allowing for much greater detail and smoother movement. Fully computer-generated characters are SerkisFolk, much like fully animated characters give it the RogerRabbitEffect.

However, rotoscoping has a bad reputation among the animation community, including men such as Creator/RichardWilliams, [[Creator/DisneysNineOldMen Milt Kahl]], Creator/ShamusCulhane and Creator/JohnKricfalusi, being perceived as a lifeless, poor substitute for character animation. Even Creator/RalphBakshi, a frequent user of it in his feature films, admits that he loathed using it and that it was only used due to his low budgets and inexperienced younger artists. In fact, Max Fleischer himself came to realize the limitations of the very device he created early on, opting for more creative use of character animation instead (although he did make some exceptions).

Compare MotionCapture, which is how computers do it these days. Rotoscoping over CGI, rather than live action, is considered a form of PaintedCGI.

* ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfTianding'' uses this methodnfor creating backgrounds, with their crew touring Taiwan's Dadaocheng district and taking multiple photos to recreate the 1900s Colonial Era aesthetics.

* French/Canadian co-production ''WesternAnimation/DeltaState'' is the first animated television series to be entirely rotoscoped, taking over 27 months to complete. This gives the show an... ''[[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs interesting]]'' look, to say the least.

[[folder:Films — Animation]]

* ''Film/AScannerDarkly'', from the same director and producer as ''WesternAnimation/WakingLife'', used this to good effect.

* ''WesternAnimation/ApolloTenAndAHalfASpaceAgeChildhood'': The film uses a style of animating over live-action footage similar to previous Linklater projects such as ''WesternAnimation/AScannerDarkly'' and ''WesternAnimation/WakingLife.''

[[folder:Films — Live-Action]]

* An interesting case in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' which can be considered the UrExample of the PaintedCGI style more popular since the [[UsefulNotes/TheMillenniumEraOfAnimation late-2010s]]. The gears inside Big Ben at the start of the climax were done in CGI, but were then traced onto paper by a computer, xeroxed onto cells and painted in. ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' took the technique even further, using it for all of the films vehicles as well as the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity New York cityscape]], and required the creation of Disney's first in-house computer animation department.

* An interesting case in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective'' which can be considered the UrExample of the PaintedCGI style more popular since the [[TheMillenniumEraOfAnimation late-2010s]]. The gears inside Big Ben at the start of the climax were done in CGI, but were then traced onto paper by a computer, xeroxed onto cells and painted in. ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' took the technique even further, using it for all of the films vehicles as well as the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity New York cityscape]], and required the creation of Disney's first in-house computer animation department.

* An interesting case in ''WesternAnimation/TheGreatMouseDetective''. The gears inside Big Ben at the start of the climax were done in CGI, but were then traced onto paper by a computer, xeroxed onto cells and painted in. ''WesternAnimation/OliverAndCompany'' took the technique even further, using it for all of the films vehicles as well as the [[UsefulNotes/NewYorkCity New York cityscape]], and required the creation of Disney's first in-house computer animation department.

* Fujiwara's dance in the ending for episode 3 of ''Manga/KaguyaSamaLoveIsWar'' was rotoscoped, though it was done so fluidly that many people mistook it for being CGI.

* The ending sequence, "Hare Hare Yukai", from ''[[LightNovel/HaruhiSuzumiya The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya]]'' has become somewhat memetic for being ''obviously'' painted over live-action.
** Less memetic, more awesome is its obvious use during "Live Alive" to animate Yuki's guitar playing.

Compare MotionCapture, which is how computers do it these days.

Rotoscoping has been used lightly (to create realistic movements for otherwise stylized characters) and heavily (nearly tracing an entire actor's movements, form, and facial expressions). The downside of heavy rotoscoping is that the animated actors tend to teeter on the edge of the UncannyValley.

* ''WesternAnimation/ApolloTenAndAHalfASpeceAgeChildhood'': The film uses a style of animating over live-action footage similar to previous Linklater projects such as ''WesternAnimation/AScannerDarkly'' and ''WesternAnimation/WakingLife.''

* ''WesternAnimation/ApolloTenAndAHalfASpeceageChildhood'': The film uses a style of animating over live-action footage similar to previous Linklater projects such as ''WesternAnimation/AScannerDarkly'' and ''WesternAnimation/WakingLife.''

* ''VideoGame/FAITHTheUnholyTrinity'' features rotoscoping to terrifying results. While the game usually uses very primitive animations similar to early video, during cutscenes the characters are represented by jarringly life-like rotoscoping. Combined with the primitive text to speech, ''VideoGame/FAITHTheUnholyTrinity'' burrows its entire experience deep into the uncanny valley.

* The little-known, less-seen, and not-entirely-completed masterpiece ''WesternAnimation/HappyNewYearPlanetEarth'' (never released owing to licensing and contractual issues). A Canadian cross between ''Heavy Metal'' and ''Yellow Submarine'' set to music by the band Music/Klaatu, it is mostly rotoscoped.