Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
Rotoscoping
Rotoscoping
is a process of copying a subject's actions,
not
directly recording
them. One of the earliest rotoscoping systems was developed in New York in
1917 by the Fleischer brothers. The first experiments were undertaken in an
effort to make the level of fluid animation achieved by Winsor McCay, though
with more efficiency and requiring less skill. McCay was, after all, a superlative
draftsman and a remarkable animator with a highly developed sense of
timing, and there was certainly a shortage of those at the beginning of the
20th century. Max Fleischer devised a process in which a subject's movements
were initially filmed in live action and then the individual frames were traced,
providing slight exaggerations to the action to fit in with the cartoonal images
they required. Along with his brother Joe, Max built a system that was later
to help provide much of the animation for one of their most famous and
enduring creations, Koko the Clown, in the
Out of the Inkwell
series of films.
Max's other brother Dave proved to be an excellent subject for these first
experiments, which were quickly used for animation production.
Analyzing Action
Once an action or a sequence has been recorded or captured as a series of
drawings, photographs, or moving images, the next stage is to systematically
analyze the action. There certainly are processes that will assist in this analysis.
The aim of this exercise is to observe things as they actually are and not as we
suppose or expect them to be. This takes a little time to learn since we seem
to be preconditioned to see things in a certain manner. This truism has been
evident in the number of occasions I have seen student animations in which
they get the sequence of arm and leg movements in a human walk cycle
wrong and are unable to see for themselves the errors they have made. I have
seen this time after time; some of these young animators remain oblivious to
their mistakes until it is pointed out to them, at which point they are amazed
that they made such fundamental errors.
Regardless of the depth of action analysis or the reason for undertaking it,
the analysis benefits from a systematic approach. This approach can include
observational analysis and the categorization of actions, deconstruction
of actions, a mechanical analysis through the measurement of forces,
movement, and the gathering of the data related to the action. Much of this
type of analysis may be of interest only to scientists who require very specific
and highly accurate information for very specific reasons. The consumption of
energy may surrender information on the efficiency of muscles under certain
conditions; the detailed analysis of a horse in motion may provide valuable
information on injuries or the potential for performance. The projection of
performance under any given situation may have very important implications.
The manner in which certain materials perform and the effect of external
forces on them could result in bridges staying upright, nuclear power
resources remaining within safe operational limits, and other things that we
