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What is rotoscoping
I went to on and internship and it was mention and I have no clue what the interviewer was saying. Can someone explain please?
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11 Replies
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rotoscoping is using masks to create an alpha…
Say if you’ve shot some green screen stuff that you can get a proper key for….so instead of keying the footage…you have to roto it.. meaning use masks to mask out the character and get an alpha channel for the footage.I’d search more about it on Google.com
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Rotoscoping is basically removing any unwanted elements from a shot. This includes masking and even painting out and sometimes in elements.
A good roto Artist needs to know how to motion track in order to perform better concealing.good luck
Andrew -
Technically “Rotoscoping” is painting an object or objects out of the scene, frame by frame. “Rotosplining” is using masks to cut objects out of the scene. Make sure you find out for sure what they mean by that when they ask. They are 2 different skills, though almost everyone I know calls them the same thing.
I feel it needs to be mentioned that it is not easy or fun, and possibly the most tedious work a compositing artist has to do. It takes a long time too.
I suck at it, and don’t take gigs that require roto because I know I just can’t deliver in a timely manner.
That said, a really good roto artist is worth his/her weight in wacom pads. It’s a good skill to develop, and if you find you have a talent for it, there’s a lot of work out there when compared to regular motion graphics work.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
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Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
At the risk of sounding naive and offending some, what specific talents set apart the great roto artists from the bad ones? I have done some roto, nothing too extensive though. Isn’t it just having the patience to get it right?
Just curious,
Jim -
Let’s not call it all talent – some of it is a skill set that can be developed, some of it is a mindset that you need to have, while some of it is talent. I find that people that create a lof of their own art in illustrator with the pen tool, make a smooth transition once they understand animation concepts. Especially if they have experience as a traditional hand artsist and are comfortable working with a wacom pad.
There’s no hard a nd fast rule but this is what you need to be or get good at rotoscoping
A great roto-artist has:
– Attention to detail
– Good planning skills (seeing the bigger picture – based on what the footage does, how do I break up the masks for various body parts)
– extreme comfort with the pen tools (I mean like second nature)
– The ability to work quickly – get into a “Zone” where they are just blasting it away
– patienceNo matter what, it doesn’t go quickly, but it can go a lot slower form some and a lot faster for others. And without the first 2 things on that list, the others aren;t worht that much – at least in my opinion – though I have that opinion on just about any skillset.
It’s like driving a car. Some people aren’t great at it, even after 30 years of doing it, and some people are naturals and pick it up right away. But even the poeple who aren’t great at it can eventually get from point A to B – the question is how many detours they have to take to do it, and how long it ultimately takes to arrive.
Again, anyone can learn it, but not everyone is great at it and can produce material fast enough for a production environment.
Take everything I say with grain of salt. My experience is just that – MY experience. You may know differently, and that’s cool.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
I wanted to add that Rotoscoping is not just rig removal or masking out a character in an old Black and white film..(my personal pet project right now)…At it’s exxence Rotoscoping is drawing frame by frame on your motion piece. Not just movies not just animation. If you want to see some strong examples of Rotoscoping..Check out some Expiremental filmmaking where the artists LITERALLY draw on every frame of film.
Very intensive process. One must sit in a really comfortable chair.
Stewart
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Sticking to the truest sense of the original rotoscope from days of yore, I would say that rotoscoping is ‘any process to match additional art to a pre-shot moving image’. Whether it be cutting a matte, creating lightsabers, or in more modern terms, shooting someone on DV as a motion reference and animating 3D characters to match (cheap mocap). Since roto was originally made so that cartoons could take on the qualities of human movement.
As far as rotoscope versus rotospline. It is my belief that rotoscope is an umbrella word that encompasses everything rotoish despite the technique used. Rotospline to me is a more specific word, albeit an arbitrary one that I think just came from terminology that some applications dubbed it, that is used to be more specific about using spines (masks).
I think if you heard 50 out of 50 post houses say they need to rotoscope a shot, they will use a meriod of tools regardless of the term rotoscope, whether it be painting, using splines or other.
my .02
Chris Smith
https://www.sugarfilmproduction.com -
More roto history:
https://www.absoluteastronomy.com/encyclopedia/r/ro/rotoscope.htmIf you want more, Google “rotoscope”, “disney” and “bakshi”.
I think the main thing is to remember that “rotoscope” translates as “labour-intensive”. A little bell should go off if a client or producer says the word.
Steve 🙂
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that alarm bell should go off for you too if you are working on a project fee basis.
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Aharon Rabinowitz
aharon(AT)yahoo(DOT)com
http://www.allbetsareoff.com
—————————————-
Creative Cow Master Series DVD
particleIllusion Fusion Volume 1
available @ http://www.pIllusionFusion.com -
Interesting article, Steve. Interesting thread too. Thanks guys. I never thought of Roto in all those ways before.
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