rotoscoping

[ roh-toh-skoh-ping ]

noun

1. Movies, Graphic Arts. Also called ro·to. an animation technique that traces live-action footage and transforms it into animated sequences by use of a rotoscope, which was largely replaced by digital technology by the end of the 20th century.
2. Digital Technology. a technique of merging live-action footage with digital animation and other graphics to create composite images.

Word History and Origins

Origin of rotoscoping¹

First recorded in 1960–65; roto ( def ) + scop(e) ( def ) + -ing ¹( def ); applied to a technique invented in 1915 by Polish-born U.S. animator and film director Max Fleischer (1883–1972)

Example Sentences

The deceptively simple-looking “Ghost Cat Anzu” is actually idiosyncratically drawn from live-action frames in a rotoscoping process.

From Los Angeles Times

Kuno normally makes animated films without rotoscoping, “so it was a very wonderful experience for me. I realized that the performances of actors were really rich. Normally, I’m just creating characters inside my head, but in this case, I could rely on the actors.”

From Los Angeles Times

It meant visual effects had to do a lot more rotoscoping, match-moves and camera tracking, but in doing so, it gave the team the ability to tightly control character performance.

From Los Angeles Times

Each section has a wildly different look, from computer animation to CGI to rotoscoping to live-action stick puppets and actors.

From Seattle Times

This isn’t the first time he has used animation layered over live performances, and this digital rotoscoping technique is especially attuned to nuances of gesture and facial expression.

From New York Times