SFX Software Title for Movies?

[Dawg]

This is in the Film Section as well: I was reading in either SciFi or Empire magazine about a new sfx technique that uses some older technology. Anyone here of roto-scoping? It is a film technique where animation is drawn over live-action frame by frame and the original Lord of the Rings movie (the '70s cartoon) was done this way. Anyway, they took footage of some comedian that died four years ago and had his roto-scoped this new way where it made the background black and his figure all white. (There is probably multiple filters taken since it was put back together later.) Then they put him in front of new background at a graveyard where he is standing in front of his own grave making cracks about himself being dead. (For some commerical or something.) And they used a voice actor. Basically what they did was eliminate the need for green screen with this new roto-scoping technique. I figured that would be cool and maybe easier to do since you need perfect lighting and perfect green screen to be able to delete the color to begin with. If one can film where ever and roto-scope it instead of green screen, it would probably be easier, but maybe not? At least you can roto-scope old footage that was never in front of green screen. Name of software?!! Dawg

[PJoseph]

Roto-scoping is not a new technique, it's quite old. A good example of roto-scoping live action with animation is the scene in Anchors Away where Jerry The Mouse dances with Gene Kelly. Anyway, you can rotoscope with all sorts of software - you can even do it in Photoshop or even in FCP using matte keys with several points - it's just a technique of tracing around a subject and then mixing it into another. Do a keyword search - I found a ton of different sites that post easy ways to do this. pJ

[Geophyrd]

is Richard Linklater's last movie, A Scanner Darkly. It wasn't that great a movie, but the rotoscoped effects were amazing to watch. You start watching just to see what they're going to do next.

[Dawg]

Roto-scoping is not a new technique, it's quite old. A good example of roto-scoping live action with animation is the scene in Anchors Away where Jerry The Mouse dances with Gene Kelly. Anyway, you can rotoscope with all sorts of software - you can even do it in Photoshop or even in FCP using matte keys with several points - it's just a technique of tracing around a subject and then mixing it into another. Do a keyword search - I found a ton of different sites that post easy ways to do this. pJ I know it isn't new like I said, but the way they used it is. Dawg