A ballerina dances as the joints on her body are traced with a computer-generated rotoscope animation technique, an algorithm that brings a mathematical layer to her natural movements. Ballet Rotoscope (2011) was created by Masahiko Sato + EUPHRATES, the Japanese design group known for their work on Japan’s NHK educational TV show Pitagora Suitchi (Pythagora Switch). The experimental piece explores how live-action and animation can interrelate and perhaps reveal new beauty. From their notes:
Rotoscope is known as a traditional technique for creating animation invented in 1905 by Max Fleischer in which animators traced the actors outline over live-action film to make a realistic cartoon. Through research, we rediscovered and developed this technique from a new point of view by extracting various information, not just outline…
Next: To the Scientists of the Future: Materials science with EUPHRATES, Pitagora Suitchi – 9 minutes of Japanese Rube Goldberg machines, and Daihei Shibata’s Unendurable line.
Plus: A dancer animated with 1,250 small paintings, and more ballet and dance videos.
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