rotoscoping

American  

[roh-toh-skoh-ping] / ˈroʊ toʊˌskoʊ pɪŋ /

noun

1. Also called roto.  Movies, Graphic Arts. 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.

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Etymology

Origin of rotoscoping

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 • Nov. 20, 2024

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 • Mar. 31, 2022

But this is no “Waking Life” or “A Scanner Darkly,” though parts do use the rotoscoping technology he used in those films.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 28, 2022

What sets it apart is its animation style, which is reminiscent of rotoscoping.

From Salon • Nov. 1, 2020

Using the technique called rotoscoping, animators traced the footage frame by frame to produce the film that immediately won critical and popular acclaim.

From Washington Post • Oct. 22, 2020