Film combining live-action and animated elements
Alice Comedies
, featuring a live actress interacting with an animated world
Live-action animated
is a film genre that combines
live-action
filmmaking with
animation
.
[1]
Projects that are both live-action and
computer-animated
tend to have fictional characters or figures represented and characterized by
cast members
through
motion capture
and then animated and modeled by
animators
. Films that are live-action and traditionally animated use hand-drawn,
computer-generated imagery
(CGI), or
stop-motion
animation.
History
[
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]
Origins of combining live-action and animation
[
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The origins of live-action animation date back to the early 20th century, with pioneers such as the Frenchman
Georges Melies
. Melies is often credited with creating the first examples of this genre through his innovative use of special effects, animation, and live-action footage. His 1902 film,
"A Trip to the Moon"
, although not a live-action animated film by the modern definition, laid the groundwork for the integration of imaginative elements into live-action films.
[2]
The genre really began to develop with the advent of techniques such as
Rotoscoping
, developed by
Max Fleischer
in the 1910s. Rotoscoping allowed animators to trace moving images, frame by frame, to generate realistic animations which could be integrated with real action scenes.
[2]
During the
silent film
era in the 1920s and 1930s, the popular
animated cartoons
of
Max Fleischer
included a series in which his cartoon character,
Koko the Clown
, interacted with the live world; for example, having a boxing match with a live kitten. In a variation from this and inspired by Fleischer,
Walt Disney
's first directorial efforts, years before
Oswald the Lucky Rabbit
was born in 1927 and
Mickey Mouse
in 1928, were the live-action animated
Alice Comedies
cartoons, in which a young live-action girl named Alice interacted with animated cartoon characters.
[3]
Many previous films have combined live-action with
stop-motion
animation using
back projection
, such as
Willis O'Brien
and
Ray Harryhausen
films in the United States, and
Aleksandr Ptushko
,
Karel Zeman
and, more recently,
Jan ?vankmajer
in
Eastern Europe
. The first
feature film
combining these forms was
The Lost World
(1925). In the Soviet film
The New Gulliver
(1935), the only character who was not animated was Gulliver himself.
[
citation needed
]
Warner Bros.
' cartoon
You Ought to Be in Pictures
, directed by
Friz Freleng
, featured animated Warner Bros. characters interacting with live-action people, and the genre broke new ground for the first time and paved the way for future films that also used this technique.
[3]
In another cartoon, The animated sequence in the 1945 film
Anchors Aweigh
, in which
Gene Kelly
dances with an animated
Jerry Mouse
, is one of the most famous scenes in film history.
[3]
Development of live-action/animated feature films by Disney
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]
Throughout the decades,
Disney
experimented with mixed segments of live-action and animation in several notable films, which are primarily considered live-action. In the Latin American film pair
Saludos Amigos
(1943) and
The Three Caballeros
(1945),
[4]
Donald Duck
cavorts with several Latin-American dancers, plus
Aurora Miranda
(sister of
Carmen Miranda
), who gives him a kiss. In
Song of the South
(1946)
[4]
Uncle Remus
sings "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" in an animated field, and tells the stories of Brer Rabbit through animated sequences.
So Dear to My Heart
(1949) improved upon this.
The 1964 film
Mary Poppins
gained significant notoriety for its blend of live action and animation,
[5]
with an extensive sequence located "inside" a
street painting
, including
Dick Van Dyke
dancing with penguin waiters. In 1971
Bedknobs and Broomsticks
transported
Angela Lansbury
and
David Tomlinson
to an underwater nightclub for dancing, followed by Tomlinson competing with anthropomorphic animals in an aggressive soccer match.
[5]
Inspired by the Swedish film
Dunderklumpen!
(1974), Walt Disney produced
Pete's Dragon
in 1977 to experiment with similar techniques, placing the animated dragon, Elliot, in a live-action setting.
[5]
The genre broke new ground again with
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
in 1988,
[5]
with
Disney
and
Amblin Entertainment
producing advanced
special effects
and photo-realistic interactions among animated characters and live actors. Memorable moments include
Bob Hoskins
handcuffed to the animated title character.
[
citation needed
]
Techniques
[
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]
With live-action and traditional animated films, two
negatives
were double-printed onto the same
release print
pre-digitally. Since then, more complex techniques have used
optical printers
or
aerial image
animation cameras
, which enabled more accurate positioning, and more realism for the interaction of actors and fictional animated characters. Often, every frame of the live-action film was traced by
rotoscoping
, so that the animator could add his drawing in the exact position. With the rise of
computer animation
, combining live action and animation became common.
[
citation needed
]
Exceptions
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Since the late 1990s, some films have included large amounts of
photorealistic
computer animation alongside live-action filmmaking, such as the
Star Wars
prequels
,
The Lord of the Rings
trilogy
and the
Avatar
franchise
. These films are generally not considered animated due to the realism of the animation and the use of
motion-capture performances
, which are extensively based on live-action performances by implementing actors' movements and facial expressions into their characters.
[6]
Roger Ebert
said that "in my mind, it isn't animation, unless it
looks
like animation."
[3]
See also
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References
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]