a scanner darkly

otoscoping is a form of animation where someone traces over live action film, and it divides opinion. Some see it as merely a cheat for the unskilled, while others feel it achieves an atmosphere unlike any other form of animation.

The technique has been used widely in the past, including Prince Charming in Disney's Snow White, but is less common these days other than for specific elements within films. It is therefore surprising that it has been used to create the whole of the futuristic A Scanner Darkly, a film of the book by Philip K Dick.

Several big budget films have been made from Dick's work - Bladerunner, Minority Report and Total Recall - so it is interesting to see a new slant on the strange worlds created by the author.

As a taster, you can see the first 24 minutes on the web, but spare a thought for the trials and tribulations of the director and his staff during the making of the film. Personally, I like the resulting style, though, as with the graphic-novel look of Sin City, it's probably best if done rarely. Anyway, the film appars to have far more serious weaknesses which mean that quibbles about rotoscoping are missing the point.

Tags: rotoscope | philip k dick | animation