This beautiful short film, titled Ballet Rotoscope and created by Tokyo-based design group EUPHRATES, illustrates the delicate movements of a ballet dancer. As the ballerina moves, different points on her body are traced by a computer-generated technique called rotoscoping, to reveal the geometric beauty of dance.
Rotoscoping is a method that is often used for visual effects in live-action movies. The animator creates a silhouette, called a matte, that can be used to clip an object from a scene, which can then be artificially pasted onto a different background. However, in EUPHRATES’ film, the matte lines are left visible, and seem to have a life of their own. At times they detach from the points they trace, creating a choreographed relationship with the ballerina.
