A Scanner Darkly

I was one of the fifty animators selected to work on this film. We used a proprietary vector-based rotoscoping software called ColorEngine that used an interpolation algorithm to “guess” the transition animation between keyframes. The result is an amorphic-fluidity quality that fits with the theme of paranoia that runs throughout the story.

The production design was very minimal as we would handle the VFX, make-up, lighting, etc, in post. The bulk of my time was in creating the “scramble suits” that the undercover police wear to conceal their identities. The suits are a digital membrane that would fluctuate with images of a variety of people making them the “everyman.”

A. Raw footage in ColorEngine Software

B. INTERPOLATED TRACING

I then trace over the footage, while flipping forward through frames and adding more line work as needed. The software then fills the blank frames in between.

C. INTERPOLATED COLOR ANIMATION

Once the line-work is animated, I would start dropping in flat colors, highlights, shadows, etc, and let the software animate them over the course of the scene.

D. SCRAMBLE SUIT ANIMATION

The thematic purpose is to disguise his character as an undercover officer while also being “everyman” that can be afflicted by substance abuse.

One of my scenes:

Despite a very specific style-guide (and a contract to ensure that the actors’ representations actually resembled them) each artist brought their own signature style to the characters.

Final Frame

Trailer

Behind the scenes

Driveway scene