“A Scanner Darkly” was shot, locked and edited, just like a normal live-action film. After transferring to the animators via Quicktime, “We bring it into the world of animation,” says Tommy Pallotta, “and make the same movie twice.” The ‘second movie,’ which gives the hard reality of the first a trippy, pop art twist, was created by a 15-month long computer animation process designed to paint reality, not mimic it. The “painterly” process of interpolated- rotoscoping allows animators to paint over live action DV footage in ways similar to putting brush strokes on paper or canvas. The process frees animators from having to hand-draw each line in every frame. Instead, the computer connects fluid lines and brush strokes across a wide range of frames to create lifelike human movement.
The process used in “A Scanner Darkly” is a further evolved version than the one used in “Waking Life.” There are several creative differences between the films as well. Say’s Linklater, “On ‘Waking Life,’ one scene could be wildly different than the one that followed. But on this film, we were always thinking in terms of a graphic novel that would have a similar design throughout, having a consistent look was one of our overriding ideas from the start.” Says Pallotta, “We worked more with illustrators as opposed to painters, comic artists, sculptors—people who didn't have any sort of animation background. We wanted this film to have a singular visual style.”
The animation team looked at one piece of video at a time. The software enables animators to create everything from flat looks to watercolors. The drawing is done directly on computer; animators can go back and forth one frame at a time. Instead of simply saving an image, the computer recalls every brushstroke of the animator. The outline drawn is then filled with color—a “frozen layer” can also be created in the background that doesn’t move. The layers can be separated and edited as needed. Animators can even preview a scene with audio to check their progress. To create continuity in the color, the software enables the animators to “pick up” the color of an object in live action and recreate it on computer.
Despite the shortcuts that technology affords, the animation is still a painstaking process. It took up to 500 hours to make one minute of “A Scanner Darkly” with 30 people working full time on the project every day. The animators also had to research their characters and their actors.
“The animation team became familiar with the personalities they were working with,” says Downey Jr. “It enhanced things so much.”
The process ultimately offers Linklater the opportunity to let his imagination run wild. “I don’t feel there are any limitations to what we can do in post-production,” he says. “That’s what’s fun about this. We’ve created another world.”
No one is more excited to see the finished product than the actors themselves. “As time went on I really felt like it was going to be something special and I felt privileged to be a part of it,” says Harrelson. This feeling was shared by the daughters of Philip K. Dick. “This amazing group of filmmakers—true Philip K. Dick fans—and the Philip K. Dick Trust came together to get this project made. It meant so much to us.”
Movie Database
In Theaters
