Marrying Live-Action and Animation in Movies: A Brief History

Through the years, marrying live-action footage with animated elements has already produced a great number of movies shot with real actors, props, and sets, which are then blended with traditional and/or computer-generated images (CGI). In fact, such a combination already came to the point that it's already hard to tell the two apart. For instance, "Avatar" is a live-action movie, but it uses much CGI elements in a photo-realistic way.

Processes Used

During the earlier days of cinema, the most common process in integrating live-action footage with animated visuals involved the double printing of two negatives on the same release print. Other techniques required the use of the optical printer or aerial image animation cameras to come up with more precise positioning of the required visual elements and for better interaction between actors and animated characters.

Using the process called rotoscoping also allowed an animator to add his drawing in the exact position required in a live action film by tracing the animated character or object on each movie frame. Some also filmed the live-action part first, then they had the actors sit in front of a painted background. After which, they would incorporate additional animated elements into the footage through rotoscoping or cel animation.

Combining animation with live-action footage started gaining prominence in 1920 with Winsor McCay's "Gertie the Dinosaur," which used both live action and animation in its visuals. The film showed a live-action narrator interacting with an animated landscape and character. Max Fleischer also made a series where his cartoon character Koko the Clown interacted with the real world. Even Walt Disney's initial directorial efforts featured the short cartoons "Alice Comedies," a series that features a young live-action girl named Alice interacting with animated characters.

Combining 2D Animation and Live-action Shots

Long before movies like "G-Force" and "Yogi Bear," along with upcoming ones like "Hop" and "The Smurfs," most live action-animation offers utilized 2D animation blended into live action footage. Two of contemporary cinema's notable and pioneering works incorporating animation and live-action visuals were "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" in 1988 and "Space Jam" in 1996. Both blockbuster hits were amalgamations of traditional animation that successfully combined hand-drawn images and live-action sequences.

For "Who Framed Roger Rabbit," it attempted to use advanced special effects during its time to incorporate animation elements in 2D format into a realistic world. For "Space Jam," it utilized the live characters of Michael Jordan having interactions with Looney Tunes characters.

Combining 3D Animation and Live-Action Shots

Computer animation led to the advent of CGI where either intentionally animated-looking or photo-realistic elements are incorporated in a movie's live-action shots. Such process uses a variety of visual effects and animation programs where visual elements are primarily produced using the computer. Some also utilize motion-capture cameras where real actors' movements are recorded into the computer prior to creating 3D models, while others also come up with physical 3D models that are scanned into the computer.

During the 1990s, movies like "Babe" and "Stuart Little" paved way to the conviction that animated characters could already look similar to live-action elements. In the next decades to come, technological advancements led to more movies using 3D elements that more convincingly blended with live-action shots -- most of which in photo-realistic ways like in "Alice in Wonderland" and "Alvin and the Chipmunks."