Rotoscoping is a word with a long tradition in cinema. If you ever watch modern television and films, you will also be experiencing the results of extensive rotoscoping.

The vast majority of rotoscoping is used to create masks. These masks can be used for a number of different things; secondary color correction, limiting effects to certain areas, or in compositing for keeping parts of the image over the areas that we have replaced to create a realistic result. The usefulness of accurate masks cannot be overstated. Every time you see a more than basic effect, there will be some form of masking in there.

Rotoscoping is a core VFX skill. Whatever your role is in post-production, you will encounter it to some degree or other. You may not want or need to be pulling off fully articulated roto objects. But there is always going to be something you want to keep in or out the shot. This is a job for rotoscoping.

Roto can be a very time-intensive process. The key to saving time, is to identify what you are trying to achieve with your mask.

In the next few exercises we will be focusing on how you can get the best results with the least amount of effort, using Mocha to do as much of the work as possible.

Training Series

Mocha Essentials