By Ryan Parsons | Image property of Warner Independent Pictures
A Scanner Darkly Poster
You can only be slightly disappointed when a movie that looks as original and fulfilling as A
Scanner Darkly gets pushed back half a year. However, we had expected such a move when Warner Independent began to have open calls for more help and more artists.
In a process known as rotoscoping, artists are forced to hand draw every frame of live-action video recorded previously. After the artist traces the defining elements in a frame, a custom-made software begins to fill in the rest. Though the process sounds tedious, it also sounds simple enough.
However, any time one deals with a technology on the cutting edge they are bound to encounter some glitches.
Scanner Darkly Glitched
According to Wired, Richard Linklater-- who previously used the rotoscoping technology in Waking Life --has discovered that there are just some frames and entire scenes that don't want to follow the rules created by rotoscoping.
Take for instance the final thirty seconds to the film. Though I do not want to give any plot details away, lets just say we find Keanu Reeves character among a bunch of blue flowers as the camera begins to pull away. As the camera draws farther away into the sky, we see an entire field of blue. Though this scene is only thirty seconds long, Linklater and crew have been trying to get it right for several months. When encountering so many tiny details, such as thousands of flowers, the rotoscoping program created for A Scanner Darkly shows off its 'glitch' through an annoying 'flicker.'
Though the 'flicker' can be labeled as annoying and a major setback to production, Richard Linklater expected as much. Having encountered various issues while creating Waking Life, Linklater realized that rotoscoping can be one heck of a headache. But then why go forward with another film that uses this type of medium?
Linklater was proud to have created a film on the new animation style but disappointed with the overall impact of Waking Life. The director therefore set out to find a film that would fit the medium, capture an adult audience and have a larger effect on audiences. Linkater concluded with what better option than Philip K. Dick's 'futuristic' novel A Scanner Darkly.
The story is about an undercover agent, Fred, who must become addicted to a popular drug called Substance D in order to keep his cover. However, Substance D has side effects including split personality. During his investigation Fred falls prey to the side effects and soon can't tell whether he is an undercover agent or a Substance D dealer; the watched is also the watcher.
The pushed release for A Scanner Darkly has bought Linklater and his crew more time to work out every bug and polish every shot for the adaptation. Hopefully they will not need to push the release again.
A Scanner Darkly comes to theatres on July 7th.
For the trailers, movie stills, more posters, synopsis and more movie info, go to the A
Scanner Darkly Movie Page.
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