Celluloid

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Celluloid

Tron adventures takes place in a virtual world inside a computer and the film itself is a milestone in digital special effects. In 1982, the animated scenes using this new technology represented a revolution.

But the inescapable limits of the technology of the day concerned the living characters. All the scenes with actors was thus shot in the traditional way and was the subject of another major technological breakthrough of the film: the enhancement of live action through the use of traditional animation.

Here's how the creators of Tron did the fifty-three minutes of footage from the film including virtual actors :

First, the actors were filmed in black and white costumes and to generate a high-contrast image.
Each image was then enlarged on a celluloid * about 31 centimeters by 50 such as the one presented here
The radiation effects were obtained by projecting light on celluloid, all with blinds and colored filters.
Flesh tint applied on the actor faces complete the image.

All these elements were finally photographed on an animation bench or assembled on an optical printer.

With a rate of 24 frames per second of film, 60 seconds per minute and 53 minutes of effects, about 76,320 images have been processed individually. It seems that only a small quantity of celluloid has survived, remains of an obsolete know-how.

* A celluloid is a transparent plastic sheet. It is on these leaves that traditional animation characters are painted frame by frame.

Writer: AG