How Kanye Made The ‘Heartless’ Video

Kanye’s latest video off of 808’s and Heartbreak, “Heartless,” leaked yesterday. If you haven’t seen it yet, it’s another moment in the Louis Vuitton Don’s cool shit whirlwind. Think John Legend dancing around in Mulan, and you’ve got the gist. But how did they make the characters’ movements look so much like their live action counterparts? It’s actually not as complicated as it seems.

In Heartless, director Hype Williams uses a method called Rotoscoping. It’s an animation technique in which illustrators trace over live-action film movement and turn it into animation. Originally, pre-recorded films were projected onto frosted glass panels and re-drawn by an animator, but now it’s all computers. This technique allows animators to perfectly emulate a character’s idiosyncrasies, even someone as complex and nuanced as Kanye West! Watch 'Ye’s latest and some other classic pop culture uses of Rotoscoping below…

RALPH BAKSHI’S LORD OF THE RINGS (1978)

AH-HA’S “TAKE ON ME” VIDEO (1985)

BEASTIE BOYS’ “SHADRACH” VIDEO (1989)

RICHARD LINKLATER’S WAKING LIFE MOVIE (2001)

QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE “GO WITH THE FLOW” VIDEO (2003)

CHARLES SCHWAB COMMERCIAL (2005)

JUNO (2007) OPENING CREDITS

KANYE WEST’S “HEARTLESS” VIDEO (2008)

Is it more Mulan, or Alladin? You decide.