The technique, called rotoscoping, had been used in the animation industry for years before the video. Their follow up video, The Sun Always Shines On TV, also used rotoscoping but to a far lesser extent. Cry Wolf also had some amazing visual effects.
The special effects of this video blew everyone's mind and it's hard to believe so many years later that there hasn't been anything that even can remotely touch it. It looks just as good today as it did the first time we sat and watched it with our mouths hanging open.
I agree. It was an important, groundbreaking music video, due to the groundbreaking animation techniques used in it. It was an important stepping stone to 3-D computer-generated animation years later.
IMO, it still stands as an incredible production in the visual arts. If there’s anything “dated” about it, I’d suggest that it was the music, and the music production; the studio trend of the time, that included (and relied heavily upon) new technology: MIDI sequencers and synths, drum machines, the huge digital reverb and delay on the vocals (and not just vocals, either; they were using huge reverbs on drums, guitars, and, well, pretty much everything then)... but then again, that was the “sound” of the 80’s decade on many, many hit songs. And... it’s not that I don’t like the song, or that I don’t like the production - I did then, and I still do now - but it’s definitely a sonic reflection of its time, and in that sense, it’s dated, as any other music from a particular decade of the past is. IMHO, of course. 😉
They lost out to Dire Straits "Money For Nothing" in 1986 MTV VMA. This video was better than the crude blocky digital animation Dire Straits put out. It still stands the test of time.
@@phatbuddha1 Money for Nothing was a fun video but it didn't compare to this one in any way! Must have been because they mentioned MTV in Money for Nothing. Lol
I was a Production Assistant on this video (the animation side)....and yes, it was called roto-scoping. It was pioneered by the animation house I worked for called Collosal Pictures/USFX out of San Francisco. We also did lots of the MTV "bumpers" everyone saw in the '80's as well as FX for The Right Stuff, Top Gun and The Running Man. If anyone ever saw Aeon Flux from back in the day.....that was us, too. Ah, the good old days....! Glad people are still showing love for this video. Great reaction, India!
I'm in awe of those that were on the cutting edge of these videos! I'm so glad you were able to work on this groundbreaking video. My daughter is a Rigger making video games at Blizzard. She's very artistic!
@@lizagoya Wow....how times change. Back in the day no one would have ever though about Mo-Cap or digital productions like they do today. Some of those productions are crazy good.
That scene in the music video where he is banging himself against the walls to come to her world is an homage to the movie Altered States starring William Hurt and Blair Brown. This is one of the quintessential songs of the '80s.
I had a roommate once who'd known one of the crew on "Altered States". Evidently, the film's director, Ken Russell, wasn't sure what to do to make a compelling ending. He struggled so long to come up with something good that star William Hurt finally slammed his fist against the wall in anger & Russell suddenly shouted something like "That's it!! Do that, but with your whole body, again & again!!" On such spontaneity sometimes hangs a classic moment!
The incredible animation effects were produced by "rotoscoping" -- tracing over each frame of actual film footage with pencil to create realistic-looking motion. They can do this with computers now, but I think for the 1985 re-release of the song it was all done by hand. I was always interested in the effect because some parts of the video mimic the look of stop-motion photography, often used in silent films and early talking pictures (such as "King Kong," 1933). I used the "Take On Me" video in middle-school film classes I taught about 20 years ago to give the kids an idea about what stop-motion might look like if slowed down. Plus, they got to see a great 1980's video, made well before their time! The video, combined with the great song and romantic story, were an incomparable combination -- it's just one of the greatest songs of the '80's, definitely.
You can see this effect being used in a lot of animation back in the day. It was just an easier method of creating complex animation. Check out the original "Heavy Metal" movie from back in the day. As far as computer effects doing this watch "A Scanner Darkly"
@@heatsinker_5517 Oh yes, they were very intrigued by it! These were all 7th-8th graders who wanted to learn more about classic films, so this was a fun way to introduce them to some earlier processes. They loved the "old rock song," too, both the story, the music, and the special effects. It's really the perfect package for a rock song, old or new. The keyboard riff is simply genius, IMHO.
I think it is funny how the nostalgia from the earlier generation is so prominent. In the 80's you could see the 50's nostalgia, just like today you can see the 80's nostalgia.
Just. When I grew up in the 80's, I wished I had experienced the 50's. Later I realized that I was very lucky to be young in the 80's. Even in Norway, like the guys in A-ha.
They are 3 guys from Norway. I've seen them in concert in Norway 3 times. I've been a fan for over 30 years. I had the pleasure to meet them, and had a long wonderful chat with John Ratcliff in 2015 (the 30th anniversary) talking about the making of and where the idea for this video came from. Honestly, all of them are some of the nicest people I've ever met.
@@callumcowan7047 Actually, it's the 4th pre-millenium video to make it. The other three were November Rain, Smells Like Teen Spirit and Bohemian Rhapsody. All inferior to Take On Me, video-wise, I agree.
Cheryl Cercopely saw Adam Ant two years ago and he was great! And Colin Hay tours and does a lot of Men At Work songs but has really good solo stuff too.
A-ha es una de las mejores bandas del 80 solo sepan que siguen dando conciertos en todo el mundo, y tienen muchas hermosas canciones. Ademas que son unas personas increiblemente sencillas .
It sure was. When aliens land here some day and ask to see what a "music video" was, this one will probably be the one representing the art form for all time.
What a gorgeous clip - these songs of the 80s were the ones I listened to all the time. They were really joyful and bright! Bit of a contrast to today’s music.
That was exciting and those effects were groundbreaking. I always loved it when he hit that high note. India, I would like to congratulate you early on your 100,000 subscribers! I knew you could do it! Be proud of yourself!
I read somewhere once, that this music video is or was considered top 5 of the most influential ever in music industry. The 80's are something brilliant as a decade of music, the best for me. And A-ha are from Sweden.... Sweden gave the world some of the best artists ever at least till the 90's. Abba, A-ha, Roxette, Ace of Base, Avicii, Europe, The Cardigans, Eagle Eye Cherry, Swedish House Mafia etc... It is simply amazing from a country with a small population and in the ice north of Europe. I'm a huge Eminem fan but I know all music and the 80's are unique and magic eternal. Thanks for reacting. Salutes
Pausing to write this as the hand comes out and waves for her to join him. I am THRILLED to watch you react to this video India. It was so creative...and rather touching in a comic book kind of way. Thanks again!
Yeah, it reminds me of my mate and myself sitting on the school wall reading Bunty together! Their stories were not so exciting though! The sheer creativity and talent behind this video is just jaw dropping.
@@shanghai72 Just listened to the weekend. Didn't like the auto tune on the guys voice, but I can see where you're coming from in them attempting an eighties sound.
shanghai72 Cannot replicate the 80’s with authenticity. You had to live it. The Weeknd is a great singer, but does not hold a candle to real 80’s music.
The Mtv Unplugged live acoustic version they did a few years back was just as good as this original version.The arrangement is much slower,but damn if it ain't just as good.
Unfortunately I didn't even know the acoustic version existed until spring of 2018. Fortunately, it was used in "Deadpool 2", so I finally did get to hear - I thought it sounded great and was perfect the scene they used it in. I was definitely pleasantly surprised to discover that it was done by the original band!
This is why I loved the 80's. Because back then, singers could actually sing! They didn't need auto-tune, or need their voices digitized. They had real talent. Not that fake shit you hear these days.
The Brit band A-Ha had a great sound back in the day. This is classic 80s music. In some ways this song and this video you watched helped define a generation. This was one of THE best of its time frame. They also did one of the better Bond themes in "Living Daylights" but the sheer volume of their work is worth a listen.
Are you for real telling me you've never seen all these things? These songs are legendary. I love the fact that someone hasn't been touched by the magic. The 80s were a lot like that. A lot of fantasy, adventure, new technology. It was an ambitious time with new ideas just for fun. I miss it. Dearly. There will never be another decade in American entertainment like the 80s.
Even though I was a child of the 80s (born 1980), MTV did not really enter my consciousness until around '88 or '89, but I do remember my older sister singing along with and dancing to these videos. Looking back I can now see the appeal. For me listening to this music is not so much about the music itself, but the time they were released, it takes me back to a more innocent time in my life. A time when summer days seemed to last forever and winter was joyous, climbing the large oak tree in our backyard, running around in our city park, playing on the train tracks, learning to ride a bike, making snow angels, sledding. Upon turning 40 I seem to be missing those days even more. It is true what they say "ignorance is bliss".
This is an excellent video. It's important to remember how young the video industry was at that point. Music groups were realizing it was a great way to sell their songs, but often they had no idea what to do with the video. So videos like this really stood out. I also think that end part was inspired by a film called Altered States in which, at some point, the lead character has to really fight and pound on the walls to find his way out of the "altered state" he's in. It's an awesome video and a fun song. They're song for the James Bond film Living Daylights is one of my favorite Bond songs. I remember hearing it when I was in England and I just loved it.
I don't agree about it being a "sequel" as such. I'm pretty sure the first seconds are only done like that to show "this is from the guys who did that song". After "The End" it becomes its own thing entirely, and wow, what an amazing song it is.
What about other songs by A-Ha, like 'Crying In The Rain', for example, not to mention that they did a song for a James Bond movie, starring Timothy Dalton, if my memory serves me right. The song was called 'The Living Daylights', just like the movie. And if it wasn't Timothy Dalton, then it was Pierce Brosnan, it was one of those two. I also like 'Lifelines' by them, which is newer. So, they're definitely more than a one hit wonder band.
A-Ha’s “Take On Me”, and Peter Gabriel’s “Sledgehammer”, both relied on animation as their motif(s), and in that genre, they were both THE most creative, innovative, and brilliantly done videos on MTV at that time (1985?); they were so very different, so unique, and were a breath of fresh air compared to the standard faire of videos that MTV was showing at that time. And, as far as I’m concerned, (and I would bet that many people would agree with me) they STILL both stand as true masterpieces of the music video medium. ❤️🙏
Probably one of the most memorable songs of the 80's. Morten has an amazing voice. He sang it unplugged recently. Which you can find on RU-vid. That video was probably the best made of the decade, if not all time.
Found you randomly in my feed one day , just wanted to say your the best music reaction channel I’ve seen , the way you feel music even genres that you probably wasn’t accustomed to like Brit rock is great your emotion and the way you interpret the lyrics is lovely. Watching from London x
Yasssss, "Take On Me" is one of the greatest pop songs ever!!!!! Thank you so much for reacting to it, hadn't thought of mention it to you, dumb me haha, and also it's so nice you're mixing Spanish and English songs, the variety is refreshing, jumping genres and languages 😍😍😍😍😍, keep going girl! Almost there!!!!!
It received 5-6 music awards by MTV for music video of the year 1986. There is about a 5-part video on RU-vid of how they made this and how many drawings it took. The lead singer still performs live and can still hit the high notes! The girl supposedly was his girlfriend at the time. She still looks great (they interviewed both of them together) and she kept the outfit. The group is Norwegian but all speak perfect English (there are three guys in the group, no girl). Fans still visit the cafe where this was filmed also! Probably is my favorite video of all time!
I want to tell you my friends and I WAITED all day to see that video we thought the lead was so good looking and we screamed at the TV "Help Him, Help Him!!!" Hahaha!! Such GREAT memories!!! BTW you are killing me with your Def Leppard top! My FAVORITE BAND!! I can't tell you how many "Hysteria" ( one of their albums) cassettes I went through because I played them til they warped or broke or my cassette player ate them!!! (People of a certain age know all about the tragedy of an eaten cassette tape! Trust me). I REALLY enjoy your reactions!!!
There's a sequel to this video! Their follow-up, "The Sun Always Shines on TV", shows what happened to the couple. The song itself wasn't as popular in the US, though I think it was everywhere else.
They also performed the theme for the James Bond movie "The Living Daylights", but also check out the video "The Sun Always Shines On TV", the first few seconds picks up from "Take On Me".
Glad to see a new generation watching this video. I was twelve when I first saw this on a children's TV show in the UK called Blue Peter. Brings back good memories. This was an innovative video and no one had seen anything like it at the time. To this day there haven't been many music videos as good as this one. Only Michael Jackson's videos can top this one. I'm pleased you like it as much as I did back in 1984. A-HA is a boy band who went on to write the James Bond song, The Living Daylights, and they still sing this song today just as good live.
The first A-Ha song that most people hear, must admit i dont remember hearing too much of the rest of their stuff at the time, I probably got a bit fed up of this being on the radio all the time. Lol. Ive since come to appreciate it again, and a few others, (Hunting high and low, Stay on these roads, The sun always shines on tv,) but i think Manhatten Skyline is still my favourite. Another Nordic band to emerge recently, worth a listen, is Kaleo with Way down we go.
80's forever!!!!! I suggest also " Hunting high and low" by A-HA also. Sledgehammer,Road to Nowhere ,Save a prayer ( Gosh,they are too many!!! I don't remember all of that 80's hits!!!)
My mother loved this song. It makes me so happy to hear it and think back of how much she loved both the song and the video. Thank you so much for reacting to this song ❤️
Evelyn Wilson No she wasn’t ..Bunty Bailey was her name and she was a professional dancer who became Morten Harket’s girlfriend for a short while after they met whilst making this video...then she left him to become Billy Idol’s girl! Fool!!
A-HA and SIMPLE MINDS, these two hands rule our nostalgia collective minds when we hear A-HA's TAKE ON ME and SIMPLE MINDS DON'T YOU (FORGET ABOUT ME). When I hear either or both of these songs I think to myself, take me back to a time Trump was just business man and was too young to pay taxes, PLEASE!! 😂😂, sad, huh??
OK are you wearing a Def Leppard shirt have you reacted to Def Leppard videos because not only was take on me one of the most classic videos on MTV the video for for some sugar on me was literally number one on MTV for almost a year
Def Leppard started as a much harder rock band. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-DlAyNCbychA.html . That's when I saw them in concert. After that they went more mainstream. I still liked them but I would have liked to see if they were more cutting edge rock.
donaldjz The first time I saw them they were opening for Billy Squier the next time they came around they were headliners and it was the next year I think
It's amazing how you seem like you're trying ti break it down in the beginning instead of watching art and one of the greatest videos if the 80s and an awesome song. This video too months to do
A ha - "Take on Me" is the best music video ever in my opinion. I would wait for this to be aired on MTV when given the chance. My teenage years of the 80s were complete with this song.
Aaaaaah the greatness of the 80'sssssss in that video combined with your awesome shirt, two different genres united by the same era known to be the peak of music for any genre at the time, pop, pop rock, glam, metal, rap... you name it, all of those genres just magically converged in the same decade as if planned way ahead of time in agreement to meet in the 80's just emerging like out of nowhere, hit after hit, back when every song was a home run and is never gonna happen again and I believe I speak for everybody (old enough to have lived to witness this history in the making) when I say music will never be this good ever again, at least not at this level; so for all of us, we are so blessed that we got to live back then to listen to all this awesome music and I say "we are" because it'll never die so still nowadays we can keep listening to it and know exactly what it means when we do and feel the connection to the past so distant yet so present in our minds, such a great gift new generations simply won't have, perhaps they will learn to love it when they hear it and get to know how everything developed from that point of time to the present time.
I remember watching this on MTV back in the 80s. Good times. We thought this was beyond awesome, especially for being in the 80s, we never saw graphics like that. Especially in a music video. Thanks for reacting to this great song.
What a great song and you are gorgeous!! You seem like you’re always happy and you’re making so many people happy with your reviews, well done, from London xx
Love it, love it, loveeee iiit!!!! That song take me back to the pass, bring to my mind so many memories, thank you so much India, grettings from México city
Your reaction was every bit my own heart when I saw this on MTV as a teenager. It's like the shortest romance movie I'll never forget. I'm so glad you enjoyed it.
The official music video here on RU-vid has 1.5 billion views. Only a music video from the 80's could do that. I was 25 when this video came out in '85. Miss the 80's. 🎸
The great Morten Harket rocking a leather jacket, back in the days when videos told a story. A great Norwegian band still going strong. And who wouldn’t want to jump into those pictures?! I miss the 80’s.🥰