{{Short description|Cinematography, videography not produced using animation}} {{Redirect|Live Action}} {{distinguish|Live action role-playing game}} {{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}} [[File:Clint Eastwood and Marianne Koch in "A Fistful of Dollars" (1964).jpg|thumb|Live action movies, such as ''A Fistful of Dollars'', use photography to depict settings and characters as they appear in life. In this example, Clint Eastwood and Marianne Koch appear in a real-world location.]]
'''Live action''' is a form of cinematography or videography that uses photography instead of animation. Some works combine live action with animation to create a live-action animated feature film. Live action is used to define film, video games or similar visual media.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live-action |title=Merriam Webster Online Dictionary |date=October 15, 2023 |publisher=Merriam-Webster |access-date=April 6, 2010 |archive-date=September 15, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150915045255/http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/live-action |url-status=live }}</ref>
Photorealistic animation, particularly modern computer animation, is sometimes erroneously described as "live action", as in the case of some media reports about Disney's ''The Lion King'' (2019 remake).<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/get-right-disney-animated-not-live-action-remake-lion-king-143343.html |title=Get It Right: Disney Is Doing An Animated—Not Live-Action—Remake of 'The Lion King' |date=September 28, 2016 |work=Cartoon Brew |access-date=November 23, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803154659/https://www.cartoonbrew.com/feature-film/get-right-disney-animated-not-live-action-remake-lion-king-143343.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.mandatory.com/culture/1129001-no-disney-isnt-making-live-action-lion-king-movie |title=No, Disney Isn't Making a 'Live-Action' Lion King Movie – Mandatory |date=September 28, 2016 |work=Mandatory |access-date=November 23, 2018 |language=en-US |archive-date=August 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200803151820/https://www.mandatory.com/culture/1129001-no-disney-isnt-making-live-action-lion-king-movie |url-status=live }}</ref> According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, live action involves "real people or animals, not models, or images that are drawn, or produced by computer".<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/live-action |title=live action Meaning in the Cambridge English Dictionary |website=dictionary.cambridge.org |language=en |access-date=November 14, 2017 |archive-date=July 1, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190701023943/https://dictionary.cambridge.org/dictionary/english/live-action |url-status=live }}</ref>
== Overview == As the normal process of making visual media involves live action, the term itself is usually superfluous. However, it makes an important distinction in situations in which one might normally expect animation, such as when the work is adapted from a video game, a comic book, or an animated cartoon.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
The phrase "live action" also occurs within an animation context to refer to non-animated characters. In a live-action animated film such as ''Space Jam'', ''Who Framed Roger Rabbit'', or ''Mary Poppins'' in which humans and cartoons coexist. In this case, the "live-action" characters are the "real" actors, such as Michael Jordan, Bob Hoskins and Julie Andrews, as opposed to the animated "actors", such as Roger and Jessica Rabbit.{{cn|date=June 2023}}
As use of computer-generated imagery (CGI) in films has become a major trend, some critics, such as Mark Langer, have discussed the relationship between live action and animation. New films that use computer-generated special effects can not be compared to live-action films using cartoon characters because of the perceived realism of both styles combined.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=D6UMBAAAQBAJ |title=The Films of Tim Burton: Animating Live Action in Contemporary Hollywood |last=McMahan |first=Alison |date=August 21, 2014 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=978-0-13-210475-3 |chapter=Hollywood's Transition to CGI |access-date=December 19, 2014}}</ref>
== Live action vs. animation == In producing a movie, both live action and animation have their own pros and cons. Unlike animation, live action involves the photography of actors and actresses, as well as sets and props making the movie seem personal and as close to reality as possible. The only drawback is one's budget. On the other hand, animation works well in conveying abstract ideas but it generally takes much longer to produce.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.skeletonproductions.com/insights/animation-vs-live-action |title=Animation vs Live Action: Which Makes the Best Corporate Video? |access-date=March 23, 2018 |archive-date=July 23, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200723141631/https://www.skeletonproductions.com/insights/animation-vs-live-action |url-status=live }}</ref>
== See also == * Animation * List of actors who have played animated characters * Footage * List of films with live action and animation * List of live-action films based on cartoons and comics * List of live-action puppet films
== References == {{Reflist}} {{Film genres}} Category:Animation terminology Category:Film and video terminology Category:Television terminology sv:Spelfilm