Norwegian band a-ha released “Take on Me,” famous for its pencil-sketch animated music video.
The best-known version of the video was directed by Steve Barron and combined live-action footage with rotoscoped pencil animation. In the story, a young woman is pulled into a comic-book world where a motorcycle-racing hero comes to life. The visual style was created by tracing over filmed movement, producing a hand-drawn effect that shifts between the real world and animation.
The video helped “Take on Me” become a worldwide hit in 1985. It won six awards at the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, including Best New Artist in a Video and Best Concept Video. Earlier versions of the song and video existed, but the 1985 recording and its revised clip are the versions associated with a-ha’s international breakthrough.