A-ha’s “Take on Me” video was directed by Steve Barron.
Released in 1985, the video combines live-action footage with pencil-sketch animation. Its story follows a young woman who is drawn into a comic-book world and pursued by motorcycle-racing villains. The distinctive rotoscoped animation was created by Michael Patterson and Candace Reckinger.
Steve Barron was an Irish film and music-video director whose other notable videos included Dire Straits’ “Money for Nothing” and Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean.” His work helped make “Take on Me” one of the defining visual productions of the MTV era.
The video was initially less successful than the song, but a reworked version received heavy MTV exposure in the United States. At the 1986 MTV Video Music Awards, it won six awards, including Best New Artist in a Video and Best Concept Video.