“Take on Me” by a-ha is more than just a song—it’s a visual and auditory experience that bridges the gap between black-and-white sketchbook art and bursts of electrifying color. Released in 1985, this synth-pop masterpiece became a cultural phenomenon, largely due to its iconic rotoscope animation music video, which remains one of the most recognizable in music history.
With its soaring falsetto vocals, rapid-paced rhythm, and dreamlike visuals, Take on Me delivers a feeling of motion, escape, and fantasy, reflected in both its sonic energy and groundbreaking aesthetics.
🎨 A Visual Journey: The Colors of “Take on Me”
The music video for Take on Me is an artistic marvel, blending hand-drawn animation with real-life footage in a way that had never been seen before. While most of the video exists in a monochrome, pencil-sketch world, flashes of vivid blue and soft sepia tones break through, signaling a transition between two realities—the illustrated fantasy and the real world.
🌟 Color Palette Breakdown
Graphite Black (#232323) → The hand-drawn pencil sketch world, evoking a sense of nostalgia, animation, and movement.
Paper White (#FAFAFA) → The contrasting bright background, creating an illustrated, timeless aesthetic.
Azure Blue (#00AEEF) → A pop of vibrancy, appearing in clothing, reflections, and reality transitions, symbolizing the hope and longing in the song’s lyrics.
Warm Sepia (#B97A57) → A faded, cinematic warmth, connecting the animated world with reality.
Electric Silver (#C0C0C0) → A futuristic metallic glow, hinting at the modernity of synth-wave music.
🔗 These colors mirror the song’s central theme—the interplay between a dream and reality, longing and connection.
🎵 The Sonic Energy of “Take on Me”
Musically, Take on Me is a high-energy synth-pop anthem that combines: 🎹 Driving electronic beats → Emphasizing movement, creating an uplifting and urgent pace. 🎤 Soaring vocals → Morten Harket’s falsetto hits emotional peaks, carrying the song’s yearning tone. 🎸 Subtle guitar and bass layers → Adding depth to the song’s otherwise light, airy production. ⚡ BPM: 168 → One of the fastest tempos in 80s pop, making it ideal for dancing and rhythmic animation.
💡 The song’s rhythm perfectly aligns with the animation’s rapid, fluid transitions, making it feel like the music and visuals are one continuous motion.
🎬 A Music Video That Revolutionized Storytelling
Few music videos have had the cultural impact of Take on Me. Directed by Steve Barron, the video used rotoscoping, a painstaking technique that involved tracing over live-action footage frame by frame to create a sketched, animated reality.
📌 The storyline? A woman in a café flips through a comic book, only to be pulled into its illustrated world by the charismatic hand of the lead singer. What follows is a race between realities, a love story woven between black-and-white sketches and bursts of color.
🔥 Why It Still Matters?
Innovative Animation → The first major music video to fully utilize rotoscope technology.
A Cinematic Love Story → The fusion of romance, adventure, and fantasy.
Timeless Appeal → Still referenced in modern music, pop culture, and even memes.
⚡ “Take on Me” as a Visual Soundtrack to Motion
Whether it’s the fast-paced synth lines, dynamic animation, or emotional storytelling, Take on Me is all about movement—from sketch to life, from longing to reality.
It’s a song that lives in constant motion, and its color story reflects that journey—from the gray tones of uncertainty to the electric blue flash of possibility.
🚀 Even today, pressing play on “Take on Me” feels like stepping into an adventure—a world where the lines between fiction and reality blur, if only for a moment.
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