Performance Capture and CGI By Danielle Frekot Visual Effects in Film Performance Capture and CGI By Danielle Frekot

Performance Capture: What It Is Multiple cameras capture an actor’s movements from all angles Actors wear formfitting suits with markers to capture movement Takes place in a stage area called a volume Andy Serkis as Gollum from Lord of the Rings (photo source: left and right)

Performance Capture: What It Is

Performance Capture: Is It Real Acting? It is an alternate style of acting While not the same as traditional film acting, it does use acting skills, just differently than what people may be used to seeing. "There's a purity to it. You can't rely on anything else but your own skill as an actor; it enables the actor to shoot the scene in one take without worrying where the camera is."  - Andy Serkis Andy Serkis as Snoke in Star Wars: The Force Awakens (photo source)

Actors on Performance Capture in Avatar

Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) CGI has garnered a bad rep In its early use, the goal was to create a spectacle- to show off the new technology Nowadays, its goal is to enhance the image on screen while remaining realistic The Matrix (1999) (photo source: left and right)

CGI: OLD VS NEW Terminator 2 (1991) (photo source: top and bottom) Star Trek (2009) (photo source: top and bottom)

NEW VIEW: USE CGI IN REALISTIC WAY  “There’s nothing worse than watching a movie where the CGI stands out so much that it looks artificial.” - Star Trek (2009) cinematographer, Dan Mindel “If we need vfx to tell a story in a better way, then why not do it?... But it’s another thing to be seduced totally by the visual effects.” - Twilight: New Moon cinematographer, Javier Agnirresarobe

BUT DON’T FORGET THE ANIMATORS “We wanted the creative choice of performance to be made by actors and not made by animators, and that takes nothing away from great animators… the animators were responsible for showing that performance came through in the CG characters and that is a huge skill in itself.” - Avatar producer, Jon Landau

Recent Examples of Visual Effects (VFX)

Recent Examples of Video Effects (VFX) http://www.buzzfeed.com/matthewtucker/impressive-before-and-after- photos-of-cgi-magic?utm_term=.njL4ERZqv#.wc6nybXmD http://www.buzzfeed.com/awesomer/support-your-local-sfx- shop?utm_term=.oswrwYnM0#.mlbgPZ4Dm http://brightside.me/article/17-favorite-movies-before-and-after-visual- effects-64705/

Conclusion New technology like CGI and performance capture can be a good thing when used to enhance realism Performance capture is actor-driven The effects are more like make-up or dressing The focus on looking realistic creates a challenge for the animators, and their talents should not go unnoticed It is the blend and balance of animation and performance that makes visual effects successful

bibliography Abramowitz, Rachel. “Will ‘Avatar’ be the Death of Film Acting?; Hollywood Divided Over Impact its Technology Will have on the Craft.” The Washington Post. Feb 28 2010. ProQuest.Web. Egan, Jack. “Finetuning is the trend of filmmaking’s newest blend: high-tech films seek right mix of lensing and CGI.” Daily Variety. 14 Dec. 2009: A1+. Business Insights: Essentials. Web. Nestor, Frank. “PERFORMANCE CAPTURE IS ACTING.” Back Stage – National Edition52.45 (2011): 12,12,15. ProQuest. Web. Pallant, Chris. “Digital Dimensions In Actorly Performance: The Aesthetic Potential Of Performance Capture.” Film International (16516826) 10.3 (2012): 37-49. Art Source. Web. Singh, Greg. “CGI: A Future History of Assimilation in Mainstream Science Fiction Film.”Extrapolation (pre-2012) 48.3 (2007): 543,557,440. ProQuest. Web.