Motion-Capture Technology Improved for Shooting Exteriors

  • Twentieth Century Fox’s “Rise of The Planet of The Apes,” premiering next month, made extensive use of performance capture techniques in its exterior shots.
  • Visual effects house Weta Digital, that developed motion capture techniques for “Avatar,” considers this the next step in the technique’s evolution.
  • “Avatar” was shot largely on enclosed sound stages, while “Rise” shot motion-capture performances on exterior sets.
  • Weta Digital created a portable performance capture rig teamed with special LED markers placed on the actors, enabling the production to take place in broad daylight.
  • “It was like the final step of mixing live-action and digital filmmaking,” explains senior visual effects supervisor Joe Letteri.
  • Actor Andy Serkis, a veteran of several performance-capture films, is developing a studio and academy to teach the technique, with the goal of making it more affordable and accessible even to lower-budget films.

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