A presentation Script based on my research of Motion Capture.

1. Abbie Smith A2 Film Studies
Presentation script
How has motion capture developed in the last decade?
[Lights dim]
[Spotlight illuminations the stage]
[Enter speaker]
Presenter: “From the early 1915, when two men built technology which could
place them in history and changed the way movies ideas can be transformed
into reality. Eadweard Muybridge and Max Fleischer have remained known as
the people who first created motion capture. Tonight I will present you with an
insight of the brief history of motion capture and the movies surrounding it by
discussing the four popular films that showcase the development of motion
capture. – Avengers assemble, Lord of the rings: The Two Towers, Pirate of
the Caribbean: At World’s End and one of the highest grossing films Avatar
the films gained around altogether is $6,153,327,819.
[Exit speaker]
[Spot light dim]
[Voiceover narration]
“Since the earliest days of motion picture photography and animation, artists
have sought ways to capture and reproduce naturalistic character notion.
Eadweard Muybridge developed a system that enabled him to photograph
and study the momentary poses of moving creatures. Max Fleischer designed
the rotoscope so that animators could copy human motions for use in
cartoons.” [From source five]
[Projection: Item seventeen (minus sound)]
“Today, most computer animation is achieved using a mouse to manipulate
digital models and set key frames within the digital environment. However the
idea of harnessing real movement is still attractive to filmmakers, and a
number of methods of channeling externally driven movement into the
computer have been developed.” [From source 5]
“Visual effects house Digital Domain, with whom Cameron has a partnership,
joined the project, which was supposed to begin production in the summer of
1997 for a 1999 release. However, Cameron felt that the technology had not
caught up with the story and vision that he intended to tell. He decided to
concentrate on making documentaries and refining the technology for the next
few years. It was revealed in a Bloomberg BusinessWeek cover story that
20th Century Fox had fronted $10 million to Cameron to film a proof-of-
concept clip for Avatar, which he showed to Fox executives in October 2005.”
[From Source fourteen]

2. Abbie Smith A2 Film Studies
[Projection: From item 15]
On set – Avatar (2009)
Expressive facial movement is the key to any convincing character
performance and is among the hardness form of animation to achieve
successfully. One method creates a physically based digital model that
emulates the way muscles and flesh move on a real face. The other technique
models the surface of the face as a series of fixed expressions. These are
then arranged into a sequence to create a performance – the digital
equivalent of replacement animation. The system worked by surrounding
performers with an array of five synchronized high-definition digital video
cameras. [From source 5]
[Projection: Item One, scene Gollum arguing with himself (01.34 – 01-37)
(Minus sound)]
Gollum was brought into existence through a combination of state-of-the-art
computer animation and sophisticated motion-capture technology utilizing
"fluid dynamics." Peter Jackson wanted to avoid a "computer-generated look,"
so instead the painstaking design lends to Gollum realistic joint movement
based on actual organic muscle and bone, all seen rippling under his
translucent, but flesh-like skin. [From Source 1]
"I think that Gollum may be one of the most sophisticated digital creations
seen yet," notes WETA’s Richard Taylor. "Throw out all your old ideas about
what CG looks like because Gollum defies them." [From source 1]

3. Abbie Smith A2 Film Studies
British actor Andy Serkis attracted great acclaim for his portrayal of the
creepy, tormented creature Gollum, in director Peter Jackson's adaptation of
the Lord of the Rings trilogy. It would be understandable for actors to feel
nervous of the way in which technology can literally overwrite them, but when
it comes to motion capture, it is the animated film producers rather than the
performers who seem to be holding back. Andy Serkis, on the other hand, is a
self confessed "performance captureaholic". "Performance capture is more
about capturing the emotional performance of a character. Performance
capture as a phrase arrived with (James Cameron's film) Avatar. Before that it
was more about fighting warriors in games - very physical."
[From source nine]
Serkis told the Daily Telegraph he was frustrated that his performances as the
creature Gollum in the Lord of the Rings films and forthcoming prequel The
Hobbit, as well as his latest turn, stood little chance of attracting the attention
of Oscars voters. Serkis said: "The emotional content of these performances
live and die by what the actors bring to the roles on set. I never approach a
live-action role any differently to a performance-captured role. The process of
acting is absolutely identical. "Performance-capture technology is really the
only way that we could bring these characters to life," he said. "It's the way
that Gollum was brought to life and the Na'vi in Avatar and so on and it's really
another way of capturing an actor's performance. [From Source 7]
[Projection: Item 3 Puny God (Minus sound)]
Fans have overwhelmingly agreed that the 2012 version of Hulk in Avengers
is (visually speaking) the best we’ve seen so far. In part that’s because movie
technology is better than it was at the time of both Ang Lee’s Hulk (2003) and
Marvel Studios’ The Incredible Hulk (2008); however, the other part is the fact
that Ruffalo – unlike previous Bruce Banner actors Eric Bana and Edward
Norton – is actually playing the Hulk via motion-capture performance.
You can actually see Ruffalo’s facial features in that Hulk image above, and
that fact alone goes a long way towards helping viewers suspend the disbelief
that this brilliant scientist actually transforms into a rage-fueled jade giant.
[From source 16]
[End Projection]
[Projection: Item 2 Davy Jones Death (Minus sound)]
As one of the world's most consistent and dependable character actors, Bill
Nighy might not look like the type to inhabit the body, mind and soul of dead
man, Davy Jones. Nighy certainly proved that looks can be deceiving.
Outfitted in multiple layers of digital effects, he gave life to a character of the
sort we had never seen on screen before. Now in Pirates of the Caribbean: At
World's End, Nighy gets to expand on the role that it seems only he can play.
[From Source twelve]
[Projection: Item four, scene Navi are crying out after sacred land is destroyed
(01:38:57 – 01:40:30) (Minus sound)]

4. Abbie Smith A2 Film Studies
Even 15 years ago, Cameron had a fully formed vision of Pandora—right
down to the blue aliens, six-legged mammalian predators, and floating
mountains. But he put any plans to film his Avatar script on indefinite hold,
knowing that the existing technology could not do justice to his ambitions. By
2000 he was growing impatient. So Cameron contacted Vincent Pace, an
entrepreneur who helped design and manufacture the underwater lighting
system for Cameron's 1989 movie, The Abyss. Through his eponymous
company, which develops and rents cameras for use in hazardous conditions,
Pace agreed to work with Cameron on a camera rig that could capture 2D and
3D images simultaneously. Cameron says the project cost about $12 million,
much of it his money. It's a rule as old as Hollywood: Never sink your own
money into a movie. Ultimately, Cameron felt his investment would be justified
not only because it would allow him to make Avatar but also because the new
technology would accelerate the rollout of 3D, giving theater chains an
incentive to upgrade their projectors and screens and moviegoers an
incentive to leave their increasingly well-equipped living rooms. [From Source
fourteen]
[End Projection]
In October 2005, Cameron screened his 3D segment for four Fox executives
at the offices of his production company, Lightstorm Entertainment, in Santa
Monica, Calif. "Their eyes kind of lit up," Cameron says. [From Source
fourteen] His audition piece was an early draft of the Emyn Muil scene where
Gollum swears on the precious, he leapt up onto the chair and began
caterwauling in abject misery. In that instant began the evolution of Gollum
into a motion-captured performance, something that would change both
Serkis and the industry forever. [From source eight]
Overall tonight we have gone back a decade and heard about the idea which
transformed the film industry as we know it to what it is now involving one of
the highest grossing films to this day and how far we go to create an
immersive experience for both the actors and audience and bringing this
characters and worlds truly to life using this technology known as motion
capture and just how far it’s going to go within another decade constantly
changing the films both old and new as we know it.
[Exit speaker]
[Spotlight dims]