Watch: Behind the Magic Clip Shows How ILM Created The Hulk

The Avengers, everybody loves it. It's funny, it's exciting, it's epic, it's touching and it looks absolutely great; a key part of almost all of those criteria is The Hulk. As the clip we got a couple of weeks ago showed, ILM are the whizzes responsible for a lot of the fantastic visual effects present in Joss Whedon's superhero blockbuster, and they've rolled out a series of videos highlighting the pinnacle of that: Hulk.

The video, which is actually Part 2 (check out Part 1 here), shows how the geniuses over at ILM (who debuted in the feature animation world with 2011's Oscar winning Rango) married together Mark Ruffalo's charismatic mo-cap performance with sensitive and detailed animation. Check it out above.

I adored the visual effects and exquisite character animation in Life of Pi (check out my interview with the film's animation director here) but The Avengers is a major contender for the Best Visual Effects Oscar come 24th February.

Andy Serkis to Direct Mo-Cap Version of Animal Farm

Serkis at the premiere of Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

The Hollywood Reporter today broke the exciting news that motion-capture actor extraordinaire, Andy Serkis, best known for his role as Gollum in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy (and subsequent The Hobbit trilogy - which he also acted as second-unit director on) is set to make his directorial debut on a motion-capture adaptation of George Orwell's Animal Farm!

The Validity of Performance Capture Animation - What's the Actor and What's the Animator?

Motion/Performance Capture has always been a touchy subject, in terms of, how much of the final product is attributed to the actor's performance and how much is due to the actions and work of the animators. Each side has an opposing argument, animation buffs would argue that the role of the animator is the most important and that the performance is only outstanding due to being brilliantly illustrated and brought to life through detailed, animated characters. Whereas acting thespians would present the argument that animators only add the polish to it and that the powerful, raw performance and the emotion that endears the characters to us is the work of the individual actor or actress.

It's a touchy subject, and one that has been in the spotlight as of late - mainly since Avatar in 2009, but a lot more in the past few months as well - with two films in particular, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Adventures of Tintin. These two films have oppositional arguments; the Planet of the Apes prequel, Rise, is very much a live-action epic, yet, arguably the most important performance of it - in terms of the strength of the acting and the importance of the character to the plot and franchise - was that of Motion Capture veteran, Andy Serkis. Serkis, who rose to fame and public attention with his performances as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy and as King Kong in Peter Jackson's remake, turned in an extremely powerful and brilliant performance - one of the best I've seen this year - as Caesar and has been in the awards limelight as of late. Due to his popularity and the strong performance, there has been a large push for Serkis to be nominated for the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor - I think he's more than deserving of a nomination, if not a win. The performance, more so than his work as Gollum, highlights his strengths as it captures his facial performance as well as his bodily movements (there's an interesting article here about his Oscar chances and the arguments for and against) - however, what, of what we saw in the film, should be attributed to Serkis? And what should be attributed to the animators?

Serkis says in the aforementioned article, of Performance Capture, and of Weta Digital (Peter Jackson's visual effects company) who carried out both the special effects on Rise and the animation in Tintin (which Jackson also produced):

“Weta is very loyal to the actor’s performance and are able to interpolate that through the translation process after the director and actors have shot the scene on set. They’re very conscious that when they apply the ‘digital makeup,’ it is to honor the actor’s performance; not to bend or enhance it.”

This seems to, not underplay the role of the animator, but, more highlight the work of the actor or actress instead. However, The Adventures of Tintin (also starring Serkis, as Captain Haddock, and involving Peter Jackson, as producer) plays to the opposite side, in its quest to be nominated for Best Animated Feature at the Oscars, it played up that, yes, they do use the performance of the actor or actress, but only as the basis for the still very complex and detailed character animation; highlighting the work of the animators over that of the actors or actresses.

Now, obviously the two cases aren't entirely comparable, but it still raises the question, who gets the credit for these films? Personally, I believe one can't work without the other; there's nothing wrong with traditional, frame-by-frame, animation, but if you're working with performance capture, the role of the actor is equally important as that of the animator, a weak character will come through if either the animation or the acting is weak. As a method of animation, I've never been all that fond of Mo-Cap, particularly because of the just plain creepy Uncanny Valley scenario, which takes you out of the moment, but if used right, it can result in sheer brilliance, as evident by all the films mentioned here. People just need to remember that, performance capture, like any film, animated or other wise, is a collaboration and a team effort.

Tank-a-mania!

On the flip side of success stories when it comes to animated films (most recently Rango) there are always some films that, for want of a better word, and in one way or another, tank. This year's examples of those films, so far, are Hop and Mars Needs Moms.

Hop, the second film from upstart animation company, Illumination Entertainment (the company who was, last year, responsible for the widely successful, Despicable Me) is a CGI/Live Action mash-up (a la Garfield and Yogi Bear) and seems to have fallen into the same pot hole that most of these films do; namely, bad reviews. Hop, which stars Russell Brand as the Easter Bunny who instead wants to follow his dream as a drummer, currently holds a very low rating of 24% on review aggregator site, Rotten Tomatoes.

We'll have to wait and see how Hop does at the Box Office, but one film that we can judge as a Box Office bomb right now, is Disney's Mars Needs Moms.

The last film from Imagemovers Digital (now closed), the company behind Polar Express and A Christmas Carol, using motion capture technology, has tanked in every sense of the word. The mo-cap method of animation is generally a very unpopular one, as it seems to cross the uncanny valley, and this is one of many reasons why the film is failing. Currently holding a Rotten Tomato score of 40% (not particularly awful), the film has grossed a meagre $30 million + and is currently on track to lose well over $100 million. It is very rare for a Disney branded film to do so badly.

We'll have to keep our eyes peeled for these films, but I wouldn't hold your breath for Hop or Mars Needs Moms.

Mars Needs Moms Clips

Well, Disney and Imagemovers Digital's next animated release, Mars Needs Moms is out tomorrow! As such and to help feed the hype we have four new clips from the film (below), showcasing various scenes in the film and the absolutely stunning animation:









This film is starting to look ever better, definitely seems like a hybrid of WALL E and Tron: Legacy. Stay tuned for more and please share your thoughts!

Also, please remember to vote in the poll to the right as to which blog logo you prefer!

Mars Needs Moms Trailer

The trailer for the latest film from Disney and Imagemovers Digital, who recently made A Christmas Carol, has recently surfaced onto the official Disney Movie Trailer YouTube Channel.
The film uses motion capture technology for its animation, it looks interesting, if not wholly original.
The film casts the voices of Seth Green (Robot Chicken) and Joan Cusack (Jessie, Toy Story 2 and 3) and is out next year.
Poster below.