CMU School of Drama


Wednesday, November 14, 2018

We Visited the the Weta Digital Performance Capture Stage with Robert Rodriguez

Collider: A few weeks ago, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Wellington, New Zealand for the Alita: Battle Angel experience at Weta Digital. Weta Digital is a digital visual effects company that was founded by Peter Jackson, Richard Taylor, and Jamie Selkirk in 1993. From Gollum to Caesar, Middle-earth to Pandora, Weta Digital has created some of the most memorable characters and worlds of the last twenty years.

1 comment:

Elizabeth P said...

Weta Digital is a company that is committed to a high level of artistry and imagination. As a huge fan of their work, I am always impressed at the level of skill each of their artists have, whether it be digital animation, set dressing, or creating thousands of weapons for Lord of the Rings. One of my favorite movies that has come out of the motion capture studio is the Adventures of Tintin film. I remember watching that movie in theaters and seeing the characters moving in highly realistic ways, but also at some moments not being able to tell if what I was watching was real or animated (i.e. being able to see Captain Haddock's pores). I am excited for the upcoming movie Alita as it combines live action with digital, and seems to be an appropriate medium from the original story Alita Battle Angel. In watching the video, one of the things that interested me most was how these actors work with literally nothing but odd gray pieces and backdrops, it's literally up to their imagination how the world looks and how the scene might play out. It reminds me of how when you're a kid you can take anything and it can be anything, I think that as a performer with motion capture that's one of the challenges about it. I don't understand these sort of technology but I am really grateful it exists as I love the outcome.