Watching Neil do mocap is mesmerizing. How he just...dips right into a cartwheel or a handspring with little to no difficulty is incredible to me. The lad is 6'2 and all limbs but he has amazing control of all of it. I really admire his work tbh (and yes he is very handsome and very sweet)
YEARS of martial arts training, stunts training, on top of just being Neil
Last night I started a playthrough with some friends I met on Neils vagabonds discord server and
Vivi: lae'zel does this cute thing where she points with all five fingers! I've never seen anyone do that!
Me: oh, she does it coz Neil does it! He did a majority of the hand modeling for the game
Vivi: wait you're telling me this is all Neil isms in the hands?
Me: yep!
Vivi: (in love)
Then we started talking about the performance capture for the game and the actors all did exceptionally well, andNeils hands / performance were used for a LOT of the game as well across characters.
I think hes said he did everything but the intimacy scenes? Anyway it was just a fun time.
"Andy Serkis in the Flesh" by Oliver Franklin-Wallis for GQ Magazine (27 February 2023)
Photography by Tung Walsh
Andy did an interview for GQ Hype. He talks about so many of his past roles, future projects, and performance capture. Also the opening paragraph mentions how handsome he is, so you know you're in for a good read.
Had some observations about Fallout 4 and Baldur's Gate 3.
I really like Fallout 4, despite its flaws, and I think the voice actors and character animators did a good job portraying the characters.
At the same time, Baldur's Gate 3 really shows how far things have come in terms of mocap/performance capture.
It's not that Fallout 4's animations are bad. The mouths makes the right motions when forming sounds and you can clearly see that some people are supposed to be old.
The skin textures for older characters in BG3 though are leagues better, and the hair is amazing. BG3's default hairstyles are as good as the modded hairstyles for Fallout 4. Better, when it comes to hairstyles with kinked hair.
Now, Fallout 4 came out in 2015 and BG3 in 2023, so in some ways it's not a fair comparison at all. I do think it's a fascinating look into how the tech has developed.
The facial expressions in BG3 are way better, though sometimes a bit over-exaggerated, but the body language is - just natural. Like real life.
Fallout 4 has some scenes that definitely reads as mocapped. Hancock stabbing Finn when you enter Goodneighbour, or Piper's speech trying to get into Diamond City comes to mind.
The stabbing in particular, you can see when the game transitions from animation to mocapped.
In BG3 it's all seamless, almost every time.
Much of the rest of the time, the characters in Fallout 4 are much more static in how they stand and speak.
I didn't really think of it much, because I was used to it, but now that I have played both close together, all the little head motions, hand motions and shifting of the body weight that the characters do in BG3 really makes the character feel alive and natural.
In some ways I'm sure that's the tech getting better, but I also have to give the performance directors, animators and the other relevant people credit to how smooth and seamless everything is with the characters in BG3. It's incredibly impressive work.
Another part is the sheer number of actors BG3 has. I believe Neil Newbon and some of the other main cast has repeatedly said 248 actors. I don't know if Larian are just insane like that, but I will also have to say it pays off massively. The NPC's feel, if not all unique, certainly incredibly varied and it helps a lot to make the world feel more alive.
The VA's for Fallout 4 also do a good job, even a great job sometimes, (shoutout to Magnolia, Jack Cabot and Edward Deegan, Arlen Glass and the actors/Robobrains in the Vault at Far Harbor), but it's also the same dozen or so people you hear doing many different characters. Even doing a good job, that breaks the immersion a fair bit.
Andy Serkis and the Dawn of Performance Capture: How Gollum Changed the Game
Andy Serkis's name has become synonymous with groundbreaking motion-capture performances. But before Caesar, King Kong, and a slew of other CGI characters came to life through his movement, there was Gollum. The scrawny, jittery creature from "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy (2001-2003) wasn't just another fantastical beast brought to screen. Gollum's performance, imbued with Serkis's physicality and emotional depth, marked a turning point in filmmaking.
Traditionally, special effects relied on stop-motion animation or puppeteering to create fantastical creatures. While these techniques had their merits, they often limited the range of movement and expression. Enter motion-capture technology. Serkis donned a special suit covered in markers, allowing cameras to track his every move and facial contortion. This data became the foundation for animators to build Gollum's digital form.
The result was a character that felt frighteningly real. Gollum's emaciated frame, his darting eyes, and the raw desperation in his voice – all stemmed from Serkis's performance. This wasn't just animation; it was acting in its purest form, translated into a groundbreaking new medium.
The impact of Gollum's performance transcended "The Lord of the Rings." It showcased the immense potential of motion-capture, not just for creating fantastical creatures, but for breathing life into any character imaginable. Serkis himself has championed this technology, becoming a leading figure in the field.
Today, performance capture is no longer a novelty. It's become an essential tool in modern filmmaking, allowing actors to portray characters that would otherwise be impossible. But it all started with Gollum, a testament to Andy Serkis's dedication to his craft and the innovation that forever changed the way we see characters come alive on screen.