A genuine Hollywood star honoured FMX this year: performance capture pioneer and actor Andy Serkis spoke in the conference programme about the second part of the reboot series “Planet of the Apes – Revolution”. DP met Serkis in Stuttgart for an interview.
The security effort for Serkis’ presentation “Early Look at Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” was enormous: all the windows of the König-Karl-Halle were taped off so that no one from outside could catch a glimpse of the film’s exclusive scenes or film them. Visitors had to register in advance for the keynote and hand in all their belongings before entering the hall. On the floor, everyone who didn’t make it into the hall stood in front of closed loo doors for the duration of the keynote. But the first glimpse of the scenes, in which some shots were still in the pre-vis phase, was worthwhile. When you saw what was still missing in terms of CG shots at the end of April, the scope and tight time frame of Weta for this part became clear and their work all the more remarkable.
Andy Serkis will be very busy in the near future. There is talk of roles for him in the new “Star Wars” part as well as in “The Avengers 2”, of course always accompanied by speculation: will he appear as a CG character or will he get to play a “real” role this time? He is primarily famous for his CG characters: Gollum elevated him to Hollywood Olympus and made him a performance capture icon. Since then, he has already played King Kong, the chimpanzee Caesar and Captain Haddock. According to Serkis, it makes no difference to him whether he is playing a live action or performance capture role; the process of acting is the same in both formats. Basically, the only difference would be what you wear on set.
For Serkis, however, it didn’t stop at acting in this area: with The Imaginarium(www.theimaginariumstudios.com) in London, he has founded a thriving performance capture studio together with Jonathan Cavendish, where, for example, “Ryse: Son of Rome” (see also DP issue 02/14, PDF in DP web content) was realised and the film adaptation of the novel “Animal Farm” is currently being produced under Serkis’ direction. The actor has already made his first forays into directing alongside Peter Jackson on the second unit for “The Hobbit”.
DP: How has performance capturing changed since you first started?
Andy Serkis: From a technical point of view, immensely: on “Lord of the Rings” we were filming on 35 mm, I was filmed as an actor with the other actors on set and then had to repeat all the scenes separately in the motion capture studio. There was no facial capture back then, the animators just copied my facial expressions. We started using facial markers for “King Kong”, but we still didn’t have head-mounted cameras. “Avatar” was a big leap because several actors could be recorded in the studio at the same time. “Planet of the Apes – Prevolution” was the first project where we were able to use performance capturing on the set itself with head-mounted cameras without having to redo it in the studio. In addition, the perception of the topic in the industry and among viewers has changed significantly in the meantime and it is more widely accepted.
DP: Where is performance capture technology currently heading?
Andy Serkis: In the post-production process, rendering capabilities are getting better and better, so the original performance of the actor on set is becoming more and more important. Very soon we will no longer need head-mounted cameras, but will be able to use the acting alone. The future practical application of performance capture is an exciting topic: for example, real-time avatars could soon be projected live onto a screen at television, theatre events or concerts. At the Imaginarium, we are currently trying to find out what creative possibilities lie in performance capturing.
DP: You have played so many CG characters, which is your favourite role?
Andy Serkis: I have a strong connection to Gollum, of course, because my whole performance capture journey started with him. Finding Gollum as a character was difficult at first, but once the concept was in place, his role wasn’t too complicated. He’s not about what he thinks or feels, he talks all the time instead – his psychology is simple. Caesar, on the other hand, is more subtle, and making him seem real was much more complicated. That’s why I’ve grown very fond of this character.
DP: How were you able to put yourself in the shoes of an ape – without a mask or other aids?
Andy Serkis: We prepared for a long time before filming: We had a kind of ape camp where all the actors analysed the way apes communicate and interact. As most of the ape characters were already in the first part, we knew how Caesar would behave towards them.
DP: Do you think a performance capture actor needs more imagination than a traditional one?
Andy Serkis: We’re no longer playing with balls, we can act with each other. Of course I have to use my imagination for a role like this, but it makes no difference whether I’m wearing a performance capture suit or a monkey costume. In fact, it’s more likely that a mask or elaborate make-up would restrict my performance. Performance capturing allows me to move freely and the team can capture my every movement.
DP: When you look at the CG character on the screen later, do you see yourself or a normal monkey?
Andy Serkis: Myself. Even though it’s a CG ape, it shows my expressions, emotions, facial expressions and decisions. When you spend some time with real monkeys, you realise – just like with your own pet – what an individual personality each one has. During the time I was working on “King Kong”, I spent a lot of time at London Zoo. I studied the rhythm of the monkeys’ movements and observed how they reflect human behaviour. When apes are surrounded by humans, it affects the way they communicate or gesticulate; they behave in a more human way. Chimpanzees tend to imitate human behaviour more than gorillas, for example.
DP: Don’t you sometimes think it’s going too far that only your facial expressions and gestures are used to bring a CG character to life and that nothing more is seen of you as a person?
Andy Serkis: You know in advance what job you’re going to do and under what conditions. One of the greatest performances of recent times is that of Scarlett Johansson in “Her”. You never see her on screen, you just hear her voice. The important thing is not whether someone is physically on screen, but how much the audience is moved by a performance.
DP: Scarlett Johansson’s voice acting has once again sparked the debate as to whether such a performance should be awarded an Oscar. What do you think?
Andy Serkis: I don’t think there should be any difference in that respect. Since the process of acting is always the same, all performances should be judged equally. John Hurt played the “Elephant Man”(bit.ly/1w4Ep6J) completely covered by a special effects mask and still received an Oscar nomination. I don’t understand why a distinction is made with regard to digital characters. It’s probably a problem of perception. For me, the digital character is a kind of digital make-up that the artists apply to the actors (see also the interview with Weta VFX supervisor Dan Lemmon).
DP: Why did you set up The Imaginarium in London and not in Los Angeles or Canada?
Andy Serkis: First and foremost because London is my home. in 2005, I took over the direction of the performance capturing for the game “Heavenly Sword”(bit.ly/U5c6sH). We had already started rehearsals, drafted a script and cast the roles, but then realised that we had no opportunities for performance capture filming in Europe. So I had to travel with the team to the other side of the world, to New Zealand, for the shoot. Which I found bizarre, because the company Vicon Motion Systems is from Oxford, the motion capture software is from Cambridge and all the game actors were from London. In Europe, especially in England, there is a great lack of understanding for the topic of performance capturing – and therefore the technology is also underrepresented. With the studio, I want to combine my previous experience from the film industry in this area with new techniques and realise my own projects there.
