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01:01Performance capture really needs to be clarified. It needs to be explained to people. It's becoming a huge part of
01:10the industry.
01:10What it involves is bringing actors into a studio, motion capture studio, where we mark them up all on their
01:17body and on their faces.
01:18They have mics on their heads as well. And they basically perform totally naturally, just like any other actor would
01:25in a movie or in a TV show.
01:29Okay, I need a few minutes to get this open. Keep watch, make sure no one sees us.
01:33We had three days of rehearsal before we started any kind of actual capturing, where Tamim and Andy and I
01:41got to sit down and really plot out from the beginning each scene.
01:45Monkey, monkey, monkey. Yeah.
01:48Yeah, what's that?
01:50It's a license to have fun, to create, and to create as part of an ensemble. Admittedly, you know, quite
01:57a small ensemble, but you know that you're creating an imaginary event.
02:02Are they mechs? So these are mechs, not slaves that are coming to attack. Yeah, they're mechs.
02:07We're reaching a point now where people are beginning to understand there's a necessity, there's a human need in having
02:15storytelling impact in gaming in a big way.
02:18I think Ninja Theory have been pioneers in that respect.
02:21As an attitude towards recording VO, we like to use the on-set recorded stuff as much as possible.
02:29When they're capturing the motion capture, we capture the voice as well, because unlike in film, in film you will
02:35often replace a large percentage of the dialogue after the film's been done.
02:39But in a game, with mocap, you know, it's a different actor, it's a different, when I say a different
02:44actor, the character looks completely different.
02:48And the translation from the facial movement, it's never a perfect thing.
02:53So everything you can do to preserve the original performance, to make the original performance come through, is really, really
02:59key.
03:00And that sort of made us think about how we record the rest of the VO that isn't for the
03:05cutscenes.
03:06You're really worried about Monkey damaging stuff, because he's shooting stuff.
03:12Okay, stand by. And we're on.
03:15Looks like the first anchor point is down these tunnels.
03:19I need you with me, Monkey. Get up here.
03:21Please.
03:23Monkey, there's a route up. I've coded the dragonfly to lead the way. All you have to do is follow
03:30it.
03:30Sure.
03:31Usually in a VO session you've got an actor and they've got to be just here, and the microphone's just
03:36there and they've got to direct their voice at the mic, they can't move about.
03:39We decided to use the same microphones that we used on set, but that also has a really nice effect
03:45of freeing the actors.
03:46So we had them all with head mics like they had in the mocap session.
03:51And that just means they're free to jump about, lie on the floor, roll around.
03:56And they did, you know, without thinking. They just do all of the things that the characters are doing in
04:00the game whilst they're delivering the lines.
04:02And it just gives so much life to the performance.
04:04Whoa, whoa. Let me disable the security systems.
04:08Yeah, sounds like we're going to have a bit of mech action here pretty soon.
04:11Look, I think there's a lot of parallels between what an actor does and what an animator does.
04:15They just happen to use their face instead of their mouse and keyboard.
04:17At the same time, there's people like me that are basically making sure that the technology and everything is all
04:24kind of working and going to be ready for them.
04:27All the cameras really care about is points and space, and that's all that we're retrieving from them.
04:33We're also capturing traditional video footage of them because we don't want to lose sense of, you know, their performance.
04:40So we want to do justice to it and record it like a conventional film, because that's how it's going
04:44to be edited together.
04:45Are you, uh, are you and Tripp? You know?
04:50And me and Tripp what? You know, are you, are you together?
05:00Tripp enslaved me. And if I don't do what she says, she causes me a lot of pain. And if
05:06I still don't do what she says, she kills me.
05:09All right!
05:10And if you do it right, it draws you totally in and you totally believe that that character's real.
05:16I'm not the kind of guy to go muscling in.
05:18Pigsy.
05:19She can hear every word we say.
05:29Thanks, everybody. That was great.
05:31I think it went pretty well. I mean, and that was the highlight of my day. You know what I
05:35mean?
05:35I think this is all right.
05:35It's all right.
05:36No, no, no.
05:36No, no.
05:38Oh, no, no, no, no.
05:39No, no, no.
05:40No, no.
