Cinematic cut-scenes in the upcoming Resident Evil 5 videogame provide an advance look at the "virtual camera" technology being used by director James Cameron to shoot his 3-D sci-fi epic, Avatar.
The new virtual camera software offers filmmakers seemingly unlimited freedom in computer-generated storytelling. It allows a director to move within a computer-generated 3-D environment, in and around CG actors whose infinitely looping performances have been created using standard motion-capture technology, taking shot after shot to his or her satisfaction.
Though actors only need to perform a scene once, it may be shot and reshot afterward hundreds of times in hundreds of ways. The Resident Evil 5 cut-scenes represent the first use of the new, boundary-shattering technology. The technology gives the cut scenes in Capcom's upcoming game a freedom of movement -- the use of visual angles and cinematic perspectives during action sequences -- that wouldn't have been possible with old methods.
"The game series is so popular that improving on the previous titles is difficult," said Resident Evil 5 producer Jun Takeuchi through an interpreter. "But, we wanted to improve on every aspect of the game. Part of that was using the new virtual camera, and we really had to seek out the developers and facilities who could help us use that technology. The virtual camera was developing while we were in production on Resident Evil 5."
The virtual camera is an advance on normal CG technology, which is increasingly being used in movies to allow directors to film otherwise impossible sequences. As seen in animated movies like Toy Story and live-action/CG hybrids like Speed Racer, the technology can extend the filmmaker's arsenal far beyond traditional makeup and practical effects, sometimes with stunning visual results.
Much of Resident Evil 5's motion capture took place at Just Cause Productions in Marina Del Rey, California. The virtual camera there resembles a steering wheel on a standard tripod mounted with two aircraft-style joysticks. The operator literally steers a visual path through the given scene.
The new virtual camera tools build on current CG technology, which lets engineers create any virtual environment -- a house, a battlefield, a spaceship, etc. -- and then use motion-capture tech to film the movement and performances of actors. The performances are captured, right down to the actors' facial expressions, before rendering everything and placing the resulting virtual character into a created environment.
Cameron, who directed sci-fi classics The Terminator and Aliens, can be expected to put the technology to good use in Avatar, his highly anticipated live-action/CGI sci-fi adventure, that is due to hit theaters in December.
Actor and motion capture performer Reuben Langdon (right) said the process of working with the virtual camera method is unlike any working experience he's had.
"You have to become a mix of an actor, a stuntman, a dancer -- creating an entirely new kind of performer," Langdon said. "You have to don the light-ball suit and know how to move your body to fit the virtual character you're playing. And, once your body movements are down, you have the light points applied to your face so they can capture your performance. Finally, you stand back and watch the director and the crew experiment and reshape all of it into the scene."
Takeuchi and other members of the Resident Evil crew confirmed that, while they were taking advantage of every step forward in the virtual camera realm, Cameron was investing the same technology into his live-action/CGI hybrid sci-fi adventure, Avatar.
As reported here, Cameron's Avatar cast also had to grapple with having every aspect of their performance recorded in full detail in that virtual environment.
"We were focused on creating a new experience in this game," Takeuchi said. "But it's rewarding to know other productions and other artists were utilizing the same technology we were using as quickly as it could be developed."
Resident Evil 5 is set to release on March 13.
Image courtesy Just Cause Productions
See also:
