Renzatic on 23/8/2008 at 07:27
Quote Posted by Thirith
If you didn't know that she was CGI, would you have noticed anything wrong?
I went in fresh earlier today. I saw the thread, read a few lines about a new facial animation technique in the opening post, and clicked the link. For the first 30 seconds or so, I didn't notice anything strange. It wasn't until later I started noticing some irregularities, and even then, I could contribute it to nothing more than a few slightly tragic facial tics.
The Heavy Rain virtual actress demonstration made my skin craw. This had me moderately fooled.
Vasquez on 24/8/2008 at 12:31
Very cool! :D It took me a moment from the start to realise that it wasn't an introduction by a real person. But once I knew to look for something that's off, then I realised there's something funny about the mouth and the eyes. Nothing I can really point out, just slight weirdness.
Kolya on 24/8/2008 at 17:43
Fafhrd, I haven't seen Beowulf but I've seen other movies that used motion capturing or whatever it's called when done with a face. (facial expression capturing?)
I have some doubts that it's really cheaper to generate the scenes, even if you take reverses, camera set-ups, etc. into account. Had Emily just been placed there and told her few lines (as she had to anyway), that would have been much more efficient AND more realistic. As can be seen by the fact that everyone gushes about not being sure whether this was real or not.
But of course with computer generated characters WE CAN DO ALL THE STUFF WE NEVER COULD IN RL!! (That's what you get when you start asking "why?" usually.) And it's basically true. But with the same frequency people underestimate the background work that's necessary to create something halfway realistic. It's not a new motion capturing technique I'm excited about. It's when someone manages to put the tools provided to good use.
Gollum comes to mind. But with Gollum there had literally been tens of years of preliminary thought and sketches what this character should be like, starting with Tolkien's creation, that Jackson could build upon. At this point Gollum was a character, almost as much as you and me. He had experiences that shaped him mentally and physically. He had a life in the minds of millions of readers of LotR. That's why Gollum worked as a digital creature. But that's a rare case.
As can be seen in any TV series, much less thought goes into the "invention" of digital characters usually. They're bland and flat, even more so than their human counterparts, who aren't exactly the best actors in the world. But even the worst actor will bring some of his or her life into a role.
SubJeff on 24/8/2008 at 18:03
Bah. This hunt for perfect simulation is dull. Artistic use of current tech is much more important. Take Appleseed, for example. The first one is arguably better looking than the sequel because although the tech is clearly lesser, the effort is used to greater effect.
BlueNinja on 25/8/2008 at 01:06
Even knowing ahead of time, I couldn't spot anything that indicated to me it was a fake.
PigLick on 25/8/2008 at 05:34
what about that whole 'uncanny valley' thing? Some of the ultra-realistic graphics freak me the fuck out.
Scots Taffer on 25/8/2008 at 05:37
Quote Posted by PigLick
what about that whole 'uncanny valley' thing?
Salad dressing. But I don't want to eat it.
ignatios on 25/8/2008 at 12:06
I'd hit it
Fafhrd on 26/8/2008 at 04:25
Quote Posted by Kolya
I have some doubts that it's really cheaper to generate the scenes, even if you take reverses, camera set-ups, etc. into account.
It's not so much that it's cheaper, as it is faster. An actor can do all the necessary work for a feature length film in a week or so, and then go do another project. Which
does impact the bottom line, because you''re not paying your performers' per diems for months at a time, and contract negotiations probably go more smoothly as well, since scheduling is much faster, so you don't have to worry about not being able to get Actor X because they're signed on to a film that starts shooting in eight weeks, so they can't do anything else because they have to train and whatnot.
doctorfrog on 26/8/2008 at 16:58
Forget the uncanny valley, how about that YouTube valley, where we're all watching video quality the equivalent of aluminum foil on rabbit ears in the age of HDTV and broadband internet?
Still, the mouth looked very strange.