American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 18

Production Slate
average volume takes several days to set up and calibrate, and it’s not unusual to have a dozen or more computers and operators running the equipment and managing the flow of data. In order to capture performances on a working set, we had to reduce our footprint and make everything as flexible and as fast to set up and take down as possible. “As in the original Planet of the Apes films, the lead roles in our movie belong to humans and apes,” he continues. “We knew the apes would need to be every bit as emotionally engaging and nuanced in their performance as the humans, and there is no better way to create a rich, emotive digital character than to start with the performance of a talented actor. That performance is our foundation, and you will always get a better performance with the performer After his intelligence is heightened by doses of an experimental serum, the chimpanzee playing the digital character physically present in the Caesar leads an ape uprising. scene with the other actors.” Weta Digital’s motion-capture and perforSimian Rebellion mance-capture units utilized Motion Analysis’ Eagle and Raptor By Simon Gray cameras, with others provided by Standard Deviation. “For most setups, we used about 20 cameras while another 20 were preRise of the Planet of the Apes is a re-imagined origin story of rigged for the next location,” says Lemmon. the Planet of the Apes film franchise. At Gen-Sys laboratories, scien“A dedicated motion-capture space with its own cameras tist Will Rodman (James Franco) tests a serum touted as a cure for was constructed in a large rehearsal room at Mammoth Studios [in Alzheimer’s on a chimpanzee named Bright Eyes. He races against Vancouver] for capturing a library of background ape actions, and the clock to finish the serum before his father (played by John Lithfor picking up any action that was missed during the live-action gow) completely succumbs to the disease. shoot or required modification,” he continues. “We didn’t bother After Bright Eyes unsuccessfully attempts to escape the Genwith facial capture in those sessions.” Sys facility, Rodman’s project is shut down. But he soon discovers The term “motion capture” typically refers to capturing body that before she was shot, Bright Eyes gave birth to a son. Naming movements only, whereas “performance capture” implies that facial the baby chimp Caesar, Rodman covertly cares for the infant in his performance and body movements are captured together, Lemmon house. Meanwhile, the other apes at Gen-Sys are moved to a prison notes. facility called The Ranch. As Caesar (portrayed via motion capture by Coordinating the crews proved to be a logistical challenge, Andy Serkis) matures, it becomes evident that a side effect of according to director of photography Andrew Lesnie, ASC, ACS. Rodman’s serum is high intelligence. After attacking a neighbor, “Each setup involved an extra 20-30 people on top of the main Caesar is taken to The Ranch, where he exposes the apes to unit,” he says. “This was true both on location and on stage. When Rodman’s serum and plots a mass escape. He then leads the apes in we finished a setup and moved to change angle, we’d be a revolt against humankind. confronted by a massive circus of people and equipment. I had to In addition to Serkis, whose motion-capture résumé includes be extremely diligent in organizing each day to ensure we were playing cinema’s largest ape in King Kong (AC Dec. ’05), a group of always getting a jump on our next angle.” performance-capture artists, including acrobats from Cirque du For its part, the performance-capture crew had to contend Soleil, enacted a variety of simians for the production. The visualwith much higher light levels than most capture systems are effects team at Weta Digital then brought the creatures fully to life designed to accommodate. Highly reflective surfaces — cars, lightthrough simultaneous performance-capture and live-action photoging stands and even the ScotchBrite patches worn by the crews — raphy on the same location or set. can obliterate performance-capture and motion-capture data. To “Performance-capture volumes are typically set up in dedisolve the problem, reflective sphere markers that are typically placed cated spaces,” says visual-effects supervisor Dan Lemmon. “The on the performers’ bodies were exchanged for active, infrared LEDs
Rise of the Planet of the Apes photos by Joe Lederer and Diyah Perah, courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox. Frame grab courtesy of Weta Digital.

I

18

August 2011

American Cinematographer



American Cinematographer - August 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Cinematographer - August 2011

American Cinematographer - August 2011
Contents
Editor’s Note
President’s Desk
Short Takes: The Arrival
Production Slate: Rise of the Planet of the Apes • Femme Fatales
Cosmic Questions
Darkest Arts
An All-American Hero
Once Upon a Time in the West
Post Focus
New Products & Services
International Marketplace
Classified Ads
Ad Index
Clubhouse News
ASC Close-Up: Tom Houghton
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - American Cinematographer - August 2011
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cover2
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 1
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 2
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Contents
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 4
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 5
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 6
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 7
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Editor’s Note
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 9
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - President’s Desk
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 11
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Short Takes: The Arrival
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 13
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 14
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 15
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 16
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 17
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Production Slate: Rise of the Planet of the Apes • Femme Fatales
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 19
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 20
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 21
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 22
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 23
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 24
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 25
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 26
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 27
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cosmic Questions
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 29
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 30
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 31
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 32
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 33
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 34
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 35
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 36
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 37
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 38
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 39
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Darkest Arts
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 41
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 42
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 43
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 44
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 45
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 46
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 47
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - An All-American Hero
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 49
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 50
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 51
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 52
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 53
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 54
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 55
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 56
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 57
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Once Upon a Time in the West
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 59
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 60
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 61
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 62
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 63
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 64
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 65
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 66
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 67
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 68
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 69
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 70
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 71
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Post Focus
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 73
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 74
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 75
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - New Products & Services
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 77
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 78
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 79
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 80
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 81
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - International Marketplace
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Classified Ads
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Ad Index
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 85
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Clubhouse News
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - 87
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - ASC Close-Up: Tom Houghton
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cover3
American Cinematographer - August 2011 - Cover4
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