Spielberg Used Motion Capture To Achieve A New Level Of Realism In Ready Player One
“Ready Player One” will feature an intense amount of CGI.
The movie relies heavily on motion-capture performances because about 60% of the film takes place in “The Oasis” — a fictional world that exists inside a video game where characters go to escape their dystopian reality. Motion capture is the same technology that turned Andy Serkis in Caesar from Planet of the Apes and Snoke from Star Wars. It uses special technology to capture facial features so that they can be manipulated.
It took more than 7 weeks to shoot all the scenes that took place in The Oasis, because director Steven Spielberg wanted to make sure the CGI avatars’ performances captured all the subtle nuances of the actors who played them.
This isn’t the first time Spielberg has used motion capture. He first used it in 2011 “The Adventures of Tintin” and again in 2016’s “The BFG.” And just like gaming graphics have improved by leaps and bounds, Spielberg and ILM Light just set a new bar for CGI.
“Ready Player One” comes out March 30 — so if you are a fan of the book or love a good CGI-filled action flick, consider heading out to see it in theaters.