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See the Andy Serkis Motion-Capture Shot from 'The Force Awakens'
by Alex Billington
May 28, 2015
Source: StarWars.com
This is cool. But I can't wait to see what the character actually looks like in the movie. There's an interesting interview with photographer Annie Leibovitz on StarWars.com that includes a fantastic new shot of Andy Serkis in full motion capture gear to play a character in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, directed by J.J. Abrams. The shot shows him inside a mo-cap rig, presumably at ILM, with cameras all around and dots all over his face. In the interview they reveal: "Andy Serkis is playing a character named Supreme Leader Snoke, and the character is being created through performance capture." Indeed. See him below.
Here's the new photo. Nothing else new was revealed - but the rest of the interview is worth reading here.
From StarWars.com, referencing other Leibovitz shots: "Lupita Nyong'o, who plays the computer-generated pirate Maz Kanata, was photographed close-up, motion-capture trackers glittering her face as she looks slightly off camera. 'I asked Lupita to get rigged up for the picture,' Leibovitz says. 'That's a look you don't see in the film — you're going to see what happens when they use that system to create a moving character.'"
Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens, continuing the beloved original trilogy about Luke, Leia, Han & Chewie that ended in 1983, is directed by J.J. Abrams, of the films Mission: Impossible 3, Star Trek, Super 8 and Star Trek Into Darkness. The screenplay is written by Lawrence Kasdan (Empire Strikes Back, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Return of the Jedi, The Big Chill, The Bodyguard) and J.J. Abrams, with Kathleen Kennedy from Lucasfilm producing. This debut is the beginning of a brand new saga, with another trilogy planned for this storyline, not to mention other standalone movies in this universe. Disney, after acquiring Lucasfilm, will release Star Wars: The Force Awakens in theaters worldwide on December 18th, 2015.
16 Comments
1
This is awesome!
ListenToVinyl on May 28, 2015
2
Best place for him, behind a digital camera! He's got his ape look on.
Mr Chatterbox on May 28, 2015
3
Shit I'd be okay with Andy Serkis just looking like that playing the bad guy haha
Jon Odishaw on May 28, 2015
4
Hawkeye!!! Oh wait....
theslayer5150 on May 28, 2015
5
Those new MOCAP suits are badass!!~
DAVIDPD on May 28, 2015
6
I'm not trying to be rude or insulting by saying this, I love pretty much everything Andy Serkis has done including his live action work, but at this point is mo-cap really so technically exclusive that ONLY Andy can do it? Don't get me wrong I love the design for Snoke, and if that's Andy doing the voiceover for the teaser trailer then I think he was an excellent choice and will do a great job. What I have a hard time believing is that anytime an important role, which requires mo-cap, comes up he is always the best actor for the part.
BNN667 on May 28, 2015
7
He's really good at mo-cap, a fantastic actor in every regard, and a really cool guy. Why wouldn't they use him? Stop being such a dick.
davidshaw on May 28, 2015
8
I apologize sir, and because you called me a dick I promise to never question hollywood's casting decisions regarding mo-cap technology again. Unless of course they don't cast Andy at which point I will take to the internet to boycott said production.
BNN667 on May 28, 2015
10
I feel you bro. At some point it might get weird. But as dawidshawn says below, he is a hell of a talent in mocap, so I uderstand completely why studious like to use him.
ProjectionistHP on May 29, 2015
11
I've always thought it was funny that he's regarded as the expert, instead of the people who actually created the MoCap software... but anyways I'm sure he'll do fine like he always does. but I do get what you're saying and I agree. he should be lucky that there's a false tag attached to his name, I'm sure he's getting a ridiculous amount of movies to choose from.
ColtNoir on May 29, 2015
12
It's not for technical reasons perse. Mo-cap acting has its own challenges, discomforts and craftsmanship. Though I only have limited knowledge of it, I think it's probably a fair assessment that he is by no means the sole actor that could make it work. Nonetheless, I assume he is the go-to guy because he's such a safe bet for getting a great performance in it.
Snev De la Fontaine on May 29, 2015
13
I hope we'll see at least one new Force power in Episode 7, 8 or 9!
MLTC on May 29, 2015
14
Abrams said that he didn't want any CGI characters in the movies or be overused with CGI. Why didn't they just use Andy Serkis in full makeup or some prosthetic?
Mike Zarquon on May 29, 2015
15
That was my first thought, he's a good actor and I'd be more interesting to have a smaller guy be the top baddie while he's surrounded by his two, over 6 foot, henches.
BNN667 on Jun 3, 2015
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