“Be-heading a vampire: combining 2D and 3D elements with on-set motion capture to create the vampire brides in Van Helsing”
Conference:
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Title:
- Be-heading a vampire: combining 2D and 3D elements with on-set motion capture to create the vampire brides in Van Helsing
Abstract:
For dozens of shots in Van Helsing, Vampire Brides transform from humans to creatures, flying through Transylvanian skies and attacking helpless villagers. The effect required that the brides retain the expressive faces and waist long hair of the actresses yet have fully synthetic bodies. To add to this, they needed to fit into background plates with complex aerial camera work shot months earlier. To meet these challenges, we developed a hybrid approach which allowed us to film a performer in a conventional blue screen environment while simultaneously motion capturing her performance. For each shot, the face and hair from the film plate were then matched with a computer-generated vampire-bride body that was driven by motion capture data from the same performance.
Acknowledgements:
This work would not have occurred without the support and vision of Daniel Jeannette, Scott Squires, Seth Rosenthal, Marla Newall, Mike Sanders, and countless others.
