Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1234746
24 cgw e d i t i o n i , 2 0 2 0 note how Buck's performance came about – it's really the artistry of Omar Morsy [MPC Film animation director] and his team at MPC in Montreal, because they really were the artists who created Buck's perfor- mance," says Nash. As Nash explains, Notary did not wear a head camera rig, nor did he have facial markers, as dogs and humans have totally different facial structures, thus negating any procedural one-to-one transposition of facial performance. That said, Sanders would direct Notary on set to get a desired performance. That performance served two purposes: It gave the human actors some- thing to react to and play against, and it pro- vided a broad foundation for the animation teams in terms of general attitude. "We oen used Terry's acting performance and even our own animators' performances to get all the acting across," says Morsy. "We wanted to make sure that everyone from a child to an adult could pick up on all of Buck's most subtle thoughts and feelings." Yet, Buck's facial movements are subtle, and thus, more natural. "The tricky part was finding that fine line where we could get across what Buck was thinking or feeling, yet have it remain within a real-world range of expression that the audience would accept as being something a dog could, and would, actually do," says Nash. Because the animators had to hit all the nuances of Buck's acting as well as physical actions, they used references of real dogs of the same size and weight as Buck for all the body mechanics and locomotion. So the animators built a quadruped rig that would enable them to properly hit four main points. First, there was an IK and FK controller on the head. "Most of the time we used FK to get proper curves from spine to head; how- ever, on a few key shots where Buck would have to hold onto something with his teeth or if he wanted to caress someone with his cheek, we would need an IK system to get the desired result," Morsy explains. Second, they needed a proper controller on the spine that allowed them to adjust the silhouette. While not a proper spine controller, it enabled the animators to sculpt the dog's torso and give them the shapes they needed. Third, a robust foot roll system was required that gave the artists multiple pivot points around the paws for the many differ-