Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469382
30 cgw a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 2 F or more than 35 years, facial capture technology has been a progressively useful and sophisticated tool in the filmmaker's repertoire. From the earliest days of facial laser scanning in the 1980s to recent advances in performance capture, technology is enabling 3D facial animation that is increas- ingly indistinguishable from real life. In some cases, it's clear to the viewer that a digital face is being used, such as when famous actors are scanned for full-CG animated movies or for video games. But oen now, facial scanning is used to empower post-production wizardry and deliver demanding visual effects without cluing audiences in to the magic behind the moment. And the technology is only getting better and more ubiquitous. Facial capture in movies really started with Cyberware, which developed the ability to scan the face of a completely static actor in 3D and then use the data for computer-generated graphics. For example, 1986's Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home scanned the likes of William Shatner and the late Leonard Nimoy, and used their digital likenesses in a dazzling dream sequence. That opened the doors for visionary filmmakers to use Cyber- ware's technology in ever more demanding ways. James Cameron helped lead the charge in The Abyss, which mapped captured facial animation onto a liquid pseudopod. He then took things to another level in 1991's Terminator 2: Judgment Day with Robert Patrick's stunning, shapeshiing T-1000 assassin, which eerily swaps be- tween human and liquid metal forms. As the decade went on and Hollywood produced more ambitious blockbusters, filmmakers needed more sophisticated facial-cap- ture technology. In came the use of facial markers, which made it possible for creators to capture more nuanced facial movements and translate them onto CG characters. We saw them in films like The Polar Express and Beowulf, both directed by Robert Zemeckis, as famed actors such as Tom Hanks and Angelina Jolie had their performances captured and translated onto the big screen as fully CGI digital doubles. It was clear at this point that recog- nizable, big-name actors were driving demand for digi-dou- bles that looked and moved like their real-life counterparts. In the case of The Matrix Reloaded, Hugo Weaving's iconic Agent Smith was multiplied by the hundreds using digi-doubles that simultaneously attacked and tried to overwhelm the heroic Neo. And in King Kong, mo- cap legend Andy Serkis donned facial markers along with a bodysuit to create the captivating performance of the titular giant gorilla in Facial Treatment FROM STILL SCANS IN THE '80S TO HEAD-MOUNTED PHOTOGRAMMETRY RIGS TODAY, FACE SCANNING AND DIGI-DOUBLES HAVE COME A LONG WAY BY COLIN URQUHART Facial capture innovator Colin Urquhart becomes a realistic digital double character. DI4D has pioneered the use of photogrammetry-based 4D capture of facial performance data.