Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1469382
a p r i l • m ay • j u n e 2 0 2 2 c g w 3 1 Peter Jackson's film. Facial capture also began to be used in video games, such as Activision's Apocalypse on the original PlayStation, which captured both the likeness of Bruce Willis and his performance using mark- er-based motion capture. As video games like Beyond: Two Souls and Detroit: Become Human became more advanced, they made more expansive use of the captured likenesses of human actors, which were dropped into their immersive 3D worlds. Although they were rudimentary at first, head-mounted facial performance capture rigs began to be used in the 2000s to allow simultaneous face and body motion capture of multiple actors. Early head-mounted capture (HMC) solutions used sparse facial markers to capture the movements of an actor's face with only relatively low fidelity. However, later HMC systems were able to surpass the fidelity of facial motion capture that was possible with traditional longer-distance fixed camera mocap systems. Facial capture developed quickly towards the end of the 2000s, driven by the introduction of photogrammetry, technology that can measure the 3D position of an individual pixel from its position in multiple images. For example, rather than using a sparse set of markers, the Mova Contour system used fluorescent speckled makeup applied to an actor's face to capture dense 3D facial scans at video rates. One of the earliest examples of 4D facial capture, the Mova Contour system was used by Digital Domain to both age and de-age Brad Pitt in 2008's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and was later used for movies such as Guardians of the Galaxy and the game Rise of the Tomb Raider. Later, Depth Analysis created the MotionScan system to capture actors' facial performances using photogrammetry without the need for markers or special makeup. This system was used exten- sively in the development of Rockstar Games' 2011 title L.A. Noire, one of the first video games to rely on nuanced facial animation of digital doubles. Over the last 10 years, DI4D has pioneered the use of photogram- metry-based 4D capture of facial performance data for the most demanding entertainment projects. The nine-camera DI4D Pro system can be used to capture the highest fidelity 4D data for a sin- gle-seated actor, or stereo camera DI4D HMC systems can be used to simultaneously capture 4D data for multiple dynamic actors. Most recently, DI4D launched the hybrid Pure4D solution, which combines the benefits of both approaches to meet the demands of next-gen game developers to produce high fidelity facial animation for digital doubles at scale. Such photogrammetry-based 4D capture systems have been used for a range of leading movie and video game projects in recent years — including Blade Runner 2049 to help re-create actress Sean Young's performance as the replicant Rachael, and for the metal mutant Colossus in Marvel's Deadpool 2. The same technology has also been used for highly lifelike digital human characters in Activi- sion's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and EA Sports' F1 2021. As more and more movie and game fans watch and play on 4K screens, and as filmmakers and video-game developers aim to deliver ever more awe-inspiring and hyper-detailed content, facial capture is being used with increased frequency. Fortunately, not only has the technology become more powerful over the years, but also more versatile and easier to use. Today's facial-capture solutions help enable storytelling and bring creative visions to life like never before. For video games, new technologies, including DI4D's Pure4D, are driving a shi, not only in the character detail, but also in how they are created. Characters featured in the cut-scenes of the recent F1 2021 game, for example, were created in their entirety from acting performances, as motion capture, facial capture, and audio from an actor's performance combined to drive their digital double counter- parts in the game. Performance capture as a tool is nothing new to the entertain- ment industry and has been used for many years. The difference now is that the body and facial-tracking technology is so accurate that digital characters can embody the life and feel of a real actor. We're moving into an era in which the performance of the actor will be absolutely key to delivering the best possible results from a dig- ital double — without the need for any subsequent artist interven- tion. It's a shi from post-production to pre-production. From their origins in blockbuster movies and video games, digital doubles are expanding their reach and utility. It is becoming more common for these characters to act as digital customer service reps in new verticals like retail and even healthcare. In tandem, we're also seeing the fidelity of digital doubles evolve to the point where it is almost impossible to tell them apart from their real-life coun- terparts. This use across multiple industries is only likely to fuel the demand for even more realistic digital double character creation in the years to come. ¢ Colin Urquhart is a 20-plus year industry veteran and innovator in the field of facial capture, and the founder of DI4D, which has worked on a host of entertainment projects, including Blade Runner 2049; Call of Duty: Modern Warfare; Love, Death + Robots; and Quantum Break. EA Sports' F1 2021 utilizes facial capture technology. 4D capture systems generated Colossus in Deadpool 2.