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ANIMATION www.postmagazine.com 13 POST MAR/APR 2023 Ly, Ly, Ccodi Actor Capture uses mocap to animate this beloved storybook character C olumbia Pictures' Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile tells the story of the saltwater crocodile, who can't talk, but can sing. Based on Bernard Waber's children's books, the 2022 musical comedy film features actors Javier Bardem and Constance Wu, but the star of the show is the 6'1", fully-animated, singing and danc- ing crocodile, who's voiced by Shawn Mendez. To help create the vision of this larger-than-life character seamlessly interacting with real perform- ers, the director/producer team of Will Speck and Josh Gordon turned to Actor Capture (www.actor- capture.com) to provide full-performance capture for Lyle, who was actually performed by several human actors. Based in Atlanta, Actor Capture was ap- proached by Sony Pictures in 2021 to work on the film. The company's previous work included gen- erating 3D characters for Replicas (2018) and The Suicide Squad (2021), which gave them experi- ence with producing high-fidelity motion capture for feature films. "It was important to be involved early in the process," explains James Martin, technical director at Actor Capture. "By coming onboard in pre-pro- duction, our team could look at the script, speak to the production team and identify exactly what was needed to bring this character to life." MULTIPLE LYLES Actor Capture quickly concluded that a combi- nation of performers was needed to create Lyle. The audience sees the crocodile at different ages throughout the film — as a child, growing up, and ultimately, as an adult. This required different-sized performers who could recognizably be the same character. For a young Lyle, a child actor was used to convey youthful energy. A scale-accurate performer was then used for the more emotional, performance-driven captures of adult Lyle. Finally, for action-heavy or dance sequences, an entirely separate performer was called on — one that could meet the scene's physical demands. The Actor Capture team worked closely with each performer to ensure their movements were consistent, which would enable the final combi- nation of Lyles to seem like one entity. Separating out the different performances for individual ages enabled Actor Capture to provide the production with the specific Lyle needed for a each moment, while ensuring that they would come together as a whole character in the final edit. CREATING A CG CROCODILE WITH MOTION CAPTURE Alongside developing performances, it was crucial to decide the technology needed to create Lyle on-set ahead of time. Actor Capture was involved for the duration of the shoot — from choosing the right motion-capture suits, ensuring the perform- ers were comfortable in them, calibrating them on-set, and providing the data for post production. The studio turned to Movella's Xsens motion-cap- ture technology as the best option for creating Lyle's movements. "We choose Xsens for our body motion capture every time," says Martin. "Data quality is key to generating the best performance capture possible. Xsens consistently produces that quality." Being able to share accurate data with post production teams around the world is essential for taking the motion captured while shooting and providing it to animators to recreate in CG. The more accurate the data, the more seamlessly the digital elements work alongside live-action footage. Through a combination of tools — includ- ing MVN Animate, Xsens Metagloves by Manus, and Faceware — Actor Capture was able to cover a performer's whole body and theryby receive the best data output. Actor Capture also ensured the cast had a month of training so that they were aware of how to perform in the suits, giving them a good grounding in the relevant techniques and terminology. All of this prep, however, didn't negate the challenges that arise during a fast-paced shoot. OVERCOMING OBSTACLES During filming, it became clear that the best way to capture hand gestures would be through a sep- arate, dedicated session that would enable post production teams to animate those components independently. "The gloves could easily capture the performers' hand motions separately from the rest of the body during the main capture," Martin explains. "We could then offer the production team the right ad- vice to ensure they ended up with the right results. Being able to utilize tools that provide that extra level of flexibility was an essential factor in that decision-making process." The box office results reflect their success. Lyle, Lyle, Crocodile went on to gross $104 million on a $50 million budget, with critics praising the actors' performances, as well as the on-screen visualiza- tion of Lyle. Lyle, as he appears in the film. The Actor Capture team got onboard early. Xsens was used for body motion capture.