|
Case Study: Lord of the Rings - The Third Age |
|
|
|
|
Monday, 28 March 2005 |
 Not every production needs a large-scale solution. When Electronic Arts
was gearing up for the motion capture shoots for their Lord of the
Rings: The Third Age video game, they realized that their actors needed
help handling weapons for the motion capture cut scenes. Dashing Blades
provided a one-day solution that provided the training the production
needed without putting a burden on the schedule or the budget.
Although the production had stunt performers for the key fight scenes,
the main thread of the story is told through six main characters played
by professional actors. In many of the cut scenes they needed to move
naturally with their weapons in the same way as fighters who had spent
a lifetime training with their weapons. In order to help the actors
prepare, Dashing Blades fight designer Sebastien de Castell focused the
training on finding natural movements with the weapons, rather than
drill them in conventional techniques that take a much longer time to
learn. He also provided pieces of choreography and taught the actors to
watch each other's performance so that they would be able to help each
other on the shoot dates. The motion capture coordinator was pleased
and surprised with the results: the entire process only took a day. |
