Peel Back King Kong's Animation Skin and Meet a Familiar Face

More and more frames of movies consist of computer graphics animation, so the art of performance capture acting is a growing discipline. Formerly Gollum in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Andy Serkis has become the 3d character King Kong for the big gorilla's animation debut in another Peter Jackson film.

Animation and Digital Art Bring King Kong to Life

While having a man attempt to be a giant gorilla sounds outlandish, it's really nothing beyond the power of Peter Jackson's directing ability, Weta's 3d character animation technology, or Serkis' acting prowess. Using Weta's animation and performance capture sound stage, Serkis and Jackson gave Kong a personality and a point of reference for actor Naomi Watts, who plays Ann Darrow, in her scenes with Kong.

Hitech Animation Art

Performance capture electronically tracks an actor's movements and expressions and then translates those gestures into computer animation. The facial expression capture features several dozen pin-pointed make-up dots on the actor's face to track targeted facial muscles. Serkis took advantage of the facial expression capture, "But the eyes, particularly," he says, "represent the acting choices that I've made[,] and all the physicality of the way that Kong is and his personality is portrayed through performance capture."

Hanging Out with Gorillas in Rwanda

Serkis helped make his 3d character animation believable by spending time with gorillas at the London Zoo and then in Rwanda at 10,000 feet in the Virunga Volcanoes. Serkis learned that chest pounding is an open-handed movement and not a closed-fist movement, among other things. He also learned to imitate a number of gorilla vocalizations, which he utters in the movie.

Online College and an Animation Degree

If you're fascinated by this kind of 3d character animation, an online college degree in animation can help you to learn the animation fundamentals and the technology standards. You're a great fit for animation if you love art and learning new computer programs. An online college degree can give you the ability to keep your day job while working on your future career. With your online college degree in animation, you could be capturing actors such as Serkis leaping through the Big Apple in no time.

Sources
Andy Serkis Web site Definition of Motion Capture
Andy Serkis Interview

About the Author
James Tolles is the Managing Editor for hq|publications. He is a freelance writer and holds two B.A. degrees, one in Creative Writing and the other in History.