Skip to main content
Games Radar
  • Newsarama
  • Total Film
  • Edge
  • Retro Gamer
  • SFX
SFX The world's number one sci-fi, fantasy and horror magazine
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
flag of UK
UK
flag of US
US
flag of Canada
Canada
flag of Australia
Australia
  • News
  • Subscribe
  • Newsletter
  • More
    • PS5
    • Xbox Series X
    • Nintendo Switch
    • Nintendo Switch 2
    • PC
    • Platforms
    • Tabletop Gaming
    • Comics
    • Toys & Collectibles
    • SFX
    • Newsarama
    • Retro Gamer
    • Newsletters
    • About us
    • Features
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
View
Trending
  • Disney Plus bundles
  • Best Sci Fi Movies
  • New Marvel TV Shows
  • New TV Shows

Recommended reading

Danny Boyle directing Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams on the set of 28 Years Later
Horror Movies 28 Years Later director Danny Boyle used a 20-iPhone rig to capture the film's "graphic" violence: "You feel like you're in the room with the unzipped spine and head"
Alfie Williams as Spike and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie in 28 Years Later
Horror Movies "Only Danny Boyle is brave enough to make bold swings like that": 28 Years Later star teases new horror movie, as he compares "experimental" shoot to "technical" Nosferatu's
The Xenomorph on top of a container
Horror Shows Alien: Earth reveals new stomach-churning gestation clip and teaser trailer
Cillian Murphy as Jim in 28 Days Later
Horror Movies 23 years ago, Danny Boyle's grimy horror 28 Days Later set a new standard for zombie apocalypse movies – and I'm hoping 28 Years Later will match it
Fountain of Youth set visit
Adventure Movies Guy Ritchie is tackling new genres because "it's more fun than not working," and the result is an Indiana Jones-like action adventure with John Krasinski
Bark teaser trailer
Horror Movies New single-location horror movie with in-tree-guing premise unveils nail-biting first trailer
Emma Stone in Bugonia
Sci-Fi Movies Emma Stone stars in frenetic first trailer for Poor Things director's remake of cult South Korean sci-fi comedy
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies
  3. Mystery Movies
  4. dawn of the planet of the apes

Watch a man turn into an ape in 8 easy steps

News
By Nick Broughall published 25 November 2014

An exclusive glimpse behind the scenes of the tech used to make Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes

New Zealand special effects house Weta has been at the forefront of motion capture since it threw Andy Serkis in a white jumpsuit and turned him into Gollum. And they once again worked on the performance capture for this year's Gary Oldman-starring Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes.

Directed by Matt Reeves and written by Mark Bomback, Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver, the movie (the eighth cinema release in the Apes franchise) also stars Andy Serkis, Jason Clarke, Keri Russell, Toby Kebbell, and Kodi Smit-McPhee. For its Blu-ray release (already out in the UK and Australia, out Tuesday 2 December in the US) GamesRadar+ got to travel to their Wellington studio to see firsthand how they turned actors into apes.

Page 1 of 9
Page 1 of 9
1. The Jumpsuits

1. The Jumpsuits

Some things change, while others stay the same. While motion capture has come a long way since The Lord Of The Rings, the tight lycra body suit is a staple of motion capture.

Thats because the reference points those shiny balls that reflect the infrared light thats used to record mocap data cant move around on the actors body or else they throw the mocap data all out of whack.

Page 2 of 9
Page 2 of 9
2. Active Mocap

2. Active Mocap

For Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, the team at Weta created a robust, active mocap jumpsuit. Instead of using reflective balls located around the body, it instead uses a series of infrared LEDs powered by a compact battery pack worn on the back of the suit.

This system allowed the Weta team to record motion capture data on location in the Vancouver rainforest rather than their warehouse mocap studio in Wellington, giving the cast and crew a much more natural recording environment.

Page 3 of 9
Page 3 of 9
3. The Reference Scan

3. The Reference Scan

Once the actors are all suited up, they stand on a small stage and get scanned for a series of bodily movements. These scans are recorded in real time to test the actors range of movement in a variety of poses and actions.

Some software then compresses the actors dimensions to that of the digital character they are playing, be it a slightly shorter, more muscular chimp in Dawn Of The Planet Of The Apes, or a taller, lankier Navi in Avatar.

Page 4 of 9
Page 4 of 9
4. The Mo-Cap Warehouse

4. The Mo-Cap Warehouse

Wetas mocap studio consists of several rooms, with an array of special cameras carefully set up around each room. Each camera lens is surrounded by powerful infrared LED lights, which beam out invisible light that reflects off the balls on the actors lycra suit. The cameras then record that information in three dimensions in real time.

The software is intelligent enough that it can superimpose characters on set into the shot with a low-resolution model of the actors character in real time, giving the team the opportunity to record the action in multiple takes, all without leaving the studio.

Page 5 of 9
Page 5 of 9
5. Crutch Walking

5. Crutch Walking

Because ape biology is somewhat different to human biology, what with the longer arms and powerful shoulders, for certain scenes the actors needed to walk around on set using special crutch-like arm extensions.

According to some of the actors used in the film, it took about an hours worth of intense training to get the hang of ape-movement, and was a pretty incredible thigh workout.

Page 6 of 9
Page 6 of 9
6. Facial Recording

6. Facial Recording

What makes the Weta motion capture technology so impressive isnt just the characters movement, but the emotive performances the actors give. To capture that performance, the lead actors would often wear a head-mounted face camera, that captured every minute detail of the actors facial performance in real time.

This performance gave the animators a detailed reference that they could use to make the apes in the movie convey the wide gamut of emotions needed.

Page 7 of 9
Page 7 of 9
7. Facial Modelling

7. Facial Modelling

Theres a lot more to creating the final apes performance than just recording the actors face though. The team at Weta create highly detailed computer models of each character, based on real human and ape biology, with the ability to control every part of the apes face.

The model for Andy Serkis Ceasar, for example had over 240 muscle sets to control, giving the animators the tools to recreate every aspect of Serkis performance.

Page 8 of 9
Page 8 of 9
8. Animation

8. Animation

Once the facial model has been completed, its up to the animators to fine-tune the end result. Often, its a case of adding imperfections to create a level of believability, from leaves and dirt in the apes hair, to developing a system to display the effects of rain on the apes face and body.

In many cases, viewers wont actually notice many of the things the animators add to the frame, which is exactly what the effects team wants once you stop seeing a CGI creation and instead watch the digital character, their work is done. Thanks to Fox Australia for organising the trip to Weta to see the magic happen!

Page 9 of 9
Page 9 of 9
CATEGORIES
Netflix Disney Plus Amazon Prime Video Streaming Services
Nick Broughall
Nick Broughall
Social Links Navigation
See more Movies News
Read more
Danny Boyle directing Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Alfie Williams on the set of 28 Years Later
28 Years Later director Danny Boyle used a 20-iPhone rig to capture the film's "graphic" violence: "You feel like you're in the room with the unzipped spine and head"
Alfie Williams as Spike and Aaron Taylor-Johnson as Jamie in 28 Years Later
"Only Danny Boyle is brave enough to make bold swings like that": 28 Years Later star teases new horror movie, as he compares "experimental" shoot to "technical" Nosferatu's
The Xenomorph on top of a container
Alien: Earth reveals new stomach-churning gestation clip and teaser trailer
Cillian Murphy as Jim in 28 Days Later
23 years ago, Danny Boyle's grimy horror 28 Days Later set a new standard for zombie apocalypse movies – and I'm hoping 28 Years Later will match it
Fountain of Youth set visit
Guy Ritchie is tackling new genres because "it's more fun than not working," and the result is an Indiana Jones-like action adventure with John Krasinski
Bark teaser trailer
New single-location horror movie with in-tree-guing premise unveils nail-biting first trailer
Latest in Mystery Movies
Matthew McConaughey as Rust Cohle in True Detective season 1
Matthew McConaughey is set to play an iconic private investigator in a new movie from True Detective creator
Daniel Craig in Knives Out
Call me Benoit Blanc because I have just solved the cryptic teaser for Netflix's upcoming movie Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery
Keir Dullea in 2001: A Space Odyssey
32 Movies With Ambiguous Endings
Ian McKellen as Gandalf the White in Lord of the Rings
The internet is debating which movies were perfectly cast, from Lord of the Rings to Knives Out
Knives Out 3
First look at Daniel Craig in Knives Out 3 has got us trying to figure out a mystery: will the film be in black and white?
Thomas Haden Church
Knives Out 3 adds Sam Raimi Spider-Man villain to cast
Latest in News
Holding the Nintendo Switch 2
Amazon's missing out on that sweet Switch 2 money because Nintendo's mad about "unauthorized sales," new report suggests
lea seydoux as fragile smoking a cigarette
Hideo Kojima says "I'm happy with the scores, thank you" as Death Stranding 2 settles at 90 on Metacritic, overcoming his fears that it might be too likable
Joe Freeman as Luke Ellis in The Institute
The Institute showrunners explain why the new Stephen King dystopian sci-fi TV series is more timely than ever: "Children shall inherit the earth, but first they have to save themselves"
Kevin Feige at the Marvel Hall H panel during San Diego Comic-Con
James Gunn says Marvel boss Kevin Feige was a "really great role model" for what he's trying to achieve at DC: "He let me do my thing, but he also was really honest with what he thought"
Photo of the OLED Tears of the Kingdom Switch sitting on top of the LCD Switch with the Skyward Sword HD Joy-Cons attached.
Nintendo warns Switch 1 consoles, games, accessories, amiibo, and more will "experience price changes" in Canada, and it's tough to imagine the rest of the world escaping
Fallout
After revealing he was ordered to destroy his copy of Fallout's source code, OG lead Tim Cain says we're losing game history because companies "take authority but not responsibility" for preservation
  1. Sam fires at the ghost mech squid boss in Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
    1
    Death Stranding 2: On the Beach review: "This tarpunk delivery epic is more Metal Gear Solid than ever, for better and worse"
  2. 2
    Rematch review: "As with Rocket League, the just-one-more-game pull is magnetic"
  3. 3
    Tron: Catalyst review: "Disc slinging is a thrill in this gorgeous rendition of the series, but I'm let down by a time-loop story that falls flat"
  4. 4
    FBC: Firebreak review: "A disappointingly bland multiplayer FPS that's missing far too much of what made Control special"
  5. 5
    Dune: Awakening review: "Both extremely compelling and extraordinarily boring, sometimes at the same time – yet still a true Dune love letter"
  1. A T-rex in Jurassic World Rebirth
    1
    Jurassic World Rebirth Review: "An unscary sequel that needed a little more time in amber"
  2. 2
    M3GAN 2.0 review: "A bold sequel with a slightly underwhelming conclusion"
  3. 3
    28 Years Later Review: "Enough terror, splatter and suspense to satisfy”
  4. 4
    Predator: Killer of Killers review: "Great characters, thrilling action, and gorgeous Arcane-esque animation"
  5. 5
    From the World of John Wick: Ballerina review: "Brilliant action, even if the plot gives you a sense of déjà vu"
  1. Lee Jung-jae as Gi-hun in Squid Game season 3
    1
    Squid Game season 3 review: "A staggeringly excellent final season wraps up one of the greatest Netflix shows ever"
  2. 2
    Ironheart review: "A relic of Marvel's content-at-all-costs era"
  3. 3
    Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 3 review: "The show's most assured run of episodes to date"
  4. 4
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 8 spoiler review: 'The Reality War' is "a mix of the good, the bad, and the truly baffling"
  5. 5
    Doctor Who season 2, episode 7 spoiler review: 'Wish World' is "an exciting and ambitious" start to the season finale, with hints of WandaVision

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...