Earlier at NYCC, 20th Century Fox won over the audience that was present during their screening of some footage from Alita: Battle Angel. A select group of people also had the opportunity to watch an unfinished work-in-progress sizzle reel that seems to have had enough stunning action sequences to get a warm reception from viewers.
Later on during the Q&A, The producer, director and cast of Alita: Battle Angel discussed more about the project. During their talk, the team was asked if any new specific form of technology was used in the film that improved the capture of facial performance.
Producer Jon Landau explained that the CGI team’s work on “e”motion capture of Alita’s facial performance went a step beyond compared to other movies such as Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ Caesar character which was brought to life by Andy Serkis’ amazing performance with the use of motion capture.
“I love Caesar. They did a phenomenal job on Caesar. But Caesar was able to hide behind an Ape face wrapped in fur,” said Landau. “Here [Alita: Battle Angel], they were exposed, they had to deliver in the lips and the mouth and what they really worked on is on the inside out.”
Landau went on to explain that unlike the traditional method of capturing facial performance, the team captured the movement of muscles from the inside of the lips and mouth.
“Working on a system that is not driving the facial performance from the outside. But understanding what the muscles are doing under the skin and then moving the skin. One of the artists talked to Rosa about all of the idiosyncrasies that she does that we are not supposed to be able to do. This eyebrow will go and this lips would go down, no else does that but Rosa does it,” said Landau.
“So it was learning and teaching their system from the inside out which is a brand new thing they are doing and really pushing the technology,” explained Landau.
The producer also stated that actress Rosa Salazar, who plays Alita in the movie wasn’t performing behind a green screen. The scenes were filmed on real sets with practical effects. The team built a 97,000 square foot set on the backlot of troublemakers studios and built the entire environment where Rosa and the others shot their scenes.
“It’s all real. I was given the gift of being able to perform this character with performance capture. But also the gift of existing in a practical environment with practical props and practical people with the exception of one day working on a green screen stage and all the other days where in the real true environment of that set,” said Salazar.
You can check out the rest of the interview below. If you want to read about the action scene that was screened for a select audience at NYCC, head over to Comingsoon.net.
Alita: Battle Angel hits theatres on February 14, 2019.
