What doThe Lion KingandAvatarhave in common? According to VFX artist Robert Legato, quite a bit, as it turns out. The artist recently explained howAvatar’s groundbreaking VFX technology helped shape Disney’s 2019 remake ofThe Lion King.
Award-winning VFX artist Legato — who worked with James Cameron onAvatar— sat down withCorridor Crewandbroke down how the highest-grossing film of all time paved the way forThe Lion King’s visual effects. In a video entitled “VFX Artists React to Bad & Great CGi 139,” Legato explained that Disney’s 2019 live-action retelling ofThe Lion Kingrelied heavily on technology first pioneered byAvatar. In particular, Legato honed in on the motion capture techniques employed by bothAvatarandThe Lion King.
The Lion King
Legato explained thatthe ‘live-action’ scenes inThe Lion Kingwere actually created via motion captureand special effects — the production shot the film with physical actors providing references for animators. Actors wore special suits so that each movement and facial expression were faithfully captured and later recreated via computer-generated imagery. This helped the production capture “simple little things” such as microexpressions, making the resulting model look and feel more realistic. This also means thatThe Lion Kingwas shot with an actual set, cameras, and physical actors.
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How Avatar Made Use of Motion Capture
Avatarfamously took nearly 15 years to make it from the script to the screen. Part of the reason for the delay was its effects — Cameron and his collaborator, Weta Workshop, were concerned with making the sci-fi film feel real (a feat that the film famously accomplished), requiring the development of specialized technology. A virtual camera system was developed;actors wore headsets that captured their expressions more closely.
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Cameron further developed the technology while filmingAvatar: The Way of Water. The film, which came out 14 years after the firstAvatar,required the development of techniques to capture performances underwater. TheAvatar: The Way of Waterproduction then filmed its performers underwater and translated their performances into CGI models. Coincidentally, that meant the productionalso required its performers to learn how to free dive—Avatar: The Way of Watercurrently holds the record for longest underwater breath by a performer, showcasing the physical reality of filming a motion capture production, even if the final product is animation.
Motion capture or ‘mo-cap’ technologyis now widely used in the industry. Cameron is among its most ardent supporters, but he does not stand alone. Actors such as Andy Serkis, famed for his use of motion capture technology in both theLord of the Ringstrilogy and the rebootedPlanet of the Apesfilms, have praised the technique. As it continues to advance, the technology will likely become even more widespread — and possibly even more realistic.
