thePULSEMotion Capture Stuntman
By Tom Godfrey
Reuben Langdon has had quite the life. He has fought aliens, taken on hoards of zombies on several occasions, laid waste to evildoers, and will soon be fighting against a hostile race from another planet. All in a day’s work. Langdon is the coolest guy you have never heard of, though he has been a part of your life for ages. Langdon is a lord amongst nerds, master of the martial arts, and the king of the art of motion capture.
First, a little on motion capture: motion capture technology has been around for a while but is almost daily becoming an increasingly significant aspect of entertainment media. Each day, Langdon dons a tight spandex suit dotted with motion sensors that feed his movement into a computer. Soon, like magic, the computer generated character is doing flips and defying gravity, thanks to Langdon’s skills.
About performing the leaps, twists, and thoroughly impossible-looking acrobatics that are part of the motion capture process, Landgdon says, “Usually the wire work gets pushed to after lunch so you’re getting jerked around with a stomach full of curry.”
Though he never had motion capture in mind as a youth, Langdon had a love for all things Japanese, from anime and robots to candy wrappers with Japanese writing.
That love took Landon far from home. At the age of 19, he bought a one way ticket to Japan. He spent a few days in the airport before necessity pushed him onto the path to success.
“To pay the bills I started taking acting and modeling gigs,” he recalls. To this day, he says he is still recognized as the “Mentos guy” in Japan.
Langdon eventually landed a gig on a Japanese TV show much like Power Rangers. Langdon was thrown into the world of high adrenaline action thanks to a stunt crew that saw his potential.
“I got the action bug big time,” says Langdon.
Upon his return to the States, Langdon donned a mask and took on space invaders on the actual Power Rangers. Things were coming full circle.
“It was awesome,” says Langdon, “Power Rangers incorporates Hong Kong martial arts so it was a lot of hard work everyday. I learned so much about everything from stunts to production.”
Langdon has since brought his prowess to shows like Martial Law and films including The Medallion, but has really found his calling in video games. For years, he portrayed Dante in Devil May Cry 3 and 4, has done the motion capture for Chris Redfield of the Resident Evil franchise, and continues his fight against the undead in the super-hit Dead Rising.
“I’m an uber-nerd,” confesses Langdon, “my office is filled with toys and models. To be able to portray these characters is an honor.”
An honor, yes, but not one with a slight downside.
“It’s not [my] face they are seeing,” says Langdon. “You are doing all of this work and the audience doesn’t make the connection, ‘Oh that’s Reuben Langdon’ right away.”
Still, working in motion capture gives Langdon a creativity that he was never allowed in the traditional acting jobs he’d had.
“I can become any character,” says Langdon. “I can be a monster! Motion capture is not limited to appearance.”
Langdon’s latest motion capture triumph is the upcoming James Cameron flick Avatar. The film focuses on a former Marine whose human mind is in an alien body; he must contend with internal and external struggles with his identity and a planet’s angry indigenous population.
While Langdon’s lips are sealed on the details, he is overflowing with praise for the film.
“I worked on all of the stunts,” says Langdon. “It was such an amazing experience. James Cameron is a genius and I loved the crew. We were like family. I cannot wait to see it on the big screen.” Avatar is due to hit theaters December 18.
To learn more about Reuben Langdon, head to www.reubenlangdon.com.
SIDEBAR:
What is Motion Capture Technology?
Motion capture technology is a process by which movement is digitally recorded. In the last 25 years, motion capture has become an essential tool in the entertainment business, giving computer animators the ability to make non-human characters more life-like. It’s used in animated films, TV, and video games.
Historically, motion capture in animated movies was created using an extension of the rotoscoping technique. In this technique, an actor is filmed making certain movements or gestures while wearing markers on specific points of his or her body. Each marker in each frame of film is then manually encoded into the computer. As animation software improved, it became possible to apply an algorithm to the markers that attach them to a 3D object, creating what is now called motion capture.
There are four primary motion capture input methods: prosthetic, acoustic, magnetic, and optical. Prosthetic motion capture uses trigonometry to input the data from mechanical devices attached to the performer’s body. Because of the inhibitive nature of the machinery, it is seldom used today.
Acoustic motion capture uses audio transmitters on the actor’s body that make a clicking sound when activated by movement. Receivers measure the time it takes for the sound to reach them and triangulate the data to indicate a point on a 3D plane.
Magnetic motion capture is one of the more commonly used methods; it uses a central magnet and several receivers attached to the actor’s body. The receivers capture and record the actor’s movements and save them to the computer.
Today, optical motion capture is probably the most popular motion capture method. This approach uses at least three cameras and proper lighting to recreate the performer’s position in a 3D space. Optical motion capture allows for a larger performance area and less inhibited movement than the other methods.
Movement is the first and fastest way humans perceive visual information; therefore, motion capture provides a number of benefits to the filmmaker concerned with authenticity. It is a much faster way to film than rotoscoping, and it can provide real time results. Additionally, because the process records only movement as opposed to physical features, it allows one actor to play many roles. Perhaps most importantly in terms of realism, the accuracy of the data allows complex movements to be replicated with the correct distribution of weight and exchange of forces.
Courtesy wisegeek.com
