Will's profile
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Monday, March 6th, 2017 2:09 PM

Motion Capture Cast Policy Change

We are excited to announce a change to the cast motion capture policy and the introduction of the new (motion capture) cast attribute. We will now accept motion capture credits as cast positions as long as they are included in the cast section of the end titles and fulfill the eligibility rules listed below. These cast credits should be added with the (motion capture) attribute. We will allow the addition of the (motion capture) attribute to any existing cast credits if applicable. Please see the https://contribute.imdb.com/updates/guide/cast#overview submissions guide for the full details.

E. Motion Capture Credits Motion capture performances in a film, TV show or videogame can be credited in the database as Cast or Other Crew credits (or not at all), depending on the type of motion capture work and how the actor was credited. Such credits are signified by the (motion capture) attribute.

In order to be listed in the Cast section of the credits, actors performing motion capture work on a film need to fulfill these four eligibility rules:
  1. They must have received an on-screen credit (i.e. no uncredited performances)
  2. They must have been credited in the cast section of the end titles (i.e. no 'other motion capture' included elsewhere in the end credits or 3D modelling work).
  3. Unspecific motion capture/3D modelling work must be submitted as Miscellaneous (Other) Crew credits. When in doubt, send it as a Miscellaneous (Other) Crew credit.
  4. Their work must be featured in the original version of the title (i.e. no digital remasters)
Thanks,
Will

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8 years ago

Thanks for announcing this.

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8 years ago

No problem!

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7 years ago

Thanks. This is one of a few recent policy changes about which I have a positive feeling.

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120 Points

7 years ago

This reply was created from a merged topic originally titled Motion Capture category.

I have an issue with the the "motion capture" category that was added this year. The term is an outdated reference to the early days of the technology when literally all that was being captured was the motions of an actor or stunt performer. For the last 17 years, though, the technology has been able to capture the entire performance (voice, face, body) hence the more accurate term "performance capture." For those of us in the industry who do this work and have been fighting for recognition, it is an extremely important distinction that goes beyond semantics. It would be akin to a "Director of Photography" being listed as "Photographer" or a "Prosthetic Effects Designer" as a "Make-up Artist". Please consider changing this terminology to better reflect the contributions being made by these artists.

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But it would only make sense to apply the term "performance capture" if both voice and motion (of face, hands, arms, legs etc.) are derived from the same individual performer. A lot of motion capture performances are the vector-graphical equivalent of ADR loops.

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120 Points

I appreciate the concern but I assure you that is not the way in which the technology is used 99% of the time. Creating such Frankensteined characters would be far too time consuming and cost prohibitive in nearly every circumstance. In fact, I've never seen it done in the 16 years I've worked on these projects.

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4.3K Points

6 years ago

I like the idea of saying "performance capture" look at LA Noire the video game that had actors both facial capture, voice record and motion capture their performances.

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70 Points

4 years ago

Hi there,

I am an actor with 15 years of film and TV experience and over 12 years doing voice, motion capture and performance capture in video games. I'm reaching out regarding how 'Motion Capture' is currently being credited on IMDb under 'Additional Crew'. The limitations with that are as follows:

1) Motion Capture is not performed by Crew, it is performed by Actors
2) By listing it as 'Additional Crew' it does not appear under Filmography therefore limiting credit visibility (so vital in our profession)
3) For many of my performances (and those of my colleagues) I have provided both the Voice AND Motion Capture for a given role and should be able to credit said role for both simultaneously; not have them divided into separate categories
4) Voice work in Video Games currently falls under Filmography, there is no reason that Motion Capture should not as well

I propose that IMDb re-evaluate how 'Motion Capture' is credited to reflect current industry standards, given how prevalent this technology has become in both Video Games and Film (Beauty and the Beast, Planet of the Apes, The Hobbit, Avatar), and include it under FILMOGRAPHY and not ADDITIONAL CREW.

I also propose that IMDb add 'Performance Capture' as a category, as the industry term for when: the body movement, voice AND facial expressions of an actor are captured simultaneously/recording of Motion Capture and Facial Capture.

Thank you for considering these suggestions,

Amber

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1 year ago

This policy went in to effect 6 years ago, but there is still a warning if you use the term "Motion Capture" in the cast listing. This probably leads people to add these credits, erroneously

, to the Additional Crew section.

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70 Points

I’m not sure I follow… How do you propose a cast member correctly add a credit for a motion capture performance then?