In recognition of the growing importance of performance capture in the world of cinema and games, The National Film and Television School (NFTS) is launching an intensive, ten-week certificate in the ever-evolving technology. Students on the NFTS course will learn to be performance capture technicians and develop practical skills to work as part of a performance capture team in both film and games. Applications for the course are open now until June 23rd and the course starts on August 15th 2016.
The course is endorsed by award-winning actor and performance-capture artist, Andy Serkis and run in partnership with The Imaginarium, the performance capture studio and production company he co-founded. Andy Serkis is well known for his iconic performances as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings and Caesar in The Planet of the Apes. Andy Serkis’ performance in both these roles is transformed into digitally realised characters using visual effects techniques, known as ‘motion-capture, ‘mo-cap’ or performance capture’.
Some of the most impactful films of recent times have featured performance capture artists and this trend is set to continue. The BFG, a highly anticipated film based on the Roald Dahl classic – shown at this year’s Cannes film festival - features the ‘most ambitious mo-cap character ever’ according to its director, Steven Spielberg. Spielberg’s new film uses advanced performance capture technology to stretch Mark Rylance’s performance into giant proportions.
Performance capture is also a key tool for games developers. For example, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare features performances from an A-list cast including Kevin Spacey. In this case, it was important to the developer that the characters connect with the audience on a deep, emotional level and this is achieved by the use of performance capture to make the characters more lifelike. Performance capture is also a highly efficient way for games developers to capture multiple performances at once as well as easily capture complex movements and realistic physical interactions.
If working in a performance capture team sounds like a career for you, find out how to apply here – the course application deadline is on the 23rd June and the ten-week course starts on August 15th 2016: https://nfts.co.uk/our-courses/certificate/performance-capture
