Entry #5: Digital Actors

Is this acting or animation?

Performance capture requires two parts: the actor and the animator. Without acting, the result would be a bad animation job. Without animation, the result would be a man in a reflective bodysuit and headgear. What I'm trying to say is that the two have equal contributions for the success of the work, so there is no way to say that one is more prominent than the other. I'll have to say that performance capture is neither acting nor animation. As director Henry Selick puts it, "It's a hybrid."

Do you think that animated character should be eligible for acting awards?

The animated character should not be eligible for acting awards. The Oscars can't say that Neytiri won the best actress award over, say, Sandra Bullock. That just doesn't make sense. But the actor of the animated character - that's a different story. I think the digital actor, such as Zoe Saldana, should be recognized for the hard work they have done, as they have held a significant role in the production of the movie. Although I feel that it would be unfair to human actors if they had to compete against digital actors, whose performances must have been altered in some way or another by animators, it would be unfair to digital actors if they were not given a chance for awards. Perhaps when performance capture becomes more popular and more actors get into the field, they should open up a new award category for digital actors.

Do you think that human actors will ever become obsolete? Why or why not?

I do not think that human actors will ever become obsolete, because they connect to the viewer in a way that animated characters are not able to do. They are human, too, and they live a life, express their emotions inside and outside of their movies. For me, watching animated movies give me a different experience from watching non-animated movies, and it’s not that one experience is better than the other, but they are just on different levels. I don’t think anyone would want to lose that human acting experience, and I feel that digital acting does not exist to take over the movie industry, but instead, give it more variety.