Vactor ontologies: Framing acting within a motion capture context
Researchers: Jason Kennedy
While an actor’s performance in a stage play may be seen as a continuous and unmediated form of acting, an actor’s performance in a film is constructed through shot framing, editing, effects work, and other cinematic apparatuses. With the advent of digital filmmaking, constructed performances have become more complex and nuanced, especially through the use of motion capture. This research explores how we frame acting within a motion capture context – and specifically, how this affects our larger understanding of what acting is and how acting can be constructed. What does acting become when the product of acting starts as data and finishes as computer-generated images that may only tangentially resemble the actor's "original" performance? Is the source actor solely responsible for the performance we see on screen, or should other people within the production pipeline receive credit for their creative contributions to the finished acting result? How do we understand the act of acting in motion capture? Through consolidating and linking theoretical and practical considerations of acting in motion capture, this paper proposes a number of ways to conceive of acting and presence within a virtual acting context.
