VFX BREAKDOWN MUFASA
Virtual production stages were also used to capture performances of some of the characters, with motion capture used for multiple performers playing key characters. Jenkins was then able to watch a live feed on screen through Unreal Engine, which allowed him to view real-time performances. Motion capture was used in the film for two purposes, as Valdez explains: “We used it to track the camera movement, but we also utilised it to input human actors as performers for the lions. There was a technique that was dubbed Quad Cap because of the quadruped nature of the lions. Here, the front half of the person controlled the front legs of the lions, and wherever I was looking, the lion would also be looking. “You are warping the human body under this lion shape to allow a performer to drive a lion,” continues Valdez. “The back legs are generated with a puppeteered rig, a mechanism that ensures the lion follows wherever you’re going. We didn’t use this for every scene in the movie – if you have a lion swimming through water, it’s extremely difficult to achieve that on a normal sound stage.” Jenkins found this method useful for directing the action, rather than watching
animation slowly build up through keyframing, where animators create the action. “Everything you see in the final movie is actually done by animators,” reveals Valdez, highlighting the skill behind the animated sequences. “The motion capture was a way of laying out the action,” he adds. “It’s not really a motion capture film in the sense that we didn’t capture the final performances. Instead, they are an amalgamation of voice acting, motion capture and what the animators bring at the end – from different references of natural motion to their own interpretation of the moment.” For Valdez, one of the most enjoyable elements of working on the film was the collaboration with Jenkins, as well as the filmmakers who were deeply focused on perfecting the emotion, acting and artistry of the project. “They had to learn a lot and bend their normal ways of working to meet the demands of this process. I think it’s often underappreciated how much Disney and its teams care about making great work. There’s not a single person on the movie who isn’t there to do something excellent and who doesn’t love movies or want to make great pieces of work,” he concludes.
BREAK OUR PRIDE Dynamic fur simulations were tailored to respond to various weather conditions, from dry plains to rainstorms
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