Before the release of Ang Lee’s experimental, strange thriller Gemini Man, most of the talk was about the technology behind the film, which saw Will Smith playing opposite a younger, more babyfaced Will Smith. Since release, discussion has instead been about, like, is the movie any good or not, but the technology remains impressive.
In a new featurette, released earlier this week by CG Record, that showcases some of the more technical aspects of what was done to create the second, younger Smith performance. It’s a blend of motion capture techniques that was then used as a base to create a stunningly realistic CG version of the young Smith.
What this video shows is how far beyond normal motion capture this technology is. The mocapped performance shown is often noticeably different from the final product, which still looks like the real thing. It’s impressive, and was likely just as costly and difficult as Lee’s production claimed it was. Was the result worth it? I dunno, but it’s definitely neat.
Gemini Man is in theatres now.