La nueva película de la saga del planeta de los Simios es una buena muestra de cómo los actores/actrices pueden ser reemplazados en el cine por creaciones animadas por ordenador.

A propósito de esta cuestión la revista Variety publica un reportaje donde el actor Andy Serkis que ha dado vida al simio que lidera la revuelta, César, opina al respecto.

¿Cómo ves tú el futuro de la interpretación respecto los efectos visuales?

«As audiences discover “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes,” a film where the performance-capture simians steal the show from the live-action humans, there’s sure to be another spate of talk about Andy Serkis as a contender for acting awards.

Let’s get this out of the way: Serkis is great in the role of Caesar, the ape leader, but it’s almost inconceivable the Academy or SAG will nominate him. The business isn’t there yet. Maybe critics and press awards will be more open-minded.

At the moment, too, the case for Serkis and his performance-capture cohorts in “Apes” is being hurt by a nasty spat between visual effects animators and Serkis himself. The issue is whether the actor alone creates a performance through the process, or whether the animators deserve credit.

At the risk of getting punched by both sides, I’m stepping into the middle of this fight. Here’s some advice for angry artists and Andy Serkis alike: Walk away. This is not the fight you want to be having. The argument itself is hurting you more than losing would.

For those joining this fight in the middle, here’s a summary of the action so far: Serkis gave an interview to a website in which he offered his take on the state of performance capture. He talked about the improvements in the process, saying “It’s a given that they absolutely copy (the performance) to the letter, to the point in effect what they are doing is painting digital makeup onto actors’ performances.”

Serkis’s quote was picked up by an animation website that ran a story with the headline “Andy Serkis Does Everything, Animators Do Nothing, Says Andy Serkis.”  Incendiary headline? Well, if so, it set exactly the fire it was meant to. Serkis became a pariah among many vfx artists and an object of ridicule on social media.

I’m going to tell everyone involved some things they don’t want to hear, but first let me first address vfx pros who are angry about this. (Disclosure: I was a theatre major with an acting and directing concentration, and started out as a stage director. I love actors and their work. So if you think that means I can’t be fair about the contribution of vfx animators, skip down and read the section where I address Andy Serkis. On the other hand, I have been covering visual effects for the better part of 15 years. I love what these people do. So if you think that means I can’t be fair about the contribution of actors, well…)»

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