Thanks to the Avatar and Guardians of the Galaxy movies, it might seem strange seeing Zoe Saldaña without a blue or green look. This year, the actress picked up her first Golden Globe nomination for Emilia Pérez, which might also seem odd, considering how tenured and renowned Saldaña’s career is.
But, the Golden Globes doesn’t accept motion capture or CGI performances, disqualifying Saldaña’s work in Avatar and its sequel. Speaking to Variety, the actress said she hoped that would change in the future.
“I’m going to keep hoping that people and members of academies and organizations reach a level of understanding of what performance capture truly is and what it does for the artist,” she said. “It gives the artist the right to take full proprietorship of their work. It is not a work that is cloned or imitated. The artist is the one that really does all the labor and the technicians, in post, paint over it. You don’t go into a studio in your sweatpants, and you lend your voice, and then somebody else creates an idea of how they think you would move if you said something like this. Every movement that every character that has been done under performance capture has been performed either by an actor or a stunt actor, and I hope that one day it is able to be recognized, because it is just a shame to overlook the sacrifices and the work put into these films.”
From movies to games, motion capture work is becoming more vital in bringing characters to life, and hopefully soon we can see it get the respect it deserves. Or, do you think otherwise? Let us know!