 | U-W Thespians Take the Virtual Stage
A WPR Feature
Produced by Brian Bull
3/09/07 |
The running joke in college is that a theater student’s first major role past graduation is maitre de. But many Thespians have discovered the joy of high-tech video gaming…from the flip side of the screen. Brian Bull reports on a blossoming relationship between software developers and drama students....
Running time is 3:17
Listen to this story now using RealPlayer |  The soundstage facility of Raven Software in Middleton.
|
Raven Software only began using drama students and graduates from the University of Wisconsin two years ago, but both parties agree: it's a beautiful relationship. The Middleton-based software developer has created popular video games such as Jedi Knight Academy: Outcast, X-Men II: Rise of Apocalypse, and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, which have often used motion-capture technology. Thespians such as Carrie Coon, (pictured) have helped make this venture more realistic and expressive, thanks to her acting and stunt skills.
Adorned in a black and yellow bodysuit, Coon also sports small reflective buttons along her limbs and joints, which when captured by infrared cameras, collectively compose a 3-D outline on a computer screen. Animators can then practically flesh out the skeleton into a myriad of characters: assassins, commandos, monsters, elves, or superheroes.
The work is demanding, and not everyone can adapt to the virtual universe. But Coon says it's an important medium to take on, as many TV and film projects are incorporating the motion-capture technology in their production.
