The Virtual World of Andy Serkis

The invention of motion capture has revolutionized the science of film-making. Motion capture (called mocap for short) is a way of creating realistic movements. It is the process of capturing a real object (usually a person) in a 3D space and mapping it onto a computer generated object. Here's how it works: The actor is filmed in a mocap studio that is surrounded by special cameras. The actor wears a skin-tight body suit that has markers placed in strategic locations all over it. The markers are detected by the mocap cameras. Using special software, the actor's movements are translated onto a digital character that is then fully animated. (Does that make sense? I just spent about half an hour trying to word that in the least confusing way possible.)

The mocap suit:

Are you intrigued? Read more after the jump.