Director Robert Zemeckis thinks the work he’s done on his three recent motion capture films deserves special recognition when it comes Oscar time.
Zemeckis, who won the award for directing and received a Special Achievement in Animated Direction for “Who Framed Roger Rabbit” recently said that motion capture animated films are ground-breaking along the lines of Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves” when it was first released. And that deserves a special category and Oscar for the work.
Of course, it could be that Zemeckis is trying to stump up some interest for his motion-capture films which have been technically stunning but have failed to catch fire at the box-office.
Brilliant! Create a category for which you’re the only real contender! Why didn’t I think of that?
I won’t consider this technology breakthrough until it stops leaving me cold emotionally. Zemeckis needs to step up his game in the non-technical areas of directing on movies like this and stop whining.
I think it’s a good idea. Performance Capture is quickly becoming a technique used in non-Zemeckis films (Avatar, King Kong, etc…). This is also strong evidence that Zemeckis is not trying to “make animation easier” as many Pixar-worshippers claim. Zemeckis has also viewed his films as being somewhere in between live action and animation. I want to see more of this visual stye.
I think Zemeckis should first consider doing GOOD motion capture films with a heart and soul and their stories before he starts praising himself. I’ve seen both Polar Express and Beowulf, and while they’re technically beautiful, their stories and characters just don’t feel emotionally deep enough to keep the viewer watching the film. He’s too focused on the whole motion-capture 3D gimmick and has forgotten what it is that makes films good in the first place, and this is why I haven’t bothered with his new Christmas Carol movie. It seems mostly everyone says the same thing: beautiful to look at, but not enough heart.