CREATING A PHOTOREAL DIGITAL ACTOR: THE DIGITAL EMILY PROJECT Oleg Alexander1 Mike Rogers1 William Lambeth1 Matt Chiang 2 Paul Debevec2 1 Image Metrics 1918 Main St, 2nd Floor, Santa Monica, CA 90405, USA e-mail: foleg.alexander,mike.rogers,
[email protected] 2 University of Southern California Institute for Creative Technologies 13274 Fiji Way, Marina del Rey, CA 90292, USA e-mail: fchiang,
[email protected] 1 Introduction Abstract Creating a photoreal digital actor with computer graphics The Digital Emily Project is a collaboration between has been a central goal of the field for at least thirty years facial animation company Image Metrics and the Graphics [Parke 1972]. The Digital Emily project undertaken by Image Laboratory at the University of Southern California’s Institute Metrics and the University of Southern California’s Institute for Creative Technologies to achieve one of the world’s for Creative Technologies (USC ICT) attempted to achieve an first photorealistic digital facial performances. The project animated, photoreal digital face by bringing together latest- leverages latest-generation techniques in high-resolution face generation results in 3D facial capture, modeling, animation, scanning, character rigging, video-based facial animation, and rendering. The project aimed to cross the ”uncanny valley” and compositing. An actress was first filmed on a studio set [20], producing a computer-generated face which appeared speaking emotive lines of dialog in high definition. The lighting to be a real, relatable, animated person. Some of the key on the set was captured as a high dynamic range light probe technologies employed included a fast high-resolution digital image.