1 Attestation of Authorship I hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person (except where explicitly defined in the acknowledgements), nor material which to a substantial extent has been submitted for the award of any other degree or diploma of a university or other institution of higher learning. Signature: ___________________________ Date: 26 January 2021 2 Acting and Its Double: a Practice-Led Investigation of the Nature of Acting Within Performance Capture Jason Kennedy A thesis submitted to Auckland University of Technology in fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy January 2021 3 Preface Preface I. Abstract This research deepens our understanding, as animators, actors, audiences, and academics, of how we see the practice of acting in performance capture (PeCap). While exploring the intersections between acting and animation, a central question emerges: what does acting become when the product of acting starts as data and finishes as computer-generated images that preserve the source-actor’s “original” performance to varying degrees? This primary question is interrogated through a practice-led inquiry in the form of 3D animation experiments that seek to clarify the following sub-questions: • What is the nature of acting within the contexts of animation and performance capture? • What is the potential for a knowledge of acting to have on the practice of animating, and for a knowledge of animation to have on the practice of acting? • What is the role of the animator in interpreting an actor’s performance data and how does this affect our understanding of the authorship of a given performance? This thesis is interdisciplinary and sits at the intersection between theories of acting, animation, film, and psychology. Additionally, this thesis engages with phenomenology and auto-ethnography to explore acting in performance capture from the perspective of a single individual as the actor, PeCap artist, and animator. This type of first-person experience-based insight is often missing from purely theoretical discussions about acting in performance capture and animation, and helps to provide a clearer understanding of the contributions of each creative role to the final PeCap result. This research provides a strong basis for the necessity of a paradigm revision for how acting is produced within a PeCap context. 1 Preface II. Keywords Acting, animation, performance, motion capture, performance capture, MoCap, PeCap, digital performance, practice-led research, authorship, vactor, synthespian, digital counterpart, digital double, film production, actor training Preface III. Acknowledgements This project is wholeheartedly dedicated to my mother, Mary Patricia Yanacheak (née Kennedy). I frequently tell the story of how, when I was two-years-old, my mother read to me a booklet about dinosaurs published by the Sinclair Gas Company for the New York World’s Fair 1964-65. I do not know where she found this booklet, but I was so fascinated by the dinosaurs in it that I asked her to read it to me every night. By the time I was three- years-old, I had memorised it – my mother’s incorrect pronunciations of dinosaur names and all. My mother, a bartender, would occasionally take me to work. As a precocious child, I would sometimes ask a patron if he (they were all male) would like me to tell him a story. Upon his indulgence, I proceeded to recite the entire book verbatim, to which the patron would invariably lament to my mother: “Mary, this kid knows more words than I do.” At age three, I told my mother I would get my doctorate in palaeontology. I am sure I did not know what a doctorate was at that age, but she told me that the people who studied dinosaurs all had doctorates, and therefore I wanted to have one. I specifically went to university to study palaeontology, but as often happens when young, reality settled in and I realised I liked the idea of palaeontology more than actually doing it. A fortuitous viewing of “Monsters, Inc” in 2001 was the encouragement I needed to shift focus. I had always been fascinated by how the dinosaurs in “Jurassic Park” were created, and Sully’s complex hair system in “Monsters, Inc” was so provocative that I realised I would rather animate dinosaurs than dig them up. At that moment, my path toward becoming a 3D animator was born. Yet, it really began seventeen years earlier with my mother reading to me. This is for you, mom; I fulfilled my promise. 2 Unfortunately, my mother died in 2015 a few months after I began this PhD. This research has outlived both my parents (my father, David Yanacheak, died in 2017) and at least five relationships. In some ways, that’s a brutal figure, but it is a testament to dedication, perseverance, self-worth, and passion. In conceiving, executing, and writing a project of this magnitude, there are many people who contribute to its success without realising the role they play. I would like to acknowledge some of those people here. Khayreyah Oberon provided immeasurable support, humour, intelligence, and care as I toiled away at this thesis. Many of my colleagues have been great pillars of support and feedback, and have provided me with significant time to complete this work: thank you to Gregory Bennett, Dr Jan Kruse, Hossein Najafi, Dr Miriam Harris, John Piper, Dylen Velasquez, and Emily Ramsay. I would also like to acknowledge the many people who have provided support and feedback at conferences over the years, including Dr Lisa Bode, Dr Hannes Rall, Dr Mihaela Mihailova, Dr Birgitta Hosea, and Gray Hodgkinson. To my acting teachers Kacie Stetson and Dawn Glover, who have provided advice in so many ways over the years without even realising the roles they were contributing. To students who assisted me in various ways throughout this research, including Lily Martin-Babin, Marco Staines, and Drew English. To Farmehr Farhour and Arash Tayebi for their input and assistance with the Nansense motion capture system, as well as Lee Jackson for his tireless work in the AUT Motion Capture Lab. To friends who provided uncompromising support and love, including Jenilee Reddy, Shilpa Amin, Serenity Wise, Sonia Pinto, and Débora Borges. To my undergraduate professors at Albion College who demonstrated remarkable support and intellect, and who steered me along an academic path, including Doug Goering, Lynne Chytilo, Frank Machek, Robert Starko, Dr Robert AuFrance, Dr Ralph Davis, Dr William Bartels, Dr Ron Mourad, and Dr H. Eugene Cline. To the industry professionals who kindly gave me their time and attention, including Ed Hooks, Andy Serkis, and Dan Lemmon. And to anyone who has ever taught me a lesson, no matter how small. Teachers inspire greatness. Finally, I wish to acknowledge the tireless, challenging, and insightful support of my PhD advisors, Dr Stefan Marks and Dr Frances Joseph, as well as Dr Sharon Mazer, who helped guide this project through its early conception. 3 Preface IV. Table of Contents Preface I. Abstract 1 II. Keywords 2 III. Acknowledgements 2 IV. Table of Contents 4 V. List of Figures 8 VI. Abbreviations 11 1. Overview 1.1 Aims & Objectives 12 1.2 Positioning the Researcher 14 1.3 Structure of Thesis and Key Texts 16 1.3.1 Chapter Overview 17 1.3.2 Key Texts 19 2. And the Award Goes to... 2.1 Awarding Motion Capture Performances 25 2.1.1 Gollum’s Digital Makeup 26 2.1.2 Liveness and Digital Performers 30 2.2 The Technology and Production of Animation 33 2.2.1 Animation Performance Styles 36 2.2.2 Differentiating Animation from VFX 38 2.3 Animating in 3D 38 2.3.1 Production of CG Animation 39 2.3.2 Production of Photorealistic CG Characters 42 2.4 What is Performance Capture? 46 2.5 Overview of Motion Capture Technologies 54 2.5.1 Marker-Based Systems 55 2.5.2 Markerless Systems 57 2.5.3 Performance Capture Systems 58 2.6 MoCap at Auckland University of Technology 67 2.7 The Ontology of Digital Performers 68 2.7.1 To Be or Not to Be (Human) 69 2.7.2 How Real Are Digital Characters? 70 2.7.3 The Indexicality of Digital Characters 72 2.8 Conclusion 81 4 3. The Language of Acting 3.1 Definining Performance 83 3.2 Defining Acting 87 3.2.1 Acting Before Stanislavski 91 3.2.2 Figurative Acting and Gesture 97 3.2.3 Stanislavski’s Influence 98 3.2.4 Cognitive Science and Acting 103 3.2.5 How Acting for Animation Differs from Live-Action 107 3.2.6 Acting in MoCap Versus Animation 111 3.3 Technological Mediation of Screen Performance 118 3.4 Conclusion 122 4. What is Real? 4.1 Authenticity, Truthfulness, and Acting 125 4.1.1 Authenticity and Sincerity 126 4.1.2 Truthfulness 131 4.1.3 Aura 134 4.1.4 Animated Realism 138 4.1.5 The Uncanny 139 4.2 The Truth is Written All Over Your Face 144 4.2.1 Emotions 145 4.2.2 Expressions 151 4.2.3 Empathy 161 4.3 The Screen Presence of Digital Performers 165 4.4 Defining and Categorising Digital Performance 170 4.4.1 Vactors, Synthespians, and Digital Doubles 170 4.4.2 Categories of Vactor Performance 176 4.5 Conclusion 180 5. Saper Vedere 5.1 Methodology 185 5.1.1 Practice-Led Research 186 5.1.2 Phenomenology 187 5.2 Post-Merleau-Ponty Phenomenological Approach 189 5.3 Motion Capture Languages 196 5.4 Autoethnography 199 5.5 Ethical Considerations 202 5.6 Interviews 203 5 6.