INTERVIEW: Watchmen SFX Talk with Alan McFarland

Question: Will you give us a hardcore lesson in motion-capture? How does it actually work? I’ve read that Billy Crudup was rigged with blue LED lights so the other actors would have a glow cast on them. Was the motion capture done while filming scenes or at a different time, and were Billy’s movements used as a guide?

Alan McFarland: Billy wore a white spandex suit built by Chris Gilman’s team at Global Effects in North Hollywood; it was covered with blue LEDs and tracking markers that would be used in post production to reconstruct his performance in the computer; there were also markers on his shoes and gloves, and he wore a cap with markers as well. These markers were specially encoded to be readable by the computer directly, so that the computer could tell Billy’s left elbow from his right knee. Billy also had a number of carefully calibrated dots on his face to assist in capturing his expressions and dialog. The markers were placed and maintained by Imageworks staffer Josh Ochoa, who did a similar job with traking on Sony’s Beowulf. On the set every time Dr. .Manhattan appears, there were three cameras capturing his performance, the main camera shooting film, and two high-def “witness” cameras recording the performance from two other angles. These cameras were set and aligned by Imageworks’ Pete Travers and Eric Scott, under the direction of VFX supervisor John Desjardin. Between the three cameras, proprietary software developed by the guys back at Sony Pictures Imageworks in Culver City could triangulate the that data and reconstruct every nuance of Billy’s performance to drive the CG Dr. Manhattan. The purpose of the blue LEDs actually had nothing to do with capturing Billy’s performance-- they were there to supply the blue glow on Dr. Manhattan’s surroundings; that creates a much better look for Dr. Manhattan’s blue halo that had it been done entirely in post with CG. Under software control, the brightness of the LEDs could be set to DP Larry Fong’s exact specifications and it would self-monitor to maintain those levels. I designed the LED power system and control electronics, and I did the engineering and maintenance of the suit on the set in Vancouver.

Question: How long was Billy in the motion capture suit? How many takes on average? Was he given much direction or was he allowed to discover for himself how Dr. Manhattan expressed himself?

Alan McFarland: Billy was in the motion capture suit every time you see Dr. Manhattan, with the exception of when he is wearing regular clothes, exactly as is was in the graphic novel. Billy explored Dr. Manhattan’s psyche quite a bit and really got into the role. Billy saw Jon Osterman as a very tragic character, and portrayed him as such. I was reminded of a passage from the bible: “What shall it profit a man to gain the whole world, yet lose his own soul?” That sums up Dr. Manhattan for me. Billy is an incredibly talented actor, and he nailed the Dr. Manhattan pathos very quickly; rarely did anything go past a few takes. The energy will be very apparent in the finished film. I’ve been working in film more than 25 years, and I have never had a more synergistic and enjoyable experience than Watchmen was, and you’re going to see that energy between Zach, (Syner) Billy, all the other actors and everyone involved in the production up on the screen come March.

Question: How familiar were you with the graphic novel before beginning work on the role?

Alan McFarland: I read the graphic novel when it came out, back when I was in the cinematography program at The American Film Institute. One of the directing students there gave me a copy of one of the comics and told me I had to read it. The scene that I recall from my first introduction to Watchmen was when Rorschach handcuffs the child murderer inside the warehouse and sets the warehouse on fire. He then tosses the killer a hacksaw and says he won’t have time to cut through the steel. That blew my mind and I was hooked.

Question: Did you see anything on the set, props or artwork that will blow the minds of hardcore fans?

Alan McFarland: Absolutely, all the above. I will say one thing: Owl Ship. Not saying any more till the film comes out.

Question: What were some of the standout moments you saw performed? Was there a specific moment for Dr. Manhattan that you’re most proud of?

Alan McFarland: Personally, I loved the scene where Dr. Manhattan is at the television station. Fans of the graphic novel will know what I’m talking about. From the standpoint of the most technically difficult scene to pull of with Dr. M, I recall it being in his laboratory when you see four of him. You see a glimpse of that in the trailer. We had to have Billy plus three other body doubles in identical mo-cap suits to pull that off, and it was very early in shooting Dr. Manhattan, so we were new to the process. It was a real trial-by-fire on that day.

Question: How does Jackie Earle Haley pronounce “Hrmmm”?