WETA Digital Becomes the Pixar of Motion Capture Technology

WETA Digital may not be a household name to the average movie goer. However, this is a production company that has been just as revolutionary in advancing visual effects as Industrial Light & Magic and Pixar. While ILM pushed CGI to new heights, and Pixar elevated the animated movie, WETA has turned regular actors into unforgettable creatures, thanks to motion capture technology.

In fact, WETA is just like Pixar, in that they took the big first leap forward for their brand of technology, and others are still playing catch up. Of course, the motion capture company doesn't have the near-flawless track record of the CGI animation company. However, the success that it has had is just as revolutionary, with the latest step on display in Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

Before that, Peter Jackson formed WETA to help with his first big mainstream break, in 1994's Heavenly Creatures. But Jackson and the company really got everyone's attention with Lord of the Rings, when they used motion capture acting to bring the pivotal Gollum to life. This was during a time when walking, talking CGI characters in live action movies had a bad name, thanks to Star Wars' Jar Jar Binks and Harry Potter's Dobby.

Yet Gollum showed for the first time that a digital character could be just as real and gripping as a human one, and in some of the biggest movies of all time to boot. For that, the company won Oscars for each Lord of the Rings film, then repeated it with Jackson's King Kong. Once again, they used motion capture and actor Andy Serkis to bring new life to a legendary character, and to go above and beyond for him.

After that, WETA worked on several more movies over the years, to various degrees of success. However, 2009 was another landmark year, as they brought the Prawns in District 9 to life, and then made Avatar into the biggest movie of all time. Although Avatar was mainly credited for its 3D advances, motion capture took another leap forward by making the leads look like 10-foot tall aliens. In fact, few can probably argue that Sam Worthington emoted better as a human being than as a CGI alien.

Yet not every studio and company can use this technology to such effect. Robert Zemekis has had mixed results with The Polar Express, Beowulf and A Christmas Carol, in spite of his own visual mastery. And even movies with WETA's golden touch can't always live up to their effects, like Van Helsing, I Robot, Eragon and X-Men 3. Some would argue that Avatar and King Kong didn't hold up either, but they would be a lot worse without their motion capture abilities.

But WETA's biggest achievement may be its newest one, as it helped turn Rise of the Planet of the Apes into a critical and commercial hit, almost all on its own. Lord of the Rings, Avatar, King Kong and District 9 had a lot more going for them than the motion capture effects. However, that isn't really the case for Apes, which wouldn't have had such a big opening, or surprising critical raves, without WETA bringing the apes to life- and without Serkis performing as Caesar.

Despite playing Gollum and King King, Caesar is really Serkis's first leading role. What's more, it's the first time a movie really hinges on the strength of WETA technology. After all, Lord of the Rings had tons more CGI and J.R.R. Tolkien's vast world to work with, and Avatar had 3D and James Cameron. Yet all Apes has beyond the apes is James Franco and unknown director Rupert Wyatt. Without Serkis or WETA's motion capture magic, Apes would be every bit the unnecessary disaster most thought it would be- and because it isn't, it may be the company's greatest triumph.

With the upcoming Tintin franchise and The Hobbit on the way, WETA has even more advances on the way. As such, its motion capture work is destined to be copied by many more studios, albeit with less success at first. It is just like how Pixar kicked off the CGI animated movie craze, and yet stayed vastly superior to knockoffs from Dreamworks.

For the sake of blockbusters everywhere, movie fans must hope that other visionaries can take motion capture work to another level. But if it takes them a while, WETA can still bail them out by creating more Gollums, King Kongs, Na'vi, Prawns and Caesars in the years ahead.