“District 9” was possible because it wasn’t completely CG! ? What is the secret behind the realistic emotional expression of “shrimp-type” aliens?

An alien that is not completely CG. Who is playing the role?

A sense of balance between digital and analog was also pursued in the way the alien was depicted. The greatest achievement was the alien "Christopher," who could be called the second main character. To tell the truth, he is not a completely CG character. There is an actor who actually played him on set. That person was Jason Cope, an actor who was an old friend of Blomkamp.

He also appeared as an Alien in the short film on which this work is based, and in this work, he embodies realistic acting on set, and the relationship between the main character (Sharlto Copley) and the alien He brought out the exquisite dialogue that was born with a high level of improvisation. In other words, the material was raw.

This is where special technology comes into play. In the editing process, Coop's appearance in the video was first completely removed from the screen. Then, we trace his live-action movements and apply them to a CG Alien program to synthesize them into a video (referred to as rotomation). By doing this, they were able to recreate Jason's realistic movements, including his eyes, which are essential for conveying emotion. This is a very special method that is different from motion capture, which is done in a studio surrounded by special equipment and a blue screen.

If you're wondering, "What on earth does Jason Cope really look like?", there's no need to search the internet. In this work, ``District 9,'' he reveals his true face not only as an Alien, but also as a journalist, and makes plausible comments. Due to the huge success of this film, the lead actor, Sharlto Copley, became a popular star and received many offers to appear in the role, while the other actor, Cope, is not well known despite having shocked the world so much. However, we must not forget that behind the success of this work was the contribution of his ``acting that hides his true face''.

“King Kong” shows off the wonder of one person playing two roles