2025 Week 2 - Acting Reflection

 This week was all about faces! My greatest enemy!

We got to take a look at the new facial tracking setup that let us preview the facial movement in real time which was HUGE considering we had previously had to do it piece by piece in Faceware, then Maya etc. Even though it wasn't anything we could particularly use (I don't think they said there was any way to export the tracking) but seeing what could come out of the footage was really exciting. In the past project we were only provided the footage but being able to have some say over what was happening and witness it in person made it feel like we had much more creative involvement even though we're just copying movement, dialogue and camera straight from the film.

It looks like we're going to get quite meticulous when it comes to the acting side of it. I watched the rest of the film, I, Robot, at home in my own time and knowing that the character of Spooner acts not necessarily out of hate of robots but out of love for humanity has changed how I see the scene when only watching the clip in isolation without context. He is a character who wants to protect people and when confronting the robot he thinks is a killer he gets upset and angry. He takes his job seriously but is surrounded by people who don't trust his instincts or his judgement. We need to embody this personality accurately.

Meanwhile, the acting for Sonny needs to be quite the opposite. He needs to seem curious and soft spoken for the most part (until he hits that table and dents it) and completely earnest in his performance. He isn't putting on a dominating, tough guy act because he's barely existed in this world. I don't think it's a childlike naivety because he has the capacity to ask big philosophical questions and the ability to snap back when needed and also do some crazy hand to hand combat. I think the most important feeling to capture with his performance is his genuine feelings of hurt and confusion in the moment. He isn't scared of Spooner - he's just genuinely upset and confused as to why his existence and sentience has been denied.

Overall it is a scene that begins with Spooner dominating Sonny, but slowly becoming equals as it becomes clearer that Sonny doesn't seem to be lying.