current projects
Available for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 on April 29, 2008, Grand Theft Auto IV (GTA IV) by Rockstar Games introduces main character Niko Bellic, who has just arrived in Liberty City from Eastern Europe. Notorious for creating some of the most cutting-edge gameplay today, Rockstar Games turned to Image Metrics to take facial animation to the next level in the eleventh installment of their blockbuster gaming franchise.
For “Devil May Cry 4,” the fourth installment in Capcom’s demon-hunting series, Image Metrics created facial animation for four different characters from video footage shot at a performance and motion capture session at Links Digiworks Studio in Japan. The game is now available throughout the U.S.
Shipping this spring, the third installment of 2K Games’ popular tennis series “Top Spin” lets gamers play as some of the world’s greatest tennis pros or design their own digital identity, complete with physical details and style of play. Image Metrics produced facial animation for the title, focusing mainly on in-game reaction shots and also provided its first in-game software component, created to ensure that user-generated characters have the same facial animation capabilities as the game’s built-in tennis pro characters.”
In “Unreal Tournament 3,” the next installment in Epic Games' popular sci-fi shooter series, new characters use a vast arsenal of upgraded, futuristic weapons to battle other players online or go up against unmatched artificial intelligence. The game is currently shipping. Image Metrics held a two-day performance capture session at Epic’s North Carolina studio to create the necessary video and provided performance capture animation for six characters in all cut scenes in “Unreal Tournament 3”.
Image Metrics worked with Jeff Wayne on the hit musical show "The War of the Worlds" to re-create 23 minutes of an animated Richard Burton. Here's what some of the newspapers had to say about the result:
“Miraculous Virtual Burton ….” The Sydney Herald
“A remarkable display of holographic and lip syncing technology …” The West of Australia
“Richard Burton, was spectacularly represented…” The Sunday Times (Perth Now Magazine).
Read the pdf.
Image Metrics completed a test in October with the Blue Man Group (http://www.blueman.com/about_bmg/index.shtml) for an undisclosed project. Image Metrics modeled CG Blue Men and animated the CG versions of the stage icons using the unique signature Blue Man performance which is ‘all in the eyes’.
Pete Candeland's cinematic trailer for the opening of the popular music videogame pays tribute to the classic rock gods Deep Purple, while the facial animation of the lead singer pays tribute to the detail only Image Metrics can bring to an animated character's performance. Here's what Passion Pictures had to say...(click the title to read more)
Image Metrics worked with The Mill in New York to produce 23 seconds of facial animation for Sony Computer Entertainment's game trailer of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune.
Facial animation services.
