In the new SciFi film “Paul”, Double Negative got the fun job of bringing a classic “grey” alien to live as a rag-tag group travels the desert in a rusty RV. Voiced by Seth Rogen, complications with his schedule and a fully-CG character in a live action movie proved a challenge, documented in a new article on fxguide.
Although Seth Rogen lent his voice to Paul, the actor was not available during shooting of principal photography in New Mexico. Instead, Double Negative used a number of sources of reference for Paul’s speech, mannerisms and general behavior. Firstly, Rogen attended a rehearsal period in May 2009 on the Culver City soundstage. “Seth was there with the other actors and they did a dry run-through of all the lines,” explains Beer. “We had a number of witness cameras and facial cameras on him and we also got him into a Xsens MVN suit for motion capture.”
Using the mo-cap data and video footage as a baseline, Double Negative could immediately attach that to the Paul rig and use it as reference for the entire animation process. “It also allowed the editor to cut the film with footage of Seth dropped into the picture,” adds Couzens. “And it provided us with a great library of Seth-isms. By referring back to these nuances we were able to make Paul seem Seth-like.”
