Behind some of the greatest video games, films, and animations is motion capture, sophisticated software, and hardware that bring life to characters of all kinds and shapes to enthrall us. Marla D. Rausch, CEO of Animation Vertigo, a motion capture tracking and animation external development company, is one of the few women in the business.
Animation Vertigo works with many different companies and projects, such as Activision and their Call of Duty franchise, Capcom and Resident Evil, French company Quantic Dream for Heavy Rain, Detroit: Become Human and Beyond Two Souls, NetherRealm’s Mortal Kombat, and most of the sport tiles, such as FIFA and NBA2k.
Born and raised in the Philippines, Marla's path to animation was not straightforward. She went from mass communication to law school, then moved to the United States and became a stockbroker and financial adviser. In 2004, her career took another sharp turn when she tumbled into motion capture.
A heavily pregnant Marla was waiting for her husband to finish work and wondered what he was doing. It was motion capture tracking and looked like a puzzle. It piqued Marla’s curiosity, and in no time, she became a tracker, developed a passion for it, and came in to help out her husband’s team at Sony after her stock brokering day job.
It was not long before she launched Animation Vertigo in California in 2004, testing the waters to see the viability of her company. By 2008, after four successful years, she decided to set up Animation Vertigo Asia in Manila and have a more direct hand in providing Filipinos with the opportunity to play a more significant role in the game and entertainment industry.
Animation Vertigo Captures Motion to Bring Characters to Life
Everybody remembers the character Gollum in Peter Jackson's adaptation of the Lord of the Rings and Andy Serkis against a green screen, clad in a suit full of markers. Those markers are tracked in optical motion capture systems that use cameras with red LED lights to record the performance.
Once the tracking is done, the next step is solving, adding rotational data to the translational data, creating a 3D translation of the motion captured. This data is then retargeted into a given character placed in a specific environment to interact with props or sets. "We go from the real world to the video game world," Marla explained.
Motion capture also allows realistic fights between actors who are only miming punches. The studio connects the blows and adds force to enhance movement, giving the impression that the actors are truly fighting.
Animation Vertigo licenses its software from Vicon, a UK company, to do its work and other licenses to work on facial motion capture. "We are working with great software that allows us to ensure fidelity in tracking the reflective markers to transpose human motion into 3D animations accurately.”
Evolving Motion Capture Technology Increases Realism
Marla said motion capture technology is constantly evolving. Twenty years ago, motion capture tracking with more than three people performing in a volume was difficult because markers disappear any time they are occluded. Recreating the missing markers required human intervention. Nowadays, she said, capturing 19 actors evolving in a volume makes tracking challenging.
The technology of the early 2000s allowed processing the capture of body and facial data separately, and putting them together was a challenge to show realistic actions. Today, with the advancement of technology, the hardware can capture the body, face, fingers, and audio.
Kampilan Productions, the Way to Content Creation for Animated Films
After a decade of being CEO of Animation Vertigo and Managing Partner of Animation Vertigo Asia, Marla was ready for a new challenge. Beyond providing outsourced work, it was time for her to tell authentic stories from the Philippines.
She reflected that most stories picturing the Philippines focused on poverty, corruption, and natural disaster devastation, but very few illustrated Filipino strength and resilience.
She started Kampilan, a development company creating original content, and is working on producing her first animated film, Afternoons with LapuLapu.
Managing Film Copyright Licensing
Copyright and contracts are of the utmost importance for original content creators. Animation Vertigo retains virtually no copyright because it is work for hire, so the company signs off on all the rights to its work and gives them back to the client. However, Marla explained that the company can copyright the script for the tools it creates.
Kampilan registers film copyrights in different countries for its animations so it can license them for merchandising, distribution, or co-production.
Marla, President of the Creative Content Creators Association of the Philippines (SIKAP), underlined the importance of contracts and licensing. Well-informed original content creators or game developers can choose to retain their copyrights and benefit from royalties rather than sell their creations, and registering their copyrights makes their ownership of their work indisputable. SIKAP started roadshows about copyright and the business of creating across the country two years ago, she said.
Participation in International Animated Film Festivals and Markets
Kampilan and Animation Vertigo Asia participated in the 2024 Annecy International Animation Festival and Market. Marla is a regular attendee of this event, first as a service provider and then as an original content creator. She stressed the importance of Filipinos attending international festivals.
She called for Filipinos to "see beyond the country's shores." Animation is expensive, she said, and just releasing animations on the local market does not make it profitable enough to make it sustainable. "As long as the story conveys universal human concepts and emotions, everybody can understand regardless of culture."
SIKAP has been holding a yearly event called Ayo since 2022. The event aims to be the first content market in the Philippines, gathering original content creators of animation, books, games, music, and characters, similar to other international conventions. It allows creators to build a network and get connected, enhancing their soft skills and preparing them for global events, as well as showcasing their original work to a bigger audience.
Supporting the Creative Industries in the Philippines
When SIKAP was created in 2020, the government focused on outsourcing services when it came to creative industries, Marla said, and there was no push for original content. However, she explained that the development of original content and its international distribution and licensing are a more significant funnel for GDP than contract services because more revenue comes back to the Philippines.
She cited South Korea's support of its creatives and how the IP created and distributed worldwide contributed to the country's GDP. Tourism also went up. "That could happen to the Philippines if the government can support the creative industries and SIKAP to create a content market in the Philippines."
Challenges Ahead for Creators in Animation
The leading issue animation content creators face remains funding. Another issue is that creative industries work in silos, whether it is games, animation, or music. That makes collaboration, which can be very fruitful, very difficult. For example, she said, SIKAP brought together comic book writers and game developers, explaining that game developers can agree with a comic book writer or artist to utilize their character to create a game based on the character and the story.
"Young creators, students have to understand that if there is sustainability in being creative and if they have a story good enough, a character amazing enough, and a song that hits the airwave, it doesn't even have to be in English; it will allow a stream of revenue for their lifetime."
Moving with the Times of AI Animation
Regarding the pervasive issue of artificial intelligence, she said it is here to stay: "It is an inevitability." Marla, who recently became a Board Member of AI Republic, said, "I am seeing the end of the way I am doing work because my clients are moving into AI. But I also see that I will have a growing opportunity to use AI in my company."
Marla participated in the first episode of WIPO’s Live Chats copyright training with local artists. The 24 February episode in Manila was based on the WIPO publication “Drawing on Creativity: Copyright for the Animation Industry.”
