Planet of Apes Stories

Although our four-part series on Planet of the Apes movies is only about 1,500 words total, it took several years to write. What most people didn't initially see or realize about this series of brief stories is the time it took the editor to gain the trust of the people at WETA Digital, so he could interview their technical people. It was not enough to just understand the recent technical progress in digital filmmaking and know what questions to ask about the supporting software and hardware.

Trust is not easily earned in many industries, including the film-making industry. So, much of what an editor of technical content must do starts with establishing trust. Trust from readers. Trust from the people you interview. Trust from the people who support you.

Once we gained the trust of WETA Digital, we got a rare look into the craft of film-making using motion capture technologies, sometimes referred to as “performance capture.” By comparing 2011's Rise of the Planet of the Apes with the later released Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, we were able to show how motion-capture systems helped film-makers.

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