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Capturing the chemistry of Uncharted 3

Comic-Con 2011: Naughty Dog and Drake's Deception voice cast discuss motion capture and what it means to work together as a team.

Who was there: From Naughty Dog, there was creative director Amy Hennig, cinematic production lead Taylor Kurosaki, and lead cinematics animator Josh Scherr. These three were accompanied by members of the acting cast, including Nolan North, who plays Nathan Drake; Emily Rose, who does Elena Fisher; and Richard McGonagle, the actor behind Victor Sullivan.

From left to right: North, Rose, and McGonagle.

From left to right: North, Rose, and McGonagle.

What they talked about: While the panel was largely focused on the motion-capture techniques behind the Uncharted series, one consistent theme was the importance of Naughty Dog's collaborative spirit within everything the studio does. Hennig stressed early on that any member of the development team has to "check their ego at the door" when they come on board, which leads to an environment where staffers feel comfortable bouncing ideas off one another in a free-spirited work environment--an atmosphere that Naughty Dog has previously called "messy and chaotic in a good way."

Hennig suggested that the key to Uncharted's success is that this sort of team mentality doesn't exist purely on the technical side of the game's development; it applies to the actors as well. "So much of what we do is about nuance and humor, and you're not going to get that with actors acting alone in a booth," said Hennig. What Naughty Dog does is film in-game cinematics with every actor together on the same motion-capture set, simultaneously capturing both full-body animations and vocal performances for everyone involved. This contrasts with the more traditional approach where motion capture and vocal recordings are done separately, generally one actor at a time in a sound booth.

"It's just common sense," said Hennig. "It's something that I'm so glad our industry is finally coming around to, realizing acting is about reacting. It's about getting them together, getting them to know their characters and getting to own their characters. The reason [these actors'] characters are the way they are is that they've inhabited them. And because I've worked with them and known them for five years, I can write the characters and hear their voices in my head...especially Richard's laugh."

Early on, there were challenges with this approach. According to Scherr, the actors had to put a lot of faith in Naughty Dog while shooting the cinematics of the original game because of the starkly minimal nature of the motion-capture sets and the fact that there was no in-game footage to use as a reference point. And not only that, certain traditional acting techniques didn't really apply. At one point, Rose asked Scherr where she needed to stand for a particular shot, only to be caught by surprise when Scherr said it didn't really matter. They could make her stand wherever they wanted in postproduction.

One interesting note about Naughty Dog's preferred motion-capture technique is that unlike another notable PlayStation 3 action game, Resistance 3, the motion-capture sessions intentionally leave out sensors on the face to record facial animations. The reason, according to Scherr, is flexibility. Leaving facial animations up to the postproduction animation team allows Naughty Dog to mix and match the best full-body take and the best vocal take and then splice them together after the fact.

With each subsequent game, the actors have become more comfortable with this method of storytelling. In fact, to make the postproduction animating process easier and more flexible, the motion-capture sets have grown more minimal with each game. According to Kurosaki, for one of the jeep scenes in the original Uncharted, Naughty Dog wheeled in an actual vehicle onto the motion-capture stage to help the actors with the scene. Now the vehicles in Uncharted 3 are shot on little more than a few chairs pushed together.

Even Nathan Drake had some questions for the panel.

Even Nathan Drake had some questions for the panel.

The on-stage banter between Naughty Dog and the actors suggested that the motion-capture technique isn't the only thing that's become more casual. One video Naughty Dog showed the audience during the panel began with a shot of the actors on stage in motion-capture suits, acting out a complete scene from the game. However, the video ended with an extended montage of the actors standing around making comically strained grunting noises for additional audio material to fill out the game's action scenes. This second half of the video earned hysterical laughter from the audience and helped show that the relationship between developer and talent is so comfortable now that the former has no issue with teasing the latter.

"We laugh more than you can imagine," said North in reference to the loose atmosphere that the actors work in during these capture sessions. "I'd love to give you some technical speak, but it's just professional play time."

Quote: Before Naughty Dog rolled the video of the actors in their embarrassing skin-tight motion-capture suits, McGonagle quipped, "If any of you are wearing glasses, this will look a lot better without them."

The takeaway: There are a lot of hurdles that go into making a great video game, but Naughty Dog has shown that having fun and maintaining a casual atmosphere can go a long way toward reaching that goal.

47 Comments

  • Taix34

    Posted Aug 7, 2011 9:52 am GMT

    @monson21502 *Claps* Cool Story Bro

  • MysteriousPants

    Posted Aug 1, 2011 12:25 am GMT

    I like the episode of Sienfeld where Richard McGoanagle is in it.

  • Gelugon_baat

    Posted Jul 26, 2011 8:23 am GMT

    With regards to the first post on this comment thread here, which was a disparaging remark about the Uncharted series, those of you who do not like the gist of that post ought to know the difference between bashing on games and bashing on those who like said games.

    The first kind of comment is very likely to be considered 'fair' comment by the moderators at GameSpot - because it isn't directed at any actual person, BUT A GAME.

    Of course, the poster's intention may have been to annoy the heck out of the fans of said game, but said post is still directed at the game and will never be considered an offense - especially in a comment thread.

    If that had been the poster's intention, you FANS of the game concerned have already played into said poster's hands by making angry responses - especially angry responses that can be reported and moderated.

  • Sirbobislost

    Posted Jul 26, 2011 7:32 am GMT

    @Spacerac

    He's on 80 now pretty impressive lol

  • Sirbobislost

    Posted Jul 26, 2011 7:27 am GMT

    @gorygorefest45

    Tell me about it owning both consoles has it's downsides lol thing is I also want a vita as well I'm glad there's not many games out over the summer

  • Sepewrath

    Posted Jul 25, 2011 6:06 pm GMT

    I would really like to see more developers use this voice acting style. Especially games that are heavy on character development and interaction. Looking forward to crashing planes and beating up immortal old ladies with Drake

  • Wensea10

    Posted Jul 25, 2011 3:54 pm GMT

    uncharted series is the most exhilarating shooter series

  • yearof3000

    Posted Jul 25, 2011 1:54 pm GMT

    "Even Nathan Drake had some questions for the panel." I just lolz right 're.

  • MrGoldfish1

    Posted Jul 25, 2011 10:47 am GMT

    I'm not sure if I'm going to buy it or not but I know it will be a great game.

  • Melas300

    Posted Jul 25, 2011 1:39 am GMT

    That's the spirit guys! These people are great, it's nice to meet the bodies of the...voices

  • CTR360

    Posted Jul 25, 2011 12:12 am GMT

    GOTY for me

  • owermars

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 10:20 pm GMT

    Definitely will be the best game of this year!.... I've already pre-ordered it!

  • marlobc

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 2:42 pm GMT

    its launch is in tight week with some biggies also coming but we all know UC3 will be the best!

  • Da1ShrpSh0trGrl

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 1:46 pm GMT

    hopefully this game is as good as the last one.

  • SolidTy

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 10:08 am GMT


    I can't wait to get my hands on this game...going to be a great year for games. Go Uncharted 3, and go 2011 gaming!

  • zaid_althawadi

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 9:59 am GMT

    i'm so excited for this game

  • zzamaro

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 9:17 am GMT

    Picture and quote: "Even Nathan Drake had some questions for the panel."

    Priceless.

  • ANUBISZER0

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 8:57 am GMT

    @TazSteele

    It's not just you man, she IS hot.

  • TazSteele

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 8:38 am GMT

    I hope these 3 actors get their respective roles in the movie if and when it's made. They are all great at what they do. And is it me, or is Emily Rose just hot?!?

  • Spacerac

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 6:58 am GMT

    Wow. when a commenter gets a unanimous 60 dislikes (60 was me!) you know they said something jacked up. Monson is a hater and its good to see if there's one thing GameSpot don't apre-cia-tate, is haters.

    Anyway, super stoked for this game. I still remember beating the first and trying to find a good price for 2 on ebay on the same day right before the GOTY edition was announced. And getting suckered into pre-ordering it at GameStop just because there was a cute girl at the counter and I didn't want to look like a bum when I always window show there coulda paid $14 less on Amazon too. But it was WORTH EVERY PENNY!

  • helldude90

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 3:55 am GMT

    My birthday is in November 12th

  • heroesfan261

    Posted Jul 24, 2011 12:21 am GMT

    November is going to be epic. AC:R, Uncharted 3, Skyrim, and more all in one month

  • gorygorefest45

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 8:41 pm GMT

    also how do i change my name gorygorefest is from like 6 years ago an its gay haha

  • gorygorefest45

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 8:38 pm GMT

    i got an xbox an ps3 and holy hell there is too many games that straight up look like theyre gonna get 9's or above. all within the same like 2 month period. 2011 is easily the best year ever for gaming in my opinion. its actually ridiculous :O

  • jrpg24

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 8:21 pm GMT

    I am gonna be SO broke come september - november..... it'll be worth it though! Uncharted 3 will be amazing, i have no doubt about it

  • Kenrocc

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 7:34 pm GMT

    I love it! The actors chemistry is just following off of my computer screen! I can't wait for this game!!

  • shadow580

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 7:20 pm GMT

    Uncharted 1 really surprised me when I finally picked it up. It had it all, likable and colorful characters, great graphics, puzzles, lots of action and adventure, and so on. Number 2 was simply a step up from an already great game. If Uncharted 3 manages to be even better, I think I'll have to force my friends to buy a ps3.

  • MrM9991

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 7:03 pm GMT

    So excited for this game!

  • demonic_85

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 5:39 pm GMT

    I've always enjoyed the imaginative story and humor found in the Uncharted games, looking forward to the third game.

  • fluffyninja4

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 5:27 pm GMT

    @monson21502 yeah i guess all horrible games win game of the year dont they?

  • PumpkinBoogie

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 3:43 pm GMT

    Good read, in deed (ha, that rhymes). This one of the reasons Uncharted is one of my new best series! It's like Arbalon mentioned, it really does pull you in and w/ the relaxed and comfortable atmosphere between the dev team at ND & the cast it truly shines through w/ every game we play in the series. I really hope/wish that more devs start taking this more intimate & personal approach w/ gaming b/c it needs it. Mind you, we have some others out there (like ND) speckled about; but honestly more won't hurt.

    I swear, ND honestly needs to write a handbook on how to create a successful workplace environment in the gaming industry....I can think of several dev/publishing studios that could truly benefit from some tips, lol.

  • Arbalon

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 2:59 pm GMT

    The Uncharted Games are believeable, you find yourself sucked into it, because that is what we do with movies, it is so believable, you can understand each character, this is THE way to make video games, never before had I scene good game acting, until L.A. Noire, and in all honesty, Uncharted, doesn't have to be a movie, it would be great yes, but... it pretty much already is one, it is just an interactive movie, Nolan North, Emily Rose, and Richard McGonagle are doing the most superb job, with both the acting, and voice acting, Another Chapter is beginning.

  • parrot_of_adun

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 2:17 pm GMT

    I do prefer the setting of the first, personally. But just about everything else was improved in 2.

    Anyway, the Uncharted games have better acting (VO and otherwise) than just about anything I've seen in any other videogame. It's good to know it's the result of people just enjoying the process, rather than some Team Bondi-ish 100hr work week situation.

  • alfaresalasmar

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 2:08 pm GMT

    @monson21502
    r u an xbot??? OH no no wait... even xbots LOVE this game (:

  • RonTorque

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 1:28 pm GMT

    The game will be one of the best IPs coming out this year.

  • blaze_adeel

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 1:26 pm GMT

    my most anticipated game may be this gen !!
    but i m worried the hype might kill it but then again in naughty dog we trust

  • OJdaLIONKing

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 1:10 pm GMT

    Ignoring the obvious troll in comments, the relaxed atmosphere really pays off for this series, and it has some of the best and most natural acting I've heard in any video game. I hope more developers take some cues from this style in the future.

  • BranFlakes2324

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 1:09 pm GMT

    lol beware of the troll here...

  • ahpuck

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 12:48 pm GMT

    Emily Rose sure is looking prettier as the years go by. Hopefully we will see more of her in Uncharted 3, and not only in the second half like in 2.

  • JayK-Rolling

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 12:39 pm GMT

    I am looking forward to this!!!

  • Drkcloud07

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 12:31 pm GMT

    to much good stuff

  • dipsetboy17

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 12:27 pm GMT

    really the only game i'm hyped for this year.

  • norman69

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 12:11 pm GMT

    Ha. Nice to see that Naughty Dog are encouraging a friendly environment for everyone to work in, cause I know there's nothing worse than being in a job where you either hate half the people you work with or where there's such huge pressure to get things right. Also on a side note, Emily Rose is really, really ridiculously pretty.

  • Goods_Merchant

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 12:03 pm GMT

    Only 4 more months people

  • mysticstryk

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 11:18 am GMT

    @monson21502

    I agree with the poster below me. What game did you play? Because it was certainly not Uncharted 2.

  • Evilbunz

    Posted Jul 23, 2011 11:17 am GMT

    @monson21502 are you high???

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