Chappie: The Making of a Digital Character

Summary

In this article, we will explore the making of Chappie, the world’s first true AI robo, in the film of the same name. While Weta Workshop made some great reference and prop, every shot of Chappie interacting on screen is a full digital replacement. Image Engine did about a thousand shots of Chappie alone, which means the CGI Chappie is seen on screen for about 60 or 70 minutes of screen time.

The Digital Replacement of Chappie
Actors as Robots
Meticulous Tracking of Chappie’s Actions
Creating a Digital Moose
Conclusion

The Digital Replacement of Chappie

Chappie, the main character in the film of the same name, is a fully digital character. While Weta Workshop made some great reference and prop, every shot of Chappie interacting on screen is a full digital replacement. Image Engine did about a thousand shots of Chappie alone, which means the CGI Chappie is seen on screen for about 60 or 70 minutes of screen time.

Actors as Robots

On set, the police robots or scouts were played by actors in grey suits. Chappie was actually played by actor Shalto Copley. While Shalto or the other actors were not motion capture, they were in fact animated by hand, each actor did perform with a small GoPro camera and their camera footage was then turned directly into the footage or the vision that the robot see. These GoPros are of course set and forge, so the production ended up with hundreds of hours of robot vision to work with.

Meticulous Tracking of Chappie’s Actions

Chappie is made of multiple digital assets in the film, but as the film progresses our hero gets shot, firebombed, loses an arm and pimped out. Every one of these actions requires meticulous tracking. So in addition to the kind of normal software that we use to manage the animation production, the team actually needed to run a special database to make sure that all the continuity of various dir, damages and replacement arm, even blin, was correctly tracked. In fact, as it becomes very important in the film, the exact level of Chappie’s battery had to be adjusted shot to shot to make sure the character’s timeline played out correctly.

Creating a Digital Moose

The team also had to make a digital version of the moose. And thanks to some pretty serious moose attitude issue, clean up a lot of stunt and wire rig removal from all those extensive explosions and gun fighting.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the making of Chappie was a challenging process that required meticulous tracking and attention to detail. The digital replacement of Chappie and the use of actors in grey suits allowed for seamless integration of the character into the film. The team’s dedication to creating a realistic and authentic character paid off, resulting in a memorable and engaging film.