This year, ILM Commercial Productions resolves to continue adding dimension to the creatures and characters it creates, partially through advances in motion capture technology, says ILMCP head of computer graphics, commercials John Benson. "We are always doing a lot of creatures; each one is different and it's always a challenge," says Benson. "We use animators and technical directors in the same way we always have, but for the future, I think we'll be seeing a lot more motion capture, but not in the traditional motion capture sense."

The difference, says Benson, will be a new level of achievement in translating human movements onto CG characters. "Motion capture has captured human movements, but the characters it has been mapped onto, in my mind, have never looked really great," says Benson. "There are little flexing problems, bending problems; it just doesn't look right." The evolution of the ILM pipeline, says Benson, has allowed the company to create the most realistic moves for its characters.

The studio makes use of what is called enveloping, which allows skin to act like skin, as though there were real muscles beneath it, which means that skin can move naturally against the creature. These tools combine with texturing and lighting and shading tools that have also evolved significantly to create better characters.

But the next level for the next year, says Benson, is emotion capture. "It means doing motion capture so that it captures the emotion of the human actor," says Benson. "It's trying to give actors a new way of expressing themselves. There is a lot of potential there to create CG characters that are driven by a specific actor." ILM uses a combination of the Vicon motion capture system and its own proprietary systems to drive its character creations.

Pushing the technology and artistry further is a function of the workings of the company's R&D team and the challenges it is given by commercial clients, says Benson. ILMCP recently applied its motion capture expertise to the "Will2K" video for Will Smith. The video features an array of time travel scenarios, capped with a futuristic sequence highlighted by CG dancers created using ILM's motion capture system on a professional dancer. The company also used the technology on a recent spot for Internet DSL service company Rhythms, created by Bozell Silicon Valley.

Benson also notes that in the commercial production realm, not only the technology but the approach of the company's talent is key. "Commercial artists need not just the skills, but the attitude," he says. "Commercial people will work on anything to create the best image possible, regardless of what size or format the image is."

Benson predicts the growing popularity of CG characters in commercials. "As big new movies come out with new computer effects, those effects show up in commercials; so [CG effects like] water and storms are going to be the next step," says Benson. "We can deliver the great image, but, of course, agencies have to come up with the creative to make it work."