Shawn Ashmore has done many types of acting. He’s done kids shows, TV shows that were incredibly dark, he was Iceman in the X-Men saga, and much more. But he’s gotten more fame recently for portraying the main character in Quantum Break, and by “portraying”, I mean full motion character so that his likeness is on the character. Following the trend set by Ellen Page, William Dafoe, and more.
In a chat with IGN, Ashmore talked about the differences between the different styles of acting, as well as whether motion capture games really have a future in the industry.
“Ot’s sort of the opposite of doing something like X-Men, because on X-Men you have a 300-person crew there to make that shot happen. You’ve got the camera operators, you’ve got the producers, you got all the guys working the cranes and the lighting and the special effects and everything needs to be done that moment. As an actor you’re a little piece in this gigantic crew, and there are so many things to be done for your performance to be captured.
With motion capture, it’s the actors, the director, the writer, and about a fiftieth of the crew. There are technicians working, but it’s a tiny crew. There are way fewer distractions. You don’t have to wait for lighting. You don’t have to wait for props and things to be on set. It’s so low fi, but what you’re capturing and the way you’re capturing it is at the forefront of technology.”
“I think it will start to happen more, and I think one of the big reasons is – and it depends on what kind of game you’re making and who the developer is – but I think story-driven games are very important. For me, as a gamer I enjoy a cinematic, story-driven game. I think it’s because I can relate to it from a cinematic level – I love watching film, I love watching television and so there is a familiarity between that form of storytelling and this form of game, except that there’s more interactivity and immersiveness because you get to control it, and I feel like that makes it more personal for player.”
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