Going forward will all TMNT movies be CGI? What are the options?

[IndigoErth]

Although being more expressive will require that mocap also be a part of it. Not going to get nearly the same degree if it's just CGI animated by hand.

I do like that the PD films were able to show even just the slightest change in expression. Down to even just the look in the eyes... That part was nice and would miss it a bit in live action sans mocap.

Originally Posted by GoldMutant

Which is why the Henson era costumes weren't expressive enough, right? (Correct me if I'm wrong here though.)

Well, you can also only rig a costume for it just so much.

[Galactus]

I doubt the franchise would go back to cgi animated even though I think when all is said and done the Imagi movie probably made a better profit especially with the toy sales but it would just be too confusing for the audience to have the franchise bounce back and forth between cartoons and live action.

Maybe in a hypothetical future where TMNT is revived in a highly successful live action series you could have an animated spin off like the Lego Batman movie or the upcoming Spider-Man animated feature but for right now live action is the only way to go.

As for how the turtles would be brought to life, surely the only option left would be to use men in costumes with cgi to animate the faces, correct for where the suits look rubbery and assist with stunts etc.

Going the full capture route seemed so expensive that giving the turtles decent screen time was a problem in the 2014 movie and you can tell they cut some corners in the sequel. Given how badly Out of The Shadows performed I doubt any studio is going to give a TMNT movie the kind of money to go the fully motion captured rout again...not unless someone in a position of power really sells a TMNT revival as a something worth that investment.

Besides the very reason to go that route was basically shot down in flames by the actual movies. I mean we got the facial recognition aspect justified that for the first time we could see an actors real performance and depth of emotion except neither of the two movies really had much in the way of the turtles showing the kind of emotion you would think could only be portrayed by actual actors. Looking at behind the scenes footage the actors did what looked like deliberate cartoon-like performance which doesn't look as if it was meant to convey realistic portrayals. Most of the reviews for both movies contained some praise for the four turtle actors but not a single one ever said that it made the turtles seem more real than the Henson movies.

The whole motion capture with facial recognition seemed to be done (at least from Platinum Dunes end) for bragging rights of how great and cutting edge the movie would be. I don't think they put much thought into whether it was a good fit for the franchise or whether they could pull it off.

Originally Posted by IndigoErth

Although being more expressive will require that mocap also be a part of it. Not going to get nearly the same degree if it's just CGI animated by hand.

I would argue otherwise. From interviews we know in making the first movie Platinum Dunes insistence on using the very latest software which is often buggy resulted in a lot of times the facial recognition technology failed to capture the actors faces so ILM had animate from scratch.

Besides isn't the mo cap technology not really simply recording an actors movements and transposing them onto a cgi character but rather giving the animators a very detailed reference material to work with in animating the characters. Not really that different to when an illustrator uses a book of anatomy as a reference to what a human actually looks like in certain poses as opposed to imagining it.

[FredWolfLeonardo]

I don't mind CGI too much but will always prefer the Jim Henson suits, even tmnt 3's suits weren't THAT bad.

For the next movie, I wish the movie goes fully CG animated like tmnt 2007 rather than CG turtles in a live action world.

[DestronMirage22]

I'd much prefer practical effects with minimal to no digital editing. The CGI used in the PD films was terrible. It looked like some video game cutscene half the time.

[IndigoErth]

Originally Posted by Galactus

I would argue otherwise. From interviews we know in making the first movie Platinum Dunes insistence on using the very latest software which is often buggy resulted in a lot of times the facial recognition technology failed to capture the actors faces so ILM had animate from scratch.

Besides isn't the mo cap technology not really simply recording an actors movements and transposing them onto a cgi character but rather giving the animators a very detailed reference material to work with in animating the characters. Not really that different to when an illustrator uses a book of anatomy as a reference to what a human actually looks like in certain poses as opposed to imagining it.

Well, fair enough in that kind of case as they'd have to fix what needs fixing and do it precisely enough to make it blend in.

That said though, the models are already rigged for that level of realistic movement to begin with (all those facial muscles, etc), making it a bit easier. (Actually, the mocap use does give you data to import and link up to the models. Else there really isn't much point in the suits used for it in films.) Although doing it from scratch, sans mocap, it may well still look a little out of place without that data to work with. Some people have gotten very good, but generally still not quite real feeling if all done by hand. (Then there is the question if a maker of it even wants to put in the time it would require trying to get entirely lifelike movement all by hand. That's going to become super expensive real quick.)

[Wildcat]

I don't care as long as it's good cgi. Like Planet of the Apes quality.

I have not seen the movies but just seeing the trailers amazes me. That cgi is just fantastic. If the turtles could look like that no need for costumes.

[neatoman]

Do the bears crap in the woods? Of course all future TMNT movies will use CGI to some extent, the sole exceptions would be a 2D animated movie. The chances of reverting back to suits and animatronics are rather low and I don't see something like an entirely stop motion movie faring any better.

Although, that last line kind of makes me want a Henry Selick TMNT movie...

[Original TMNT Cartoon Fan]

I don't think we should worry too much, because in the future the designs will not be inspried by the "Blue Door" script.

[RaphaelinSTL]

Originally Posted by Original TMNT Cartoon Fan

I don't think we should worry too much, because in the future the designs will not be inspried by the "Blue Door" script.

Good lord was that script ****ing terrible.

[TurtleWA]

Originally Posted by neatoman

Although, that last line kind of makes me want a Henry Selick TMNT movie...

I'm sure your thinking more of a noncrossover movie. But Mikey and Jack Skellington team-up and stops thieves from stealing a bunch of kids toys comes to mind.