TED Featurette - On Set Motion Capture Improv

Here's a great new featurette for Seth MacFarlane's Ted. The feautrette shows the technology they used to bring Ted to life, while still letting Seth MacFarlane be his usual funny self. Usually when a CGI character is interacting with live action characters on screen, they'll do a run through with both actors doing the scene, and then they'll shoot a "clean" take, with the live-action characters acting with no one, so they don't have to paint out anything. Then the actor portraying the CGI character redoes his scene later in a studio with a motion capture suit. This makes it easier for the CGI team, but it makes things a lot harder on the actors. This is particularly damaging for a comedy, where on screen chemistry and timing is a huge factor in making a scene work.

From all the trailers we've seen for the film, Mark Wahlberg and MacFarlane's Ted are quite the comedy duo, and all their scenes feel really natural. This video explains how they pulled it off! Check it out...

Ted hits theaters this friday!

Synopsis:

Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane brings his boundary-pushing brand of humor to the big screen for the first time as writer, director and voice star of Ted.  In the live action/CG-animated comedy, he tells the story of John Bennett (Mark Wahlberg), a grown man who must deal with the cherished teddy bear who came to life as the result of a childhood wish…and has refused to leave his side ever since.