Conference The State of VFX VFX for Features
ON SITE König-Karl-Halle Wednesday, May 07, 15:45

Better Man: Me & My CGI Monkey

Discover how the team at Wētā FX reimagined Robbie Williams in simian form for the Oscar nominated musical biopic Better Man.  Animation Supervisor Dave Clayton will share how the team brought Robbie's extraordinary story to life through a fully CG character - exploring how they found the perfect balance between human and chimp, captured Robbie's signature expressions and mannerisms, and fine-tuned the full spectrum of emotions across 2,000 shots.  Dave will share some of the early collaborative work done with Director Michael Gracey to previs  the 10 musical numbers in the film -  reflecting on the challenges, solutions and benefits that enabled them to refine camera movements and lock in choreography early on in the project.   

Dave Clayton

Dave Clayton, Animation Supervisor, Wētā FX

Dave Clayton recently completed work on Michael Gracey’s biopic Better Man about the life and career of Robbie Williams - receiving an Oscar® and BAFTA nomination for his contribution. Dave started his career at Wētā FX in 2003 when he was hired as an animator on The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. His talent for creating realistic movement led to him taking on more responsibility— first as a Senior Animator on I, Robot, then as a Sequence Lead on King Kong.

  Dave then started the initial animation studies for Avatar, which began his three-year involvement in the project. His Animation Supervisor role on Avatar gave him the experience necessary to lead the animators back into Middle-earth and bring to life the digital characters in Peter Jackson’s trilogy The Hobbit. He received Oscar® nominations for his work on the first 2 films, and is an active member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.