Ken Ohara on motion capture and directing game cinematics (Action Talks #29)

Ken Ohara is a stuntman, filmmaker, and cinematic director known for his work on Final Fantasy 16, Resident Evil 2, and Shin Kamen Rider. We talk about his early days with the Zero Gravity action team, his work with Just Cause, and how he brought previz to motion capture. You can see his IMDB here: Edited by Ian Vollner Action Talks on YouTube: Action Talks on Spotify: Action Talks on iTunes: Telegram: My studio SuperAlloy: Blog: 0:01:47 Intro 0:02:31 Mocap vs Film Directing 0:04:10 Ken’s Role As A Director 0:05:50 Post-Production 0:07:29 Getting Involved Past The Mocap Phase 0:11:31 Virtual Cameras 0:14:37 Learning to become a filmmaker 0:16:36 Training for the Japanese Action Film Stunt Industry 0:18:33 Ken’s Move to Hollywood 0:20:51 Joining Zero Gravity 0:24:09 Mixing Hong Kong, Japanese and Hollywood styles 0:27:37 Bringing Ken’s Karame background to the ACT Training Academy 0:31:54 Going behind the camera 0:35:13 American Actors in Japanese Productions 0:41:59 Resident Evil 5 0:43:56 1 v 1 or 1 v 100: The Perception of Warfare In Film 0:45:37 Adapting to Japanese action standards 0:49:59 The Pre-Vis Process 0:55:16 Planning Shin Godzilla’s Camera Angles 0:55:34 Shin Godzilla PreVis B-Roll 0:57:25 Where Does the Kinematic Style Come Frorom? 0:59:32 Differences in Approaching Live-Action vs Video Game Cinematics 1:04:29 Do You Think Anime Directors Consult Their Live-Action Peers? 1:06:17 Are Anime Directors Better Equipped To Handle Live-Action? 1:08:06 Working in the Japanese Action Cinema Scene 1:13:55 What’s the Action Cinema Scene In Japan Like Now? 1:16:12 Where is Talent Coming From in Japan These Days? 1:19:07 Turning Actors Into Stunt Performers 1:20:12 Creating The Next Great Japanese Action Star 1:24:04 Do You Think Japan Even Wants An Action Star? 1:24:53 Is The Action Hero A Dying Breed Or Is It Changing With The Times? 1:33:08 What Are The Qualities That Make A Great Action Star? 1:33:49 Action in a Flash: Designing Action Films In Two Weeks 1:35:38 The Raid Effect: Could Japanese Action Cinema Benefit From Its own “The Raid“ Style Film? 1:39:33 How Much Time Do You Get to Pre-Vis For Video Games? 1:46:59 AI and Machine Learning 1:49:05 Could AI Learn and then Innovate its Own Action Sequences? 1:53:10 How did Fatherhood Change Your Perception On Action and Violence?