Played COD? Then you've shot, stabbed and otherwise maimed me. Iama MoCap Stunt, Voice & Face Actor for the Call of Duty franchise & over 30 video games. AMA!

I am always a medic so I saved yer life 100's of times.

Lol, good one! I also did moves for the medics, so does that mean I also saved myself?

Are you responsible for the impossible knife lunge?

Hahaha, I wish I could jump that far!

So you're the person who my boyfriend chooses to see more than me. THANK YOU. He takes all his anger out on you instead of bickering with me. You also give me time to do things on my own. I thank COD for all of this.

Happy to be of service.

I know that wasn't an actual question, although I did have to show my appreciation. With that said, I thought about it and wondered if you were ever recognized on the streets for being the guy that everyone kills. Like is it your face on him? Or do you just act out the motions?

No nobody recognizes me for the games. Even when we do face scans, to put your face on a character, they usually change it so much (scars, different hair, etc) that nobody would recognize you. The only thing to date that I've been recognized for was my turn as William Wallace on Spike TV's Deadliest Warrior. I was also in the shows opening credits, so I think that helped :)

You may have the worst K/D ratio in history. How does that feel?

Lol! Crappy?

Good morning, afternoon & evening.

What about for those not of this dimension?

good otherly dimension time...

I feel terrible that the man I have killed thousands of times is here now. Sorry man :(

lol, glad I just respawn

I sincerely apologize for all the times my friends and I have tea bagged you...I didn't know it was you man, I just didn't know.

hahaha, all good! I played the character doing the tea bagging to!

I assume you do a lot of fairly short "scenes" over and over (e.g. get stabbed and fall over). Do you / the crew treat it like a real movie, and do takes with breaks and have the director critique your performance? Or is it more like just keep repeating the action and they'll pick out the best one?

We do a lot of takes yes, and the director/directors will review takes and make tweaks to the performances. We also do very long elaborate scenes just like filming a movie. With full performance capture, we are doing not only the body, but face capture and voice as well. So we act out the full scenes a lot of the time.

Interesting. How involved is the animation team in the capture process?

Totally involved! They are there on stage with us every step of the way. A lot of times they will even direct the scenes that they are directly responsible for animating. There is still a lot of animating they have to do, plus they have to tweak the mocap data as well to fit and work with in game or scene.

I assume you played those games at least a few times... How does it feel to shoot enemies with your own face and death screams?

Hahaha, it's pretty bizarre to tell ya the truth!

I've wanted to be a stuntman all my life. What is the best way to get started in the profession?

Develop a special skill that can make you stand out in a crowd. I.E. High Falls, Fire Burns, Stunt Driving, etc. It's a very competitive industry so you have to stand out. I also suggest taking some acting lessons as being a stuntman is still acting and many times you are required to say a line or two. After that it's all about networking.

Would martial arts and acrobatics (freerunning, tumbling, etc.) be considered a special skill? I think the networking part may be one of the more difficult aspects, but, luckily, I'm in Dallas, which has an active film industry.

Yes, that's a good skill to have, just remember there's lot of other people with those skills. So doing something more unique can help you stand out. Like high level Archer, or Sky diver, etc

So...you've died more times than Sean Bean? How does that feel?

Lol, yes I believe I have him beat!!! Over 50 games and movie credits to my name, so yes I've been killed a lot.

Do you die in your new movie? 0_o

Maybe, kinda...? Guess you'll have to check it out to see

What series/franchise/film/whatnot was the most enjoyable to do the stunts for?

Well for games Black Ops 2 hands down. We got to do so many cool things; repelling, fast roping, stair falls, para shoot simulations. For film it has to be my movie, The Lackey. Very personal project so I enjoyed every moment making it. Plus theirs lots of cool fight scenes in it.

Im playing zombies right now, are you the zombies as well?

He's everything. Including the doors.

Yes I'm very good a playing the doors, not so good at being a window...

I did play some of the zombies :)

What's the wierdest mo-cap action/motion that you've had to do?

Cuddling... lol for Sleeping Dogs, true story

Sleeping dogs was great. So, wait... you got to cuddle with Celina Jade (Not Ping) and/or Emma Stone (Amanda Cartwright) ?

Their stunt doubles

Hey, it's Andrew from the Robot Chicken VFX days. Glad to see you're kicking ass on all these games! I still have a copy of "The Bloodletting," looking forward to The Lackey. I'm doing voice acting these days, too!

According to your IMDB, you were in an episode of 24. How did Shannon and I never know about this? We used to watch it endlessly while bored at work.

Hey Racho!!! Yeah The Lackey is a much better film then The Bloodletting! lol Yes had a small part on 24, but sadly is was mostly cut. That's life in this biz! Sounds awesome about the voice acting!

Whats the most bizarre situation in which you've managed to injure yourself?

Let's see, maybe falling down an elevator shaft, or maybe the time I had to run up a wall (5 steps) jump in the air and land an elbow on top of another stuntman's head (blew out my knee on the 3rd take)

What game/movie was that for?

Sleeping Dogs

Could you give as a breakdown as to how the process works? I'm not really familiar with motion capture and the works of it. What would a typical day look like for you (e.g. when you did COD)?

Motion capture, we wear suits that have reflective markers all other them. Then we enter a stage that has infrared cameras surrounding it 360 degrees. The cameras capture the reflective markers and the animators use that data to apply it to the game character. You can see some photos of this up in the description above.

Are you working with COD: Ghosts? If so are you working with a dog?

No work on Ghosts, a different team working on that. Hopefully I'll be back on the next Black Ops.

What's the premise of your new film and is it your first?

This is actually my 2nd feature film. Here's the synopsis: In this action flick, JUDE ST. CLERE discovers he has a daughter by his junkie ex-girlfriend. He vows to take care of her and leave his shadowed past behind him. Completely broke and with his daughter starving, he reluctantly takes on one last job which quickly entwines him dead smack in the middle of a bloody mob war. Knowing that his chances of making it out alive are slim, he plunges in guns blazing - because sometimes the only way out is to go all in.

The Film is a throw back to the action films from the 70's and 80's. Paying homage to films like Dirty Harry and Black Belt Jones but with more modern tricks up it's sleeves like The transporter and The Bourne Identity. I play the films lead in Jude St. Clere, a low life thug who's going no where with his life. One day he is shocked to find out that he had a kid with his ex (who is now a total junkie) She never told him about the kid. This information throws his world upside down. Especially because this little girl is nearly starving to death under the supervision of the junkie mom. Jude decides to do something selfless for once and takes a job that he most likely won't survive, Taking on and killing one of the top mob bosses in his city. He sets it up so that the little girl will get the money no matter what.

[deleted]

Gonna have to go with COD: Black Ops 2. As I did full performance capture and voiced several smaller characters in the game. Also did a lot of the DLC stuff.

[deleted]

Haha, yes we get beat up pretty good making these games

Do you make bank?

Motion Capture pays very nicely, but unfortunately we don't get anything on the back end :(

On my Film, hopefully it sells enough to make me some money :)

Motion Capture pays very nicely, but unfortunately we don't get anything on the back end :(

On my Film, hopefully it sells enough to make me some money :)

Motion Capture pays very nicely, but unfortunately we don't get anything on the back end :(

On my Film, hopefully it sells enough to make me some money :)

Motion Capture pays very nicely, but unfortunately we don't get anything on the back end :( On my Film, hopefully it sells enough to make me some money :)

Motion Capture pays very nicely, but unfortunately we don't get anything on the back end :(

On my Film, hopefully it sells enough to make me some money :)

I'm so happy to see a victim of video game violence speaking out.

(standing on soapbox) "I stand here today to speak out for all those who have been repeatedly killed in virtual realities..." :P

In this line of work do you every actually have to land solid hits on your co-workers, and if so what is like?

Oh yeah, been punched and kicked in the face, ribs, legs plenty of times. I took the stock of a riffle to the head twice on COD: Black Ops 2 (by accident) and man that hurt. We don't use plastic guns on the set. They're all accurately weighted replicas.

Shaun in all your career what was your one job/role/etc that just made you have to do a double take, squeal like a little girl, or just go OMG! OMG! OMG! ?

do you mean a stunt that freaked me out? Stunts there's been so many that I went "Oh Sh*t" before doing them. Roles, I just landed the lead in a new sci-fi film that I'm going to have to be nude in, not 1 but 3 times in, so yeah that's got me squirmish a bit!

Why is it so damn hard to Knife you in Black Ops 2?

Cause I'm fast and sneaky...

Do you play Call of Duty regularly? If so what is like when you're playing and hear your voice?

Pretty cool actually

Care to spill how you got into the business?

Hollywood in general or Video Games?

Motion Cap for gaming

about 8 years ago I went to an audition just like any other. Actually didn't know if was for a game. I auditioned my butt off and landed the job! After a few years and a few games I started getting more recognized in that world and of course it was easier for me to land the gigs because they knew my work.

So for example in a game like COD...how many real actors like yourself are used to create the hundreds of NPCs that charge at me during a battle? Are all of those NPCs just variations of you or are they several different guys?

There is usually a core group of Actors (Some big name talent) and then a core group of stuntmen/women. So yes theres probably around 20 people on any given game that make up all that you see. Of course some games are larger and some a lot less. I've worked on a game were there was only 3 of us doing all the moves.

How complex was it doing Alex Mercer? Seeing as how he leaps and moves pretty fast I imagine their is quite a bit of wire work involved.

There was a lot work put into that game! Playing Alex was amazing and yes lots of action, jumping from platform to platform, wire work, acrobatic, etc. I've studied martial arts most of my life, so that really came in handy.

Thank you for your answer! Video games are something I'd really love to start acting in and doing mo cap for in the future. I don't suppose you've ever worked with Rockstar games in any Grand Theft Autos or other games they've worked on?

No, haven't worked with Rockstar yet. Would love to though :)

I think you overestimate my COD skills

I do? lol

yeah i loved shooting, stabbing and othervise maiming you, thanks pal. have a good one.

anytime... I've spent many a day at the chiropractor for you :)

Does it feel uncomfortable wearing those motion capture tights?

Actually they aren't very comfortable! Plus they don't leave much to the imagination, if you know what I mean... lol Could be worse though, I've grown used to them :)

What are the main differences for an actor between working on a game and working on a film?

In motion capture work do you adopt a 'character' in the same way as you would for a live action film? Do you try and get into the character's head and stuff?

The main difference in motion capture is that in some cases we play several characters in one shoot day. So jumping back and forth can be tricky. I'm usually only playing one character in a film ;)

Whats the hardest stunt you have attempted?

I had to do a nearly 10 foot fall wrapped in plastic like a mummy. I could brace for the impact at all, just had to go for it. At it hurt...

I loved you in Prototype. Have you considered working with Monty Oum?

Haha, working with Monty Oum could be cool ;)

Did you do the head shot stiff-as-a-board fall that makes me laugh all the time in the kill cam?

Yes that was absolutely me!!! Lol

What was/is the weirdest thing you had to say/yell?

"Cordis Die" Latin for "Day of the Heart" or "Judgement Day" for COD: BO 2 purposes

Is motion capture becoming more relevant in video games or is it starting to regress? I mean, how many developers actually need people to come in and put on a mocap suit versus just animating models to move without having a MoCap reference?

Mocap has just gotten more and more useful as technology has progressed. The motions are hyper realistic with taking a lot less time in post then to animate from scratch.

Don't forget to tell them about Phase Two!

Hahaha, yes I've got a new movie coming out! about the have it's premiere at the 2013 SoCal Film Festival! A post apocalyptic zombie thrill ride called, "Phase Two" check it out if ya can!

Do you have a favorite game that you worked on?

Gonna have to go with COD: Black Ops 2. As I did full performance capture and voiced several smaller characters in the game. Also did a lot of the DLC stuff.

How difficult is it to get your films on vod? How do you feel about that trend in general? Any plans to bet on Netflix?

It was a very long and argues process to get the film distributed. I feel like the industry is going to be completely VOD, Digital Download in the next few years. Itunes, Hulu, Netflix, etc so that's where the market is going. Now to track those sales numbers...

What voices did you do exactly? And can I get a video or a recording with you saying some it'd blow my mind! Thanks for your time :D

On COD: Black Ops 2? I played some of the smaller Seal characters in various scenes. In my movies I do all sorts of voices... lol

Do you really think the fish are going to move out the way in COD Ghosts????

The new tech is pretty epic! The games just keep getting better and better. And thats the way it should be, right?

What was it like doing the mocap for Ray Liotta in Mob of the Dead? What type of things did you do physically? I've watched the intro cinematic to MOTD so many times that I'm kinda curious on what else you had to do.

He did the voice, I did all the movement and stunts :)

That's pretty awesome, hope to see your stunts in future zombies maps if they bring them back.

I also did a lot of zombies moves too! Thanks

What are the 30 over video games you did work on?

Everything from Cabela's Big Game Hunter to UFC: Undisputed 1, 2 & 3, UFC: Trainer, Spiderman: Web of Shadows, Prototype 2, Sleeping Dogs, Blur, Tony Hawk Ride, COD: WAW, COD: BO1 & 2, COD: MW3, hard to remember all of em off the top of my head!

Wow you seem pretty awesome! Do you atleast get to have your name on the back of the case?

I wish! nope non of the us are on the case, even the big name actors aren't even on there. Shame :) But we do make the end credits!

I'm gonna be that guy. How much $$$ do you make for the average CoD game?

Not sure if this is something you're allowed to answer though...

Can't really say, sorry. It's not chicken feed though I can tell ya that much :)

Are there any games that you have played where you really admire the voice acting, stunts and motion capture? And are there any other game franchises that you would really like to be a part of?

Love love love the Uncharted series, would love to be a part of those. Also the Bio shock series.

Do you ever wish you were ever more recognized? You have acted in one of the most well known game franchises in recent years but very few people would recognize you :(

Very true, working on the games you don't get the same recognition as say in Films or TV. But I very happy to be a part of them. Almost 30 games to date. Also I'm busy working on films and hopefully will become more recognized with time.

Good luck in your career man :)

Thanks

I love you. That is all.

Hahaha Awesome!

so you're the dude I have been tea bagging.

Actually sense I played the first person character I am also the one doing the tea bagging...

Any injuries?

Only one major one and that was a blown out knee. All the rest are just nice bumps and bruises with lots of chiropractor visits!

No questions,just wanted to thank you for all the work you have done for our entertainment,best wishes.

Thank you so much! Really appreciate it :)

I'm sorry friend. Will you forgive me?

I forgive :)

Do you have to take special care not to mess up those sensor orb things attached to the suit, or can you just go bonkers with out fear?

we smash, break, tear the markers all the time. usually an assistant director is right there with a bag full of them ready to replace any damaged ones.

Thanks for doing an AMA.

It's been a lifelong dream of mine to get into voice acting, but I have no clue where to start or how to get my foot in the door.

How do I do that, and can I use you as a reference should the opportunity arise?

lol, well getting into it is a tricky thing. First you need to put together a voice over reel, then try to get an agent, that can get you into some auditions. The rest is up to you :)

What's the death all about when you die, fall to the ground then do a wee twirl!

lmao, something like that.

ENEMY AC-130 ABOVE!

haha, nice!

Have you always wanted to be a stuntman?

What's been your worst injury?

I have always wanted to be in the film business, any way I can. My martial arts background (23 years now) really helped me bridge that gap with stunts. I'm also an avid writer, director and actor so those are my passions. With influences like Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan, doing my own stunts was never a question.

Whats the worst game you worked on?

I won't name names... lol, to be honest they have all been a blast to work on and I wouldn't trade the experience for anything.

What inspired you to become a stunt actor/MoCapper?

Well I started martial arts at a young age, so that helped me with a lot of the skills needed. Film makers like Buster Keaton and Jackie Chan really inspired me growing up to want to make kick ass films and that of course lead to the Games.

You mean to tell me, that you're the sniper who perches up on that tall yellow crane and wreck havoc on my and my teammates while we're struggling to get into our little bird??

I should have you know that one day, my RPG will get you. One day..

hahaha, I do know some good perch spots in COD :)

I've been to that studio!

which one?

How much animation goes into one COD game?

I would say... a lot! a ton! Even though we do a lot of the moves, facial acting, etc the animators still have to fix a lot of it to make it work with in the game, scene, etc. Plus there are things that don't get captured and they have to do it all by hand still.

Probably not a question you can answer fully, but can you go through the process of getting something from MOCAP to actual in-game stuff? Like, is is textures first, add MOCAP, then finished, or...what?

Well I'm mostly on the filming side of things, so I don't know the order of the steps to that process.

what is the future of the tradional 3D animators? As hand-keyed animations are less efficient for general movement, Mo-Cap technology gets better and better. Can you see this field becoming obselete in the future for realistic / semi-realistic human movements in games?

How closely do the stuntmen like you work with the animators? Do you discuss beforehand anything to make your / their lives easier?

Do you do a good amount of physical training or have a special workout regime?

Great work on your film, by the way!

I'm not sure about that. I think there will always be a place for 3D animators as they are the ones still working with the mocap data. And yes the animators come to the stage and help direct the scenes they are working on. So we work side by side. As far as workout I do a lot of different things, but an average week could include, Martial Arts, Weight Training, Swimming, Surfing, Jogging, etc :) I try to stay active

CoD is cool and all, but have you done mocap for a game like Dance Dance Revolution?

Well well well, that would be fun, but no... I did however show off my dance move is COD: BO2 during a club scene :) Myself and several other performers had to dance for like 3 days straight just for one scene...

I knew cod was a budget game but only one voice actor...

Hahaha, now I would be talented if I could do all those different characters... I was one of many super talented people that voiced and worked on these games.

What are the lesser known games that you've done?

I did a game called "Secret Service" and also History Channels, "Civil War". A more recent one was Cabela's Survival. That one I was an assistant director and stunt coordinator.

What goes into doing motion capture that the normal person wouldn't expect. In other words, what do you think is the most interesting thing about your job.

I think people don't realize that we fully act out all those cut scenes, plus we do all the motions for the in-game characters too. Even the player you're playing as, we the motions and sometimes our POV on stage is what the player sees while playing. Motion capture is really all about movement, even when you're supposed to be standing still you still have to have some subtle movement or else it will look strange in game.

I want to do what you do. How?

Lots of hard work! lol, Acting, Stunt Training, Military Tactics, Martial Arts, Agents, Auditions... That's all :)

Favorite game you've been apart of? And who are your role models when it comes to filmmaking?

Gonna have to go with COD: Black Ops 2. As I did full performance capture and voiced several smaller characters in the game. Also did a lot of the DLC stuff.

favorite game to star in and favorite franchise?

Gonna have to go with COD: Black Ops 2. As I did full performance capture and voiced several smaller characters in the game. Also did a lot of the DLC stuff.

What does it feel like to have my balls repeatedly thrusted into and out of your mouth?

So you're the T-bagger!!! Is it weird that I also played the character that you are playing, so I in effect, T-Bagged myself... :(

Is that masturbation?

no comment... lol