The lead animator for The Last Of Us Part II, Jeremy Yates, posted a short clip onto Twitter to reveal the process of mo-capping real horses for the post-pandemic game. In the clip, an actor rides a real horse (kitted out in motion performance gear), leaping over an obstacle and crossing the studio floor.
Yates captioned the post with an explanation of how the horses’ performances were captured for The Last Of Us Part II. “The volume was enlarged just for this shoot.” the animator said.
“For safety, a layer of plywood and pretty much the ENTIRE current world’s supply of rubber mats were ordered for the floor. It arrived just days before shooting.”
Fun fact: Our horses were captured at Sony. The volume was enlarged just for this shoot. For safety, a layer of plywood and pretty much the ENTIRE current world’s supply of rubber matts were ordered for the floor. It arrived just days before shooting. #TheLastofUsPartII #horse pic.twitter.com/bC7M6rMkiT
— Jeremy Yates (@Jeremy_Yates) July 14, 2020
In reply to the post, after a user expressed hope for behind the scenes footage from Naughty Dog, Yates said that they’d “created a spectacular video documentary years ago when we shot this.”
Yates further hopes that the footage is “able to make it out in the wild at some point.”
In an earlier tweet, Yates posted on Twitter a series of screenshots of the motion capture performances with the horses, hailing his tenure on set as one of “the most enjoyable three days I’ve had in my professional career.”
Finally, in a post from Yates, guaranteed to melt your heart, (I know it wasn’t just mine, admit it), he shared four images of the “four-legged cast members” from The Last Of Us Part II: Winnie, Moxie, Kippy, and Stetson, kitted out in mo-cap on the studio floor at Sony. For the visual evidence, if you’re not convinced your heart can be melted, just look below.
See, told you.
Meet some of our beautiful four legged cast members: Winnie, Moxie, Kippy, and Stetson. Take a bow, pups!!! 👏🐶🦴 #TheLastofUsPart2 pic.twitter.com/dSPYyMUssb
— Jeremy Yates (@Jeremy_Yates) July 10, 2020
The Last Of Us Part II is out now on Playstation 4, following its release on June 19. For those who’ve already completed the game, and want more, check out the Gameluster review.
