WSJ.com - Digital Replicas May Change Face of Films: "Contour combines some surprisingly mundane ingredients and sophisticated software. First, an actor's face is coated in ordinary phosphorescent makeup like that worn by children at Halloween. The actors then conduct their performance in a studio surrounded by fluorescent lights and digital cameras.
The system turns the lights on and off at speeds so fast that the studio appears lit. But during those brief interludes of darkness, the actor's face glows brightly. The cameras that surround the actor snap digital images of the glowing face -- and body, if the actor's clothing is coated in a phosphorescent dye -- producing a ghoulish green three-dimensional computer image of the face.
After artists digitally insert a few important details into a face, including eyeballs, hair and natural-skin color, the striking facial details captured during the acting session become clear: flaring nostrils, furrowing brows and other subtle expressions make the digital face seem like the real thing. For creators of entertainment, detailed faces are crucial for creating believable characters."
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