Resident Evil 6 Interview Part III - Kat Randolph
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Interview by: Leen Isabel
The Resident Evil franchise is no stranger to kick-ass, female characters. But just who is behind all those incredible moves? Geek Girl, Leen Isabel, talks to the four talented women who brought our favorite characters to life in Resident Evil 6. Each week we'll release a new interview with each mo-cap artist where they share their experiences and memories with us. We love to celebrate the geek girl -- including those who work on awesome games!
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Katherine Rudolph is the motion capture artist behind Resident Evil 6's Helena Harper. Read about how she got through the character's emotional moments and about her experiences on set!
1. Hi Katherine! We’re happy to have you here with Geek Girls! Before we dive in, please tell me a little bit about yourself.
Thanks for having me! I’m glad to be here. A little bit about me… I’m originally from Mississippi, I live in Los Angeles now, I enjoy traveling a good deal (especially to places with sun and sand), and I have a pug named Holly who I love to go hiking with.
2. At Geek x Girls, we love to celebrate the accomplishments of women in the industry. How did you get into working as a mo-cap artist for video games? Is that something you knew you always wanted to do?
I have worked as an actress for many years, and I had always wanted to work in video games. I love playing strong, capable women who kick ass, and I feel like there are not enough of those roles out there. Luckily, playable characters in video games have to be just that. I mean, if you’re going to be fighting zombies and whatever else comes your way, you’d better be strong and capable, right?! And yeah, you gotta kick some serious ass.
3. How long have you been working in the industry?
I did my first acting job at 8, a commercial for which I got to skip school and go fishing. I was pretty much sold on the entertainment industry from that day. I did awesomely nerdy acting camps during the summers in high school, and I moved to Los Angeles to attend the acting school at the University of Southern California at 18. Been doing it since.
4. Can you tell me a bit about the process behind motion capture for those of us who aren’t familiar with it?
Motion capture is so much fun! First, you put on a funny black suit that covers you head to toe (my suit for RE6 had a leopard print crotch, always a laughing point for our crew), then you’re covered in these little reflective balls, strategically placed to telegraph your movement to the numerous (60+) cameras surrounding the volume (that’s what we call the stage). Then you act! There’s a lot of playing with things that aren’t there, or are being represented by plywood boxes, so you have to have a really good imagination.
5. I’m a huge fan of the Resident Evil franchise. I’ve been playing it since the second installment. Were you familiar with the series before working on it?
I had seen the movies, but had unfortunately not been a gamer until I worked on RE6. I’m enjoying playing now, though! My husband was pretty stoked when I started showing an interest in playing.
6. So, Helena is a new character to the Resident Evil franchise. We learn that she’s looking for her sister throughout the game, which leads to some very emotional moments. What was it like portraying Helena during these scenes?
I have to say, my favorite scenes are the emotional ones. I had some super intense scenes portraying Helena, she’s really going through a lot over the course of the game. It was very easy to get into the emotional moments by thinking about my own sister, and how devastated I would be if anything ever happened to her.
7. Was there a favorite moment you had during the motion capture process?
There were so many amazing and funny moments during motion capture, we really were like a big family, with lots of affection, pranks, and jokes. There were times when someone would stumble on a line and say something completely inappropriate, and we would just collapse in giggles. I also loved the days when we would get to do some of our own stunts! Running and jumping, somersaulting and hoping you land on your feet was really a thrill . One of my best (yet bittersweet) memories, was the day we wrapped, when Jason Faunt, who played Leon for Mo-Cap, and I were told to close our eyes and get on our knees, then we had to do some silly dance with our eyes closed (we were very confused at this point), then when we were allowed to open them, we saw our entire crew standing around us smiling with the hugest arrangement of flowers I’ve ever seen, and they had renderings of our characters on the big screen above the volume, so we could actually move and see ourselves reflected back as our characters on the screen.
8. Do you do anything else outside of motion capture? What other projects may we have recognized you in?
I do all kinds of acting – films, TV, commercials (and of course video games) - and I also write and direct films. I did the motion capture for Mizuki in Ninja Gaiden 3, out now, and you can see me in Rites of Spring (horror), out Nov. 27 on DVD, and in American Joyride (action/comedy, which I co-directed), out in the next few months.
9. Thank you! I appreciate that you taking the time for this interview. I look forward to seeing more of your work in the future.
Thank you!
Learn more about Katherine here:
www.katherinerandolph.com
twitter.com/goldskytiger
Thank you to
Just Cause Production Inc. for their help to make these interviews happen!
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January 20 2013