Bayonetta – Mocap And Cinematics

Bayonetta (2009) motion actor Maiko Uchida showed up late for rehearsals and hadn’t even listened to the assigned music, but wowed the Platinum Games team with her mesmerizing dancing to land the role.

I love these stories about the human side of game development. The character wouldn’t be the same without Uchida’s involvement, and Platinum saw that immediately. Full segment from the “Eyes on Bayonetta” documentary below.

There’s also a segment Platinum Games’ use of live-action previz with cinematics director Yuji Shimomura, who had previously worked on the Devil May Cry series. Inserting the early footage into the game aided with pacing.