Video game actors call for better transparency around mocap work not disclosed in advance

Video game actors are calling for better transparency around “disgusting” motion capture work that is not properly disclosed at the point of booking.

In an interview with the BBC, professional casting director Jessica Jefferies – who previously worked as a motion capture performer – recalled times she’d be called for a shoot with absolutely no information about what the work entailed, only to find out that it included “gratuitous” sex scenes.

Please note that the intimate scene from Baldur’s Gate 3 above is in no way implicated in this story, and included because Larian Studios took the positive step of using intimacy coordinators during development.

“We’d get an email or a call from a studio saying we need you on these days for a shoot,” she explained. “That was all the information we’d get.

“I turned up and was told what I would be filming would be a graphic rape scene. This act could be watched for as long or as little time as the player wanted through a window, and then a player would be able to shoot this character in the head.

“It was just purely gratuitous, in my opinion.”

Jefferies says that even though there’s no nudity due to the motion capture suits worn, “it’s still an act and there’s an intimacy in that act, and also a violence in this situation”.

“You are still there and still having to truly immerse yourself in this scene,” she added.

A different actor who chose to remain anonymous said she “absolutely loves the industry”, but also calls for better disclosures ahead of time, especially as actors “have to sign NDAs” and are “told almost nothing” ahead of filming.

“In one recording for a major game she first learned it was explicit only when she turned up for work. This was actually a full-on sex scene,” she said.

“I had to [vocally] match the scene and through the glass in the booth with the entire team, all male, watching me. It was excruciating… at that stage I had been in the games industry a while, and I had never felt so shaken.

“What upset me so much about the situation is I was put on the spot, nobody thought to ask me if I was okay with it, and nobody checked to see if I was okay afterwards,” she added.

The UK’s games industry trade body, Ukie, did not respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

However, in relation to guidelines drawn up by the British Actors Union, Equity, the organisation said its focus “remains on fostering a supportive environment for all stakeholders in the UK video game sector, ensuring it remains the best place to create, play, and sell video games”.

Baldur’s Gate 3 developer Larian hired intimacy coordinators to ensure its actors felt safe and comfortable during romantic scenes.

In an earlier interview with BBC, actor Devora Wilde – who plays githyanki warrior Lae’zel in the critically-acclaimed release – said she was pleased with Larian’s decision to do so.