because of the sensitive nature of the work, we were not allowed to film any of the monkeys or the experiments being conducted with them. it is important to note that in all the labs we visited the monkeys were very well treated and every precaution was taken to ensure their comfort and safety.

but as these experiments were key to the advances in the science of neuo-engineering, we felt it important to present them in the movie. we decided therefore to create a reenactment of the experiments. so we hired jojo, a wonderful creature who was all too happy to sit in a plexiglass cradle and eat fruit for a while. jojo was shot on green screen and the entire lab was built in 3d and composited by the incredibly talented team at mokko studio.

here is a quick look at the steps one of the shots went through.

green screen plate.

initial chroma key. note the green spill around the edges of the fur.

spill correction

composited against a 3D background tracked to the original plate.

many 3D elements were created including two robotic arms.

robot arm with textures - rgb pass

robot arm with textures - rgb pass

final composite

here is the sequence in full motion.

once again, the work done by  mokko studio on this, and every shot that they delivered for robo sapien, was simply amazing. total dedication and unbridled passion for what they do. the project could not have been achieved without their collaboration.