By JASCHA HOFFMANJUNE \u2014 NY Times
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Dawn of the Planet of the Apes.<\/strong> Directed by Matt Reeves. Opens July 11.<\/p>\n In this second big-budget prequel to the 1968 technicolor classic, intelligent apes are thriving in the forest while human cities crumble. If that sounds depressing, think again: In this version of \u201cPlanet of the Apes,\u201d the chimps are the heroes. Rather than shooting in a studio, as is the custom for motion capture, much of the film was shot in the forest, where actors playing apes, their bodies covered with infrared dots tracked by hidden cameras, controlled the skeletons of their primate avatars. How does one walk like an ape? The motion is \u201cheavy, weighted and circular,\u201d said Terry Notary, a former gymnast who served as movement coach for the film, although \u201cthe pace, energy and feel\u201d differs for gorillas, orangutans and chimpanzees. To capture emotion, a small camera mounted on the actors\u2019 heads harvested facial data to drive the apes\u2019 expressions. \u201cThis high-tech rig is so powerful and transparent that it allows actors to abandon control,\u201d Mr. Notary said. The results are apes so magnetic, it\u2019s hard not to empathize with them, even as they take up arms against their human rivals. \u201cWe\u2019re making a film where apes are causing our downfall,\u201d said Joe Letteri, the senior visual effects supervisor, \u201cbut they\u2019re the ones you want to root for.\u201d<\/p>\n