ETERNALS: Patton Oswalt Shares Behind-The-Scenes Photos Confirming He Performed Motion-Capture As Pip

ETERNALS: Patton Oswalt Shares Behind-The-Scenes Photos Confirming He Performed Motion-Capture As Pip

Patton Oswalt played Pip the Troll in Eternals' mid-credits scene, and the actor has now shared a behind-the-scenes photo revealing that he was on set performing motion-capture. Find more details here...

By JoshWilding - Nov 20, 2021 09:11 AM EST
Filed Under: Eternals

ComicBook.com recently caught up with VFX Supervisor Matt Aitken to discuss Weta Digital's work on Marvel Studios' Eternals. He reveals that Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. alum Patton Oswalt was actually on the set of the movie - on his knees - to act out Pip the Troll's MCU debut in the mid-credits scene. 

"We ended up replacing Patton Oswalt with Pip and the corridor, because we needed to do all that interactive portal light and extend it," Aitken explained. "But if you're looking at Eros, then his face will definitely be the face, but everything else is CG in those shots. He's there on his knees to get his head in the right height. But yeah, no he was there. He's fantastic. He's just great."

Oswalt would later take to Twitter to share a couple of behind-the-scenes photos from his brief time working on the movie, though we are expecting to see more of Pip - and Starfox - moving forward. 

Pip's live-action debut has, unfortunately, been met with quite a bit of criticism from fans. Comparisons have been made to CGI characters in The Polar Express, and it's not unfair to say that Marvel Studios dropped the ball with Eros' ally. Hopefully, improvements will be made by the time he returns.

Check out Oswalt's Tweet about his Eternals work below:
 

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Unites
Unites - 11/20/2021, 9:06 AM
I don't think the CGI looked that bad tbh.
defenderofthefaith
defenderofthefaith - 11/20/2021, 9:11 AM
There was a doubt?
MrDandy
MrDandy - 11/20/2021, 10:21 AM
@defenderofthefaith - given the quality of the cgi…yes
Origame
Origame - 11/20/2021, 10:33 AM
@MrDandy - what does the quality of the cgi have anything to do with whether Patton Oswalt did the motion capture work?
MrDandy
MrDandy - 11/20/2021, 10:54 AM
@Origame - motion capture typically helps with human-esq character designs to make them more lifelike and convincing. It’s why they do it.
Origame
Origame - 11/20/2021, 11:05 AM
@MrDandy - ...it's standard practice now though. The only instance where an fx team doesn't use a mocap actor would be in cases where it's not a humanoid figure. The question was never if they used a mocap actor but whether or not they specifically used Patton Oswalt.
SerKurtWagner
SerKurtWagner - 11/20/2021, 9:19 AM
I personally just don't get why Pip was CGI at all. Like... he's humanoid. Just stick some prosthetics on Oswalt, pull some Hobbit tricks to make him look short and there you go. Surely that's cheaper AND less risky reaction-wise than creating a whole CGI character.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 11/20/2021, 9:40 AM
@SerKurtWagner - it almost seems like prosthetics cost too much or take too much time so they just… gimp and golf ball ya
“It’s the only way this works, we promise”
FinnishDude
FinnishDude - 11/20/2021, 10:36 AM
@SerKurtWagner - I kinda felt the same about the Black Order/the children of Thanos in Infinity War and Endgame. With the exception of the big guy, all of them could have been actors in make-up/prosthetic effects. They weren't really any more complicated than creatures we see in every Guillermo del Toro project.

A cynical side of me thinks that this is partially one of the side-effects of the spoiler-culture. Easier to hide which character an actor is playing, if all we see is them wearing a mo-cap suit.
TheWalkingCuban
TheWalkingCuban - 11/20/2021, 9:20 AM
What cgi?
MeAreLegend
MeAreLegend - 11/20/2021, 9:37 AM
This looked like a PS3 video game cutscene
KWilly
KWilly - 11/20/2021, 9:40 AM
He would've made a great Mole Man, but ah well.
cyclopsprime
cyclopsprime - 11/20/2021, 11:36 PM
@KWilly - I mean he still could play mole man regardless of his role in eternals
PicolasCage
PicolasCage - 11/20/2021, 10:00 AM
That CGI was ROUGH, hopefully just because they couldn't allocate more budget for a small post credit scene
OmegaDaGrodd
OmegaDaGrodd - 11/20/2021, 10:19 AM
I kinda hope the CGI on PIP always looks a little weird. Kinda gave him as a character a truly alien feel from a texture standpoint
asherman93
asherman93 - 11/21/2021, 10:33 PM
@OmegaDaGrodd - Same. I actually like how off he looks. Its what you'd expect someone who's name is literally "Pip the Troll" to look like.
ymk700
ymk700 - 11/20/2021, 10:21 AM
The PIP cgi was trash. Would've been better if he had just dressed the part and played the role, instead of using motion capture.
MrDandy
MrDandy - 11/20/2021, 11:00 AM
I’m still confused by the choice to make him CGI at all…
Luigi
Luigi - 11/20/2021, 11:04 AM
If it was important to get a deaf actress to play Echo, I think they should've got a little person to play Pip
marvel72
marvel72 - 11/20/2021, 4:37 PM
@Luigi - Yup.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 11/20/2021, 11:12 AM
Could’ve fooled me… Looked more like rotoscoping hand-drawn animation with crayons for pip.
I kid I kid… but definitely looked out of place in the MCU which most cgi characters look pretty good.
PerrinNation1
PerrinNation1 - 11/21/2021, 6:47 PM
I saw Patton Oswalt in concert the day before I saw Eternals…..without knowing he was in it During the show he commented on how much of a Marvel over DC guy he was. I guess I know why now.
musicsuperhero1
musicsuperhero1 - 11/23/2021, 11:26 AM
i thought it served it's purpose. if you think about it, thanos' look changed throughout his various appearances in the MCU. so i'm sure that if the character shows up again/more, they'll improve the look.
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