How performance capture saved my life | Neil Newbon | TEDxNorthern Quarter
Neil Newbon shares how acting in video games gave him a new creative beginning after years of struggling to find his place in TV and film.Despite advice from others to give up, he followed his instincts and discovered a path that brought fulfilment, stability, and lasting friendships. Through performance capture, he found not only a career but a renewed sense of purpose and fatherhood. Neil is an award-winning actor and performance capture specialist known for bringing to life standout video game characters such as Karl Heisenberg (Resident Evil Village from Capcom) and Astarion (Baldur’s Gate 3 from Larian Studios), the latter earning him Best Performance at The Game Awards 2023 and a BAFTA in 2024. With a background in theatre, film and TV, Neil transitioned into voice and mocap work in the 2010s and has become one of the industry’s leading figures.He now runs the Performance Captured Academy, helping train the next generation of game performers, and recently co-founded the Pixel Pack, a collective advocating for the recognition and rights of actors in games - particularly in response to the rise of AI in digital performance. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at https://www.ted.com/tedx
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