It looks like with one film James Cameron's 3D motion capture has beaten Robert Zemeckis' in Hollywood, even though we weren't aware there was a challenge or never even made the connection, it's pretty clear that there were two distinct motion capture houses.

Zemeckis was the clear king of motion capture, although this style was so close to realism but not quite there that it made no sense to me, do one or the other, but with the arrival of Cameron's Avatar (Filmstalker review) motion capture took a step forwards to almost believable.

Where's that left Robert Zemeckis' motion capture studio? Closed. Disney has just shut down the operation at ImageMovers Digital, and Disney have been rather harsh about it all, although fair.

”Given today's economic realities, we need to find alternative ways to bring creative content to audiences and IMD no longer fits into our business model.”

That's the quote from Disney head Alan Bergman through the L.A. Times and JoBlo.

Yes, harsh, but there's no way they can complete against the new technology that James Cameron's team developed for Avatar is there? Or at least not if Disney aren't willing to pour money into it.

Cameron has been touting his new technology and the 3D systems throughout Hollywood and there seems to be more and more films considering the tech, so maybe this is actually a good thing for the studio, although not for those losing their jobs.

Maybe we'll see Robert Zemeckis turn to that Roger Rabbit sequel? Maybe we'll see the staff and/or the studio move into the world of the new 3D motion capture? Let's hope it's good news for those who may be losing their jobs first, and then for film fans second.