DigitalContentProducer.com posted a lengthy article talking about the effects work done for Dr. Manhattan in the upcoming ‘Watchmen’.
To create the Dr. Manhattan character for Watchmen, Director Zack Snyder and Visual Effects Supervisor John “D.J.” Des Jardin opted to build actor Billy Crudup a motion-capture suit that incorporated a densely packed mesh of blue LEDs in order to provide an interactive light source on set consistent with the character’s nature. They then used Crudup’s live-action performance as reference for a largely hand-crafted CG character, which was built at Sony Pictures Imageworks.
This just further solidifies how cool LEDs are. And how cool Imageworks is as well!