Vactors in Feature Films (2010-2013)

This article describes a segment of data produced as part of an ongoing research project that attempts to catalogue the performance of every vactor (virtual actor) in feature films from 2010-2019. Vactors are computer-generated (CG) characters that produce performances alongside profilmic elements. While vactors are increasingly common in films, they are poorly catalogued and often regarded among both academics and film critics as disdainful, monolithic performance strategies. A comprehensive list of vactors can be used to extract trends about the number of vactor performances by year, as well as how certain vactor performance styles become more or less predominant with time. By expanding on prior research that focuses on vactor performances from 2010, this article explores trends in vactor performances across multiple film genres between 2010-2013. By analysing this data, this article suggests that vactors are not monolithic but rather encompass a wide variety of roles featuring various degrees of performance nuance and complexity.

Methods
This study is concerned with films whose initial release dates occur between 2010-2013. The research is specifically limited to non-documentary feature films and includes a comprehensive survey of Western cinema (American, Canadian, Australasian, and European), as well as a cursory survey of Bollywood, Chinese, and Korean cinema. I cross-reference films listed on the "Internet Movie Database" (IMDb.com) with the film catalogue on the website “Wild About Movies” (wildaboutmovies.com). I use the software MPC-HC to manually advance through a film at discrete 10-second intervals, which allows me to quickly search for vactor performances. When in doubt, I also consult several industry magazines, including “Cinefex” and “3D World”, as well as visual effects news websites, for details about the visual effects production of a given film.

Each vactor is recorded by film, year, genre, and category of vactor performance style(s) (it is possible for a vactor to participate in more than one performance style throughout a film).