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Published: Tuesday, May. 25, 2010 / Updated: Wednesday, May. 26, 2010 01:30 PM

Learn some acting riffs from the real ‘Guitar Hero’

FORT MILL TOWNSHIP -- 

What do Tony Hawk video games, Guitar Hero, Disney’s “Mars Needs Moms!” and The Playroom Academy of Music have in common?

They all feature the amazing acting abilities of motion capture artist Adam Jennings. Adam will be in Fort Mill’s Baxter Village to teach Intro to Acting and An Actors Life for Me at The Playroom Academy during summer camp.

For five years, Jennings has been the face of Guitar Hero, his lip-syncing and facial expression talent bringing life to arena rock favorites like Steven Tyler from Aerosmith and James Hetfield from Metallica. Jennings’ website features clips from his motion capture sessions for Guitar Hero as well as a jaw-dropping full-body rendition of Michael Jackson’s video “Beat It.”

From his home in Los Angeles, Jennings took a few minutes to answer questions about his unique work as an actor and motion capture artist and his upcoming classes at The Playroom Academy.

Q: You have to be a music fan to pull off the mo cap for Guitar Heroes! Where did your love of music start ?

A: Yes I’m a huge music fan! I have family who works in the business, but I was also exposed to a lot of different types of music growing up. Then when I started performing in musical theatre productions, I developed a better understanding of style and composition. But actually, through my work with these games, I have learned so much more by having access to both old and new material every day at the studio.

Q: You’re the “face” of Guitar Hero but you’ve done work in other video games. Has your work ever involved full-body motion capture?

A: I have never been the only full-body motion capture actor for a game, but I was the only facial mo-cap actor on a bunch. But most of the projects I have worked on have required me to perform both face and body animations. In a few Tony Hawk games, I acted out the main character as well as several background people and some basic skateboarding tricks. And for Guitar Hero, they have used some of my general full-body performances for many songs over the years, but specifically, it is me dancing as the lead singer for “Beat It,” “You Give Love A Bad Name,” “Play That Funky Music,” and the list goes on. It’s like having the opportunity to totally rock out at karaoke night, except I am wearing a tight, glowing suit and it’s also my job.

Q: Is there a course of study or classes for motion capture work?

A: Not that I know of. Although with movies like “Avatar” being produced more regularly and the technology becoming more popular, training may be available sooner than you think. Of course, any animation school will have programs that cover the computer and input aspects, but for the actors, our best resource is the current market.

Q: How did the opportunity for you to teach at The Playroom Academy’s Summer Camp come about?

A: The Playroom is an academy for arts and music, and those fields are the foundation of my passions and career. My experience with Guitar Hero was a major point of interest too, and I’m really looking forward to joining the staff.

Q: Can you tell us what sorts of things you’ll cover with the camp students?

A: Acting classes at camp this summer will be both fun and informative. My goal is to teach the students how to be comfortable on stage, to eliminate embarrassment and fear, and to hopefully ignite their interest in performing more often. We’ll play improv games and even try out scenes with scripts, but I will also spend some time discussing the process of how a movie is made from start to finish.

Q: What’s your biggest piece of advice for aspiring actors?

A: Everyone says it: the business is tough. I am so lucky to have found regular work in this unique industry. But if all I thought about were the auditions I didn’t get, I would drive myself nuts. That being said, an aspiring actor can still find ways to perform or participate without going for a career. The best advice I can give is to be proactive and stay busy. Research your favorite directors and actors, read scripts, see live shows, take classes, join the drama club at school. If you love it, soak up as much as possible. And always remember it’s supposed to be fun, that’s why they call it a “play.”