Located in downtown Santa Monica, Image Metrics is experiencing an increase in popularity among Hollywood studios. The company’s software allows a computer to map an actor’s performance, sending it to a character virtual or human. Thus, an older actor may star as his or her younger self. Likewise, an actor from the past may star in a present feature. The technology, which The New York Times says is “beyond ‘motion capture,'” can be seen in such upcoming films as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, Robert Zemeckis’ Beowulf and Foodfight. In fact, Larry Kasanoff, the producer and director of Foodfight, is so impressed with the technology that he believes his film will be finished by its February release date, although the project has yet to begin production.