MOTION CAPTURE WORKSHOP

Saturday April 18.

6 hours
Fast Motion Studios, 2 Denison Road West
Plato Fountidakis, Instructor
Paul Thibodeau, Assisting
This note sheet is provided for newcomers to Motion Capture (MoCap) from a Film & TV production background.
Motion Capture is the process of recording the three dimensional movement of objects or people using infra-red cameras and
tracking marks. This data is used to build a CGI character with a skeleton that matches/tracks the movement of those objects &
people.
Motion Capture should be treated with the same level of planning, attention to detail and professionalism that marks a successful
Main Unit shoot day. The MoCap recording day can be just as expensive to capture as rolling sound & camera on set.
Approach the data capture, storage and control of a MoCap session with the same discipline and rigor as you would a regular
camera shoot day.
1
2
3
4
5

PRE-PRO
MOTION CAPTURE
CLEAN UP
CGI BUILD & INTEGRATION
NOTES

PRE-PRO
1.1
Director, VFX Super, Tech Director & 1AD/2AD identify exact sequences/shots that require MoCap.
1.2

Director and/or VFX Super work up the Storyboards & Shot List.
- Best Practice is that the naming convention of the Storyboards & Shot List must be simple and clear; it will be
used during the MoCap process itself to identify each motion sequence captured.

1.3

The Storyboards & Shot List are not a temporary document - they will drive and direct the entire MoCap process
from initial capture to delivered sequence, and will also be used as for initial budgeting/cost estimation.
How they are organized, named, listed and presented can have a significant effect further along the
MoCap/Modelling/Animation pipeline. A clean, simple document will prevent confusion for people not involved in
the original MoCap process.

1.4

At least one day of rehearsal for any stunts is recommended.

- DO NOT WASTE MoCap TIME WITH UNREHEARSED STUNTS!
- As with all stunts, rehearsal can affect/change the intended shots.
Best Practice is to space out the rehearsal day and the MoCap day. Allow yourself time to adjust the
Storyboards & Shot List based on lessons learned from the rehearsal.

MOTION CAPTURE
2.1
Motion Capture does not lie - or to be more accurate, the human brain immediately sees unnatural discrepancies
in movement of other human beings. This translates directly into how realistic a CGI character appears on
screen.
Actors/Performers should match the intended CGI character as much as possible. 1
A short person should not be used to MoCap for 7 tall giant, and vice versa.

MOTION CAPTURE WORKSHOP

@ Fast Motion Studios

April 18 2015

For Example:

should not be used to MoCap for

Peter Dinklage
4 5
Tyrion Lannister

Hafr Jlus Bjrnsson

6 9
Gregor Clegane

Fig. 1

2.2

However, a single actor/performer can MoCap for several similar characters.

- e.g.: one performer can portray two people playing a game of chess.

2.3

MoCap requires 1- 1 hours of Studio/rig setup and calibration, by two technicians.

Factor this into budget and scheduling considerations.

2.4

MoCap is performed with a ring of infra-red (IR) cameras, set up facing into a central space.
Fast Motion Studios uses the Opti-Trax camera system, with Motive as its tracking and analysis software. These
systems are constantly updated and upgraded, generally aiming for faster analysis and more accurate tracking.

2.5

Actors/Performers wear two-piece suits. Each suit is black with identifying

colour patches (red, blue, green, yellow, etc). These colours are also used in the
MoCap software, Motive, to visually identify each performer to the
Technicians.
The suits themselves are fairly comfortable - overheating from simply standing
still is not an issue.
Small rubber balls with reflective coating are then velcrod onto each suit by
the MoCap Technicians, one suit at a time. This is so that Motive can cleanly
register each person/object.

2.6

Fig. 2

This is another consideration for scheduling, as each suit takes approx. 10-15 mins. to properly ball-up and
correctly identify within the MoCap software:
- A group of 4 Actors/Performers can take approx. 1 hour to identify to the software before the MoCap
recording begins.
- The studio and crew have now been on the clock for 2 hours before we even roll on the MoCap itself,
and the Actors/Performers are down 1 hour out of their 8. Tick-tock, tick-tock
- This time frame can be shortened with repetitive sessions and experienced, professional
actor/performers who know the intended process and understand the time considerations.
- but the setup/calibration time of 1 - 1 hours still stands.

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2.7

@ Fast Motion Studios

April 18 2015

Facial tracking is done using head mounted rigs, such as has been seen with The
Hobbit and Avatar. This is a whole other ball game, with its own separate tracking
software.
Facial tracking uses small rubbery studs, applied by a Make-up person. Marks can
be painted on also, but such flat marks are not as successful fir tracking.
The tracking balls and studs used in a MoCap session are 3D in shape to increase
the likelihood of being read by at least two IR cameras in the surrounding rig.
Fig. 3

2.8

While the cast are being suited and balled the Shot List (word/text/excel - but not PDF, JPEG or any image format)
is loaded into Motive. From this the MoCap technicians create a file naming convention for that specific project.
This naming convention is critical to the production pipeline.
A confusing, inaccurate or undisciplined naming system will quickly lead to lost files, overwritten data, wasted
time, models built using the wrong data, badly constructed models, skeletons that dont work or look unnatural,
etc.
All this will result in re-doing the entire MoCap process, the equivalent of a full day reshoot. This data can be just
as expensive to capture as rolling sound & camera on set. Approach the data capture, storage and control of a
MoCap session with the same discipline and rigor as you would a regular camera shoot day.
Best Practice is to have paper & digital copies of the Storyboards & Shot List immediately to hand.

2.9

Once the tracking marks are finished on a performer Motive must get a baseline on the physical range of
movement of that person. This will help it track and analyze the data coming in once the MoCap session properly
starts.
This BASELINE PROFILE is unique to every performer.

2.10

There is no slate as such during MoCap, but a standard practice is for the cast to assume a T-stance at the start and
end of each take.

2.11

The actual recording process of MoCap is very quick and seamless. Re-takes are immediate. Motive is quite stable
and there are rarely drops or losses in the data capture. If anything it almost captures too much, resulting in extra,
unwanted data points. This leads directly to the next stage, called Clean Up.

CLEAN UP
3.1
ANYTHING reflective will be picked up by the infra-red cameras - this will require clean-up after the capture
process, before the data is sent on to the modelers/animators.
3.2

Every moment spent working with the data costs money further down the pipeline, so constantly aim to minimize
any interference, clutter, delays or uncertainty.
As an example, during this workshop Platos wristwatch was picked up by the cameras during recording.
It sounds small but when youre being billed by the second of recorded footage any extra cleanup can be the
difference between staying on budget and going over.
Best Practice is to remove ALL unnecessary personnel from the studio floor, as well as all non-essential gear, bags,
cloths, etc before rolling.

MOTION CAPTURE WORKSHOP

@ Fast Motion Studios

April 18 2015

It can also be useful to treat the very first MoCap take as a cleaning take - use it to identify all unwanted clutter
being picked up by the cameras.
3.3

Once all the various action sequences and performances have been captured it is time to run the data clean-up.
Some of this is automated but a lot is quite manual, where the technician must identify to Motive what to keep,
group the wanted data into appropriate rigid bodies and strip out everything else.

3.4

Giving enough time and effort towards a proper clean-up session is a Very Good Thing.
Do not skimp on or rush the Clean Up, it has immediate & lasting effect through the rest of the production
pipeline.

3.5

A cleaned MoCap file is then exported from Motive (typically as a .C3D) into Maya or 3DSMAX and used to build
the skeletons of the various CGI character models in tioher

CG BUILD & INTEGRATION

4.1
The cleaned up MoCap data is used to directly build a CG skeleton for a CG character model. The data gives the
program information on the limits of movement for the skeleton.
For Example:

The MoCap data of a short person walking is very different to that of a 6.

If you apply the data of the short person to a CG skeleton for a 6 tall CG Basketball Player then
that character would walk with an extremely shortened stride, with very limited swing arcs for its
arms.
It would look inherently wrong and fake, which is the reason for Note 2.1, above in the Motion
Capture section.

4.2

MoCap data is un-fakeable. The human eye and mind are excellent at reading pattern and movement and will
instantly detect any lie or inaccuracy in the positioning and movement of a person through 3D space.

4.2

Once the skeleton is built a CG character can be tied to it, so that the model uses the MoCap data for its
movements.

4.3

When the CG character and skeleton are tied in together the entire model can be put in a CG environment. This CG
world is brought into Motive and from here the software can integrate the real-life movements of the
Actor/Performer who is in studio to those of the CG Character in its CG World.
This is the point where Andy Serkis becomes Gollum or a DGC A.D. becomes an Alien Warrior!

Fig.4

4.4

As you can see above on the right of Fig. 4, a real time view within the software can be provided to the cast and
Director. This allows everyone to literally see what they look like and the environment they are in.
This is invaluable in helping with an Actors immersion into a role or character.

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@ Fast Motion Studios

April 18 2015

Here the view is provided on a Windows tablet, but it can also stream to any digital TV or Computer monitor,
allowing for the entire performing group to see themselves in the CG world, in real time, as they move.
4.5

From here the sequence can be played out by the performers, allow the software to track their movements and
apply it directly to the CG characters. These movements are saved and the sequence can be played back, with the
CG characters doing exactly what real-life performers did.

NOTES
1.

Skin Colour is irrelevant for Motion Capture cameras.

This document was compiled & edited by Conor M. OBrien, DGC

April 30th 2015