The creation of a 3D representation of
a live performance.” This is in contrast
to animation that is created ‘by hand’ through a process known as keyframing.
Motion capture (Mocap) used to be considered a fairly controversial tool for creating
animation. In the early days, the effort required to ‘clean up’ motion capture data often took as long as if the animation was created by an animator, from scratch. Thanks to hard work
by the manufacturers of motion capture systems as well as numerous software
developers, motion capture has become a feasible tool for the generation of animation.
Software tools for working with motion-captured data, such as MotionBuilder ,have evolved to the point where animators now have the means to edit and blend
takes from multiple
capture sessions and mix and match them with keyframed animation techniques;
allowing great control of style and quality of final output, for anything ranging from realistic to ‘cartoony’ motion.
MoCap can provide substantial time savings for animation projects. Animators can captured 200 animations during a 15 hour of recording with a motion capture system. Which would have taken one animator up to 4 months to accomplish the same amount of work.
Motion capture can make the animation process much easier, especially when trying to
recreate character animation that is realistic, such as the interaction of multiple
3D characters, or characters engaged in sports activities. Simple ‘ambient animation, such as a character standing around doing nothing, is much easier and more realistic when captured than if these subtleties where animated by hand.
Vicon prides itself on the support and customer care provided to our users and supporters. Having been involved in game production for more than 10 years, and being the parent company of the world's leading motion capture service bureau, House of Moves, Vicon can offer deep experience and technical solutions to our games customers.
