Welcome to the

Wonderful World of

Animation!!

Sophia, Michael, Dorothy,

Kevin

Wha

t is

mot

ion

Cap

ture

Animate characters on

computer is relatively

recent Recording movements

of human body for immediate analysis

Roto

scopin

g

An animation technique in which animators trace over footage, frame by frame for use in live-action and animated films1. Capturing video of real actor around props that resemble elements of a scene2. Animators then trace over each frame of the recorded video- result in a figure that moved in a very realistic fashion3. Animated figure would be colored and then integrated with various background layers to create the final shot

Max Fletischer: 1915 Automated production of cartoon films Walt Disney- 1937: Used to create the motion of snow white Snow white and prince= partially rotoscoped

Moti

on C

aptu

re-

com

pute

r gra

phic

s used late 1970 early 1980- in

SFU, MIT, NYIT Robert Abel and Associated

for the National Canned Food

Information Council produced

Brilliance Created human movements:

Black dots on joints + pictures

+creative deductive reasoning

Once able to digitize the results

brought in female model,

painted black dots on 18 joints

photographed her doing

different movementshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v

=hl2lhtBIt2E&feature=kp

Paci

fic

Data

Im

ages

(PD

I)

American computer animation production

company Bought by DreamWorks

Used different types of

tracking devices that fit

particular projects Wanted to matter in

everything not just specialize in one thing

Goal= entertainment by

3D animation

Wald

o e

ffect

First commercially successful example of a digitally animated figure being performed and rendered in real time - Jim Henson and PDI for Muppet television [Jim Henson Hour] Created a computer generated version of Kermit the Frog

DeG

raf/

Wahrm

an

First live performance of a

digital character a sophisticated talking head

driven by a specially built

controller that allowed a

single puppeteer to control

many parameters of the

character's face, including

mouth, eyes, expression,

and head position. Mike the Talking Head-

1988 Able to interact with the

audience

Kle

iser

– W

alc

zak

Const

ruct

ion

Com

pany Used Keyframe animation: a

drawing that defines the starting

and ending of any smooth

transition Gave the look of flexibility needed

Used in Universal Studios- island of

adventure in Orlando Florida for

The Amazing Adventures of

Spiderman 1987 built and animated computer

generated actors called

“sythespians”: the aim of creating

“life-like figures” based on the

“digital animation of clay models”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

03QMXF2E0Uc Basketball figures for a commercial –

animated trophies and pictures

Hom

er

and

Ass

oci

ate

s:

Motion capture was used to

collect data from an object or

a puppeteered character,

instead of from the actual

performers body Used Elite Motion Analyzer: a

Bio-engeering technology

system Used primarily in Italy for

medical and Industrial

applications This added custom software

geared towards computer

animation to the already

existing configuration

Opti

cal M

oti

on

Captu

re S

yste

m

Components of the Optical

Motion Capture Systems:

CCD (Charged Coupled Device) Camera

Reflective Markers2D component3D component Animation Process

CC

D C

am

era

Optical Motion Capture Systems uses 8 to 32 CCD

Cameras

Each Cameras consists of 124 X 124 light sensitive

Pixels to Millions

More pixels = better the resolution = better the

results.

However greater the resolution lower the frames

per second being captured.

Average is 60 frames per second, up to 120 frames

per second

More frames per second allows you to capture

faster motions.

Camera are often red which is less distracting to the

actors

Cameras works together with Shutter

Synchronization

Reflective

Marke

rs These are placed

usually on the joints

of the body

The reflective

markers can range

from a few

millimeter to a

couple of inches in

size.

Reflective Markers

are bright white/

covered with Scotch-

Brite Tape

The markers should

be brighter than any

other objects on

stage, making it

easier for the

cameras to track

them.

2D

, 3D

Com

ponent

& A

nim

ati

on P

roce

ss

The images captured are transferred to a computerMarkers are located to create a 2D outline of the actorCombining multiple camera angle a 3D model of the actor is created by the intersecting camera rays Lastly the models are transferred into

another software for the animation process

Optical Motion Capture System

Adva

nta

ges

&

Dis

adva

nta

ges

Extremely accurate Large number of markers can be

tracked Not constrained by cables

Larger performance area

Higher sample rate of capture per

second

Expensive Extensive post processing

Controlled environment is needed,

beware of reflective noise

Advantages

Disadvantages

RA

DIO

FR

EQ

UEN

CY

PO

SIT

ION

ING

SYSTEM

Radio frequency > new emerging technology in position

tracking Uses radio frequency

(RF) to calculate position measurement

GPS(G

lobal

Posi

tionin

g S

yste

m)

GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM

(GPS) most recognized example of Radio

frequency found in vehicles, mobile phones,

computers, wristwatches, dogs , etc.

Developed by US department of

Defense ( 1970s) 1983 > nonmilitary use of GPS

was made available by President

Reagan Made intentionally less accurate by

the government 2000’s > this changed with the

advance in technology b/c no longer distorted signals for

security purposes

GPS(G

lobal

Posi

tionin

g S

yste

m)

HOW IT WORKS? United states > GPS constellation consists of

24 satellites Travels 12 000 miles above earth in precise

orbit Full rotations are made around earth every

12hours Designed so that at least 5 satellites have a

view of any point on the surface of the earth

GPS units receive the signals of the satellites

> compute location to coordinate system

Based on longitude and latitude

*** not accurate enough to use as a

motion capture tool however this is

changing with technology (development

of more localized transmitters > more

accurate readings and frequency display)

LPS (

Loca

l posi

tionin

g S

yste

m)

Systems that use RF

to measure highly accurate positioning

data at a large sample

rate Considered to be the

most viable for motion

capture application >

motion capture standard

LPS (

Loca

l Po

siti

onin

g S

yste

m)

HOW IT WORKS? Most RF position systems (GPS, RTLS) obtain

measurements by calculating the time it

takes for a signal to travel from transmitter to

receiver Speed of signals are too high > makes motion

capture difficult to nearly impossible

Problem > finding a solution to balance out the

signal without jeopardizing the accuracy of the

transmission Technology development slowly resembling

optical systems Similar to GPS but works in an inverse way.

Difference > object captured send signal as

opposed to receiving them

Moving objects fitted with transmitters > send

signals > antennas receive signals > signals sent to

processing unit> calculates the position using the

location of each antennas

Accuracy of location is determined by the distance

between signals in relation to the distance of

antennas What does this mean for gaming ? > LPS

systems could enable a new level of virtual

reality

LPS (

Loca

l Po

siti

onin

g S

yste

m)

ADVANTAGES & DISADVANTAGES (LPS)

(+) LPS systems calculate all

accurate measurements in

real time (+) Works outdoors and

indoors (+)Cheap to manufacture

(+) Can be worn on/ under

clothes (-) Potential for possible RF

interference Standard Frequencies must be

altered

Electromagnetic

Trackers

Components of the Electromagnetic Trackers: Transmitter

11-18 SensorsElectronic Control Unit (Computer)

Software

Electromagnetic Trackers are used in today’s major video gamming companies for wireless controllers such as the Wii

Ele

ctro

magneti

c Tr

ack

ers

Pro

cess

Transmitter sends out a low frequent electromagnetic field

Sensors detects the magnetic field

Sensors send signals to the Electronic Control Unit (Computer)

Using the software, the location of the sensors are found and is used to create a model

Model is used to create an animation

Adva

nta

ge a

nd

Dis

adva

nta

ge

Real-time data output

No post-position needed

Less expensive Can capture multiple setups

Sensitivity to other metals

Performers constrained by

cables Lower sample rate Capture area is smaller

Advantages

Disadvantages

ELE

CTR

OM

EC

HA

NIC

AL

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E S

UIT

Systems of structures linked by

potentiometers, gyroscopes, or similar

angular measurement devices located

on major human joint locations.

Newer versions use micro-

electromechnical systems (MEMS)

Inertial sensors placed over lycra or spandex suit.

Idea is that the suit measures all human limb rotations

Smaller and more accurate

Ie. Nintendo Wii input device, Iphones

ELE

CTR

OM

EC

HA

NIC

AL

PER

FOR

MA

NC

E S

UIT

ADVANTAGES AND

DISADVANTAGES (+) large range of capture

(+) less expensive than optical and

magnetic systems (+) portable (+) Real-time data collection is

possible (+) possible to capture multiple

performers simultaneously with

multiple set (-) systems apply constraints on

human joints (-) configuration of sensors is fixed

(-) Most systems do not calculate

global transitions

Dig

ital

Arm

atu

res Key-frame and Stop

motion armatures

Posing device manually to

generate keyframes in software

Real-Time / Puppeteering Armatures Real-time, using a puppeteer

2 Types:

Din

osa

ur

Input

Devi

ce

Jura

ssic

Park

Faci

al M

oti

on

Captu

re S

yste

ms

Real Time Optical Face

Trackers Camera placed in a structure so

it moves with the performer

Captures motions of small markers

placed on different areas of the face

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=

gYP2tInr_YY

The B

est

Form

of

Faci

al M

oti

on

Captu

re S

yste

ms

A combination of optical capture and software algorithms Muscle skin simulators

Dynamic Blend Shape

Solvers Photogrammetry Builders

Faci

al M

usc

le

and S

kin

Sim

ula

tors Algorithms that take

optical data of the face and use it to solve facial poses based on anatomical

rules and restrictions.

Dyn

am

ic B

lend

Shapes

http://www.bokwon.net/img/3d/rigexprsheet.jpg

Most Popular Method* Building a series of models of the

characters face* Algorithms put them into a stream of

shapes

Oth

er

Moti

on

Captu

re S

yste

ms

The Waldo Telemetric device that

imitates the motion of

whatever it is controlling Transmits measurements

of motion to a mimicking

device HandtrackersData Glove – captures

motion if small body parts

Dis

cuss

ion?

1) What devices today

use radio frequency?

2) Referring back to the

“Sweetie” video that

was just seen in class,

are there any negative

aspects associated with

this growing technology? 3) Where do you think

motion capture will be

in the near future?