Motion Capture (MoCap)

Futuremark Corp., used with permission

https://vimeo.com/55153313
Source: https://drydenart.weebly.com/fugleblog/rotoscoping-easier-with-100-animators
https://vimeo.com/92756874

https://drydenart.weebly.com/fugleblog/rotoscoping-easier-with-100-animators
Why do we perceive movement?
 Persistence
of vision (biological):
Image does not go away instantly. It will only
fade away. Image retained for ~60 ms. We
can process only ~10-12 images per second.

 Phi Phenomenon (psychological)

Source: https://www.psychologynoteshq.com/phi-
phenomenon-and-psychology/
Source: http://mesosyn.com/mental8-14.html Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phi_phenomenon
Source:
https://medium.com/weknowusers-blog/why-gestalt-
principles-have-an-important-role-in-ux-design-3dce6326731
https://www.pinterest.com/daniloddlima/design/
Source: ihttps://makeagif.com/gif/crazy-circle-illusion-Wlzm2P

Source: https://gfycat.com/contentaltruisticdungbeetle
Max Fleischer Rotoscope

Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rotoscoping
Source: https://twitter.com/SCMPNews/status/1177277906202050561?s=17
Motion Capture (MOCAP)
Recording the movement SYSTEMS
of objects or people
Optical Non-Optical

Performance animation is the With

markers
Markerless Inertial
final product of a character
driven by a performer. Active Magnetic

Passive Mechanical
Human motion capture systems
 Outside-in system - uses external sensors to collect data from sources
placed on the body.
E.g., cameras and reflective markers.

 Inside-out systems - have sensors placed on the body that collect

external sources.
E.g., Electromagnetic systems, whose sensors move in an externally
generated electromagnetic field.

 Inside-in systems - have their sources and sensors placed on the body.
E.g., electromechanical or inertial suits, in which the sensors are
potentiometers, powered goniometers or accelerometers and
gyroscopes, and the sources are the actual joints inside the body.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4NU9ikjqjC0
Character animation

 Different body topologies

 Using real movements (MoCap)

 Manual movements (Keyframing)

Source: http://www.cadnav.com/3d-models/model-37016.html
Source: https://www.deviantart.com/bents-stock/art/Human-proportions-26414733
Disney's 12 basic principles of animation
1. Squash and stretch: The character goes through extreme
shape changes but maintains its volume.
2. Timing: The performance, whether animated or acted, has
to have the right timing to convey the necessary perception.
Disney's 12 basic principles of animation
1. Squash and stretch: The character goes through extreme
shape changes but maintains its volume.
2. Timing: The performance, whether animated or acted, has
to have the right timing to convey the necessary perception.
3. Anticipation: An indication of an action to come. e.g.,
bending knees before jumping
Disney's 12 basic principles of animation
1. Squash and stretch: The character goes through extreme
shape changes but maintains its volume.
2. Timing: The performance, whether animated or acted, has
to have the right timing to convey the necessary perception.
3. Anticipation: An indication of an action to come. e.g.,
bending knees before jumping.
4. Staging: layout of the scene and positioning of the camera
and characters.
5. Follow-through and overlapping action: opposite of
anticipation.
6. Straight-ahead action: animation of a scene on a frame-by-
frame basis through motion capture, but difficult to modify
/ pose-to-pose action: creation of key poses scattered over
time periods.
Disney's 12 basic principles of animation
7. Spacing: Ease-in and ease-out, i.e., with acceleration, or
become static with deceleration.

Source: https://medium.com/motion-in-interaction/animation-principles-in-ui-design-understanding-easing-bea05243fe3
Disney's 12 basic principles of animation
7. Spacing: Ease-in and ease-out, i.e., with acceleration, or
become static with deceleration.
8. Arcs: Non-linear interpolation between key frames not
straight lines
Disney's 12 basic principles of animation
7. Spacing: Ease-in and ease-out, i.e., with acceleration, or
become static with deceleration.
8. Arcs: Non-linear interpolation between keyframes
9. Secondary motion: Create the motion of other parts or
objects that react to the primary motion, such as hair and
clothing.
10. Exaggeration: Approaching or crossing the boundaries of
physical reality.
11. Appeal: Attractive character.
12. Personality: Use a talented performed not just anybody.
Eadweard Muybridge

Source: https://www.thoughtco.com/eadweard-muybridge-profile-1992163
 MOCAP systems

Vicon XSENS Radical Motion

Motion Analysis Corp

Sources: https://www.gdays.sk/timetable/event/profi-workshop-2/
https://www.tumblr.com/search/benedict%20cumberbatch%20capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HYbNkBfFJ5M
Joint movements
 Flexion, extension
 Abduction, adduction,
 Medial (internal) rotation, and
lateral or (external) rotation.

Source: https://basicmedicalkey.com/upper-limb-2/
CG
 Important point in a hierarchical
chain of nodes
Marker set
 Pelvis

 Vertebral column (in four separate segments,

including the neck)
 Head

 Left and right shoulder

 Upper arm, lower arm, hand
 Upper and lower leg, and
Source:
https://anotherindiestudio.com/diccionario-o-
vocabulario/que-es-la-captura-de-movimiento-  Foot
o-motion-capture/
 Marker set
 Biomechanical

Source: https://est-kl.com/index.php

Source: https://v21.wiki.optitrack.com/index.php?title=Biomechanics_Markersets
For animation

Pelvic motion vertebral column and 4 segments Head & Shoulder Motion
 Add enough markers to form
a triangle.

 Place markers where the skin is

close to the bone, because the
more tissue and fat between the
marker and the bone, the more
distortion of the triangle.

Source: https://anotherindiestudio.com/diccionario-o-vocabulario/que-es-la-captura-de-
mov imiento-o-motion-capture/
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motion_capture
Source:
Source: https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/weta-digitals-facets-honoured-at-the-sci-tech-awards/
Source: https://www.fxguide.com/fxfeatured/weta-digitals-facets-honoured-at-the-sci-tech-awards/
A good layout will have
markers placed along the
lines of the main facial
muscles.
Example: facial motion capture

Youtube: Ellie Motion Capture

Markerless motion capture

3D Shape Regression for Real-time Facial Animation, Chen

Cao, Yanlin Weng, Stephen Lin, Kun Zhou. SIGGRAPH 2013
Example: Animoji

Youtube: One man does 12 Animoji sounds

Example: Animoji

retargeting

Youtube: One man does 12 Animoji sounds

Very fun paper

Thies, Justus, et al. "Face2face: Real-time face capture and

reenactment of rgb videos." CVPR. 2016.
ILM / Walt Disney Pictures
ILM / Walt Disney Pictures
ILM / Walt Disney Pictures
Source: https://assetstore.unity.com/packages/tools/animation/cinema-mocap-2-markerless-motion-capture-56576
 Data format

PathFileT C:\Documents and Settings\HP lab\Desktop\Oct8

ype 4 (X/Y/Z) tutorial\Cecil_staticOCT8t1_improved2.trc
OrigData
DataRat CameraR NumFram NumMark OrigData StartFram
e ate es ers Units Rate e OrigNumFrames
60 60 1800 23 mm 60 1 1800
Frame Top
# Time Front Head Head Rear Head L Shoulder
X1 Y1 Z1 X2 Y2 Z2 X3 Y3 Z3 X4 Y4 Z4

1 0 740.4672 151.0989 1655.809 624.5635 105.5947 1707.447 564.9865 78.55578 1574.29 608.0341 315.7897 1399.932
2 0.017 740.6094 150.8655 1656.272 624.419 105.5392 1707.467 565.3173 78.84059 1574.072 608.4643 316.3793 1399.944
3 0.033 740.5595 150.8463 1656.319 624.1669 105.7259 1707.46 564.8761 78.86092 1574.113 608.7487 316.7616 1399.864
Source: https://www.protokinetics.com/2018/11/28/understanding-phases-of-the-gait-cycle/
http://mocap.cs.cmu.edu/search.php?subjectnumber=35 35_13.avi
htt ps://dissolve.com/video/Computer-animation-male-skelet al-system-
running-black-royalty-free-stock-video-footage/042-17A024-685
File formats for motion capture data
 .C3D

 .asf or .amc (Acclaim)

 .bva

 .bvh

 .trc

 .htr
MOCAP databases
 http://mocap.cs.cmu.edu/
 http://mocap.cs.sfu.ca/

Full list at:

 http://www.jeroenvanboxtel.com/
MocapDatabases.html
Summary
 Why we perceive movement
 Motion capture systems
 Principles of animation
 Facial and motion capture
 Retargeting

 Data types and databases