Imagine bringing fantasy creatures to life in movies or adding even more realism to the movement and expression of video game characters? All this is possible with the motion capture technique. This technique, also known by the abbreviations mocap or mo-cap, allows you to capture real-world movements and transfer them to digital characters.
In short, it records the actions of human actors and uses this information to animate digital character models in 2D or 3D computer animation. When it includes the face and fingers or captures subtle expressions, the technique is called performance capture.
In this article we will explore how this innovative technology works and its main uses in popular culture.
What is motion capture and how does it work?
The actors wear elastic suits with reflective indicators or sensors embedded in strategic places for accurate motion capture. Multiple infrared or high-definition cameras spread across the capture space record these movements, and inertial sensors help in hard-to-capture areas. During recording, cameras and sensors record the positions of the markers in real time, in a specialized studio.
The captured data is synchronized and compiled to create a three-dimensional map of movements, then processed to remove noise and applied to 3D digital character models. Animators refine movements, adjusting details and integrating facial expressions. Finally, refined movements are rendered, with added lighting, textures and visual effects, to create the final scenes.
What are its main uses?
In video games
In the gaming industry, the use of mocap is essential to capture more accurate and realistic movements, applying them to the movement of characters. Its beginnings in the gaming industry are often credited to developer Martech’s PC game Vixen in 1988. Motion capture was later used to animate 3D character models in the fighting games Virtua Fighter (1993) and Virtua Fighter 2 (1994) .
In mid-1995, game developer Acclaim Entertainment, known for titles like Mortal Kombat and Turok, created a motion capture studio in-house in its offices. Warner Bros. used this studio to produce the film Batman Forever.
At Cinema
Motion capture has already contributed to the development of fantastic creatures and animals, with British actor Andy Serkis playing some of the most famous. He brought to life iconic characters like Gollum/Smeagol in the Lord of the Rings saga and the ape Caesar in the “Planet of the Apes” reboot trilogy.
The first character created entirely using motion capture on film was Jar Jar Binks, in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999). The 2000 film Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists was the first feature film made entirely with motion capture.
Other notable examples include the film The Polar Express, in which star Tom Hanks plays several distinct characters through motion capture. In the 2007 adaptation of the Beowulf saga, the technique was used to bring to life animated characters whose appearances were based on the actors themselves providing their movements and voices.
But it was with James Cameron’s Avatar (2009) that motion capture reached a new level. The film revolutionized the film industry by presenting a completely immersive world, in which digital characters, almost indistinguishable in appearance from real humans, inhabited a vibrant alien reality.
The post What is Motion Capture, a technique used in cinema and video games? appeared first on Olhar Digital.
Source: Olhar Digital
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
