Optical 3D Motion Capture System for Riggers
Every design process starts with a concept and ends in a final product. Pressure lies in producing the highest quality finished product as quickly and cost-effectively as possible. Rigging complex 3D CGI characters for film, television or video games is no different.
One of the primary motivators for using 3D motion capture is to speed up the development cycle, but no system is a magic bullet.
A system with the right potential is needed to deliver the greatest value to game developers, film studios and animation companies. Below we will layout a case for the proper system.
The Problem: The more complex the character and sophisticated the motion...the longer the production cycle.
The Goal: Create rigged characters that are ready for performance capture, the first time.
The Current Reality:
- Current motion capture systems from manufacturers such as Vicon, Organic Motion, Motion Analysis, Phase Space and Optitrack require large dedicated labs with staff trained in manufacturer-specific software.
- A dedicated lab automatically creates a bottle neck, especially in environments where multiple animation or project teams all need access to this limited resource.
- Characters have to be rigged to anticipate motion. It's both difficult to thoroughly test the rig using the manual controls inside animation software such as Maya, as well as to anticipate the exact motion in the final capture.
- Repeat performance captures and rework due to issues between rigging and applying the motion capture leads to inevitable delays and/or increased costs.
- Simple desktop capture tools like Microsoft Kinect while sometimes helpful, don't provide data that adequately emulates the sophistication of motion in the final performance capture.
The Solution: The mocap equivalent of 3D printing in product design.
As recently as 5 years ago it was a costly and lengthy process for a product designer to evaluate fit, form and function early in the development cycle. Rapid prototyping and desktop printing has changed that, allowing designers to dramatically increase iterations without increasing costs or lengthening design cycles.
By combining high-quality capture data, a simple interface, and the portability to be passed from desk to desk a rigger has the ability to rapidly emulate sophisticated motion early in the rigging process.