Animators in the TV, Film, and Video Game industries are achieving realistic 3D character animation economically and quickly using the suite of motion capture tools available from Motion Analysis Corporation of Santa Rosa, California. At SIGGRAPH 99, the company demonstrated the latest versions of its products.
"We have customers using our ExpertVision system to capture 1,000 moves aweek to produce a 22-minute TV show in only 10 days using just a dozenanimators. The economy and efficiency of producing digital entertainmentthis way is unprecedented," says Tom Whitaker, President of Motion AnalysisCorporation.
Motion Analysis demonstrated the following products andcapabilities:
- LIVE REAL-TIME CAMERA/CHARACTER TRACKING with ExpertVision. TheExpertVision system simultaneously captures actors and the position of aroving camera in areas up to 40' x 50'. These images are instantly availableto digital characters viewed from the perspective of the camera. Thisprovides directors and producers with absolute control over fullycomputer-animated scenes.
- LIVE REAL-TIME CHARACTER ANIMATION using MAYA, 3D Studio MAX, Typhoon andFiLMBOX.
- INTERACTIVE TOOLS for scaling, re-targeting and editing motion capturedata. This data can then be utilized by MAYA, 3D Studio MAX, LightWave,Softimage, Typhoon, FilmBox and other animation packages.
- LARGE AREA, MULTIPLE ACTOR CAPTURE using up to 32 cameras. In thisconfiguration, ExpertVision captures up to 4 characters simultaneously inareas over 100' long. This makes it possible to choreograph elaboratefootball, soccer and action/adventure animations.
- PHOTO-REALISTIC FACE AND HAND CAPTURE can now be achieved with the samesystem that captures bodies.
The company has also setup a worldwide network of service laboratories through independent Motion Analysis-equipped studios in cities including LosAngeles, New York, London, Paris, Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Seoul, andTokyo.
For more information contact Motion Analysis via phone: 707-579-6500 at visit their website at: www.MotionAnalysis.com
Dan Sarto is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Animation World Network.
