Vicon, developer of Academy Award-winning motion capture technology, announced the use of a Vicon MX40 motion capture system by Mainframe Ent. for the 70-minute animated movie TONY HAWK IN BOOM BOOM SABOTAGE. Vicon MX motion capture offered the extreme accuracy and realtime performance required to record the signature performances of skateboard legend Tony Hawk and a supporting cast of skaters to bring true-to-form performances to their counterparts in the all-CG film.
Ninety-five % of animation for the completely CG project, which sees a town turned upside down by Hawk's HuckJam tour, was recorded via motion capture. Mainframe captured more than 15,000 skateboard tricks between a shoot on location with Tony Hawk in San Diego and a session with pro street riders on its own Vicon motion capture stage in Vancouver, Canada.
With skateboarding, you love a certain skater for the way they move, their style, the way they land, etc. It's so specific to their skating, said Ben Burden Smith, producer and co-writer on TONY HAWK IN BOOM BOOM SABOTAGE at Mainframe Ent. We knew motion capture was the only way to bring these super-miniscule details to our characters and to skateboard fans. Vicon performs so well that our mo-cap sessions just became these great organic skate jams where the skaters were super comfortable and could just go when they wanted to. We were able to avoid any form of shooting structure it was refreshing and a lot of fun.
Motion details were derived by placing motion capture markers on each skater's board using reflective tape also trackable via the VICON cameras, to record rotational data about how the boards were flipping, spinning or even being held in the skateboarders' hands. An array of ramps one up to 13-feet-high, and other props provided the athletes with familiar action turf.
We were recording something like eight tricks in a single run with Tony, and only needed about an hour of his time to capture motions that were so perfect and 'stylee,' recalled Smith.
Motion capture was also recorded for numerous other characters in the movie, such as circus carnies whose local fame is displaced by the arrival of the HuckJam tour. TONY HAWK IN BOOM BOOM SABOTAGE, distributed by FUNimation Ent. in the U.S., and by Alliance Atlantis in Canada, will be available on DVD on Sept. 12 and is set to air on the Cartoon Network in November.
Motion capture has become so production friendly and supportive of the creative process, Smith added. These days, on the motion capture stage you actually get to make your movie a couple of times. The speed and accuracy has been growing by leaps and bounds and Vicon's R&D leadership in Hollywood is bringing about benefits for everyone, not just the larger players. Vicon's support is amazing, and, as a producer, that helps me sleep better!
Mainframe Ent Inc. (www.mainframe.ca) is an industry leader in computer-generated animation for television and motion picture entertainment. Since its inception in 1993, Mainframe has produced over 269 half-hours of CG animated television, 17 feature-length direct-to-video/DVDs and television specials, as well as a variety of work in theatrical feature films, interactive games and commercials. As one of the leading suppliers of TV and Direct-to-DVD animation projects for some of the world's largest brands, Mainframe's clients include Sony, Mattel, Lions Gate Home Ent., Electronic Arts (Canada) and MTV.
Vicon Motion Systems (www.vicon.com) is a subsidiary of OMG plc with global headquarters in Oxford, U.K., and U.S. headquarters in Lake Forest, California. OMG subsidiary 2d3 Ltd. produces innovative visual geometry software deriving 3D data from moving images. Since 1984, Vicon has been providing professionals with the latest tools to accurately capture the subtleties of three-dimensional human motion for research, medicine, sport, engineering, game development, broadcast and film.
Bill Desowitz, former editor of VFXWorld, is currently the Crafts Editor of IndieWire.
