MOCAP and Mr Bones

BVH files are motion capture data, which when imported into Antics, allow your characters to replicate the moves made by the original actor. The data is collected by various means, commonly, markers are placed on the joints of the actor so that xyz information can be extracted. Most often this is achieved with little white balls sewn into a catsuit style garment.The actor performs in front of a camera array to collect the info. Data is constructed by then plotting the movement of each ball. Many camera views are required to get accuracy. Another method I saw recently was a solution designed by a N.Z. firm which utilize little geo magnets. In this way the data is much much more accurate and doesn't induce the problems associated with camera rigs, lighting and limb crossover. In fact this approach allows an actor to get on a horse and ride away in full sun on location! Both the actor and the horse can be rigged with the collectors. If you would like to try out the bvh path with Antics, Mr bones has offered a free sample of a Jedi bvh. http://www.truebones.com/JediBones.zip