One of the final tasks I was appointed at my University was to create a showreel that showcased the work of our students. Together with two co-workers I created a short intro that represents the graphic progression associated with games from the 80s and forward. I edited the whole thing and Jacob Lincke composed the music.

http://www.ericthelander.com/jk10k/?friend=to+You&language=Eng&submit=OK

In preparation for a lecture I recorded this clip (in Swedish) as a kind of benchmark how fast the process is once you’ve done the initial setup. This clip was achieved not more than 20 minutes from from the point where I imported the video from my Ixus camera to my computer.

Enjoy the clip

– Update –

I’ve posted a tutorial which explains how to set up this using Adobe After Effects, Autodesk MatchMover and Autodesk Maya.

http://www.ericthelander.com/dev/2011/05/cheap-facial-motion-capture-tutorial/

On one of my projects I was required to supply a character with Facial Mocap to a low cost. The solution was to utilize Mayas buit-in tracking feature, Live, to track the markers on the actors face and the transfer their motion to a face rig. The result really exceeded my expectations as you can see in the example clip. The only problem I have now is that Autodesk has discontinued the Live feature in Maya 2011 shifting focus to Autodesk Matchmover.

Cheap facial Mocap

– Update –

I’ve posted a tutorial which explains how to set up this using Adobe After Effects, Autodesk MatchMover and Autodesk Maya.

http://www.ericthelander.com/dev/2011/05/cheap-facial-motion-capture-tutorial/

Today I tested out the mocap system used by my University. It’s a new experience for me compared to mocap work I did at GRIN. At GRIN I supervised actors to do the correct set of motions needed for the game Terminator Salvation. I didn’t need to think about marker occlusions or doing the first pass of solving and cleaning. Now I really have to think about all the possible problems that might happen during a shoot.

The setup process was interesting, getting all the cameras to sync and then later calibrate them so that they all recognized the points in space. After that it was all about acting, trying to capture the soul of my imagined alien. I wouldn’t brag about this being Oscar’s material or anything but it was rewarding to see the stick figure mimicking my every move, even if my foot had a life of its own at some points.

Anyway enjoy this first test.

mocapTest