MoCap for Artists: Workflow and Techniques for Motion Capture [ペーパーバック]

This is a great book on motion capture process and is a must read for producers wanting to use motion capture and tech artists and animators that want to understand how to get usable data from a shoot and on to their final characters. Any project that plans on useing or is currently useing mocap should have a copy of this book and make it required reading for all project leads.

The parts of the book that deal with MotionBuilder and the tutorials that take readers through re-targeting and editing of skeleton data are unfortunately out of date and in some places give the reader a workflow that is not practical in production; most of what is show has been replaced completely with tool updates or better editing techniques over last few years.

That said, The ideas for how to pick a blend point and the hows and whys of doing the editing and re-targeting are very valuable. Also the optical cleaning chapter is good with regards to the tools and issues both in and out of MotionBuilder and the rest of the book is well written.

Authors Midori Kitagawa and Brian Windsor start their introduction in the book "MoCap for Artists: Work flow and Techniques for Motion Capture" with ..... Is a book written for artist, educators, and students who want to create 3D animation for film and games using mocap technology.

In 230 pages they cover the mature and intricate field of motion capture Starting with an overview and history of Motion Capture from the late 19th century to the present day, with a description of Mocap types (optical, magnetic and mechanical). Then they explain the various steps required for pre-production, production and post production of the Mocap process. A pipeline is defined that includes:

* Setting up a skeleton for a 3D character
* System and subject calibration
* Capture session
* Cleaning and editing the data
* Applying the Mocap data to the 3D character
* Rendering the animation and post production

Various chapters cover in detail the above steps. Then hand and facial motion capture is covered along with a full chapter on Puppetry capture. There is a chapter on mocap data and math that look at mocap data generation, data types and formats commonly used in mocap (C3D, ASF/AMC,BVH,FBX), and mathematical definitions and concepts that frequently appear in mocap and other areas of 3D computer graphics and animation. Mathematical topics covered in this chapter are coordinates and coordinate systems, order of transformation, Euler angles, gimbals lock, and quaternion's.

I wish the book included a brief description of the tools and commercial software available out there like: 3D Studio Max Biped, Motion Builder, Life forms, Diva, Endorphin Gypsy and Massive, not to mention the vast array of LipSync software for lips movement and speech synchronization. And since it is a book for artists and the mimicking of human motion and applying the Mocap data on 3D characters (mostly Human 3D models).I would have liked to read about " the uncanny valley" . I leave it to the reader to discover what" the uncanny valley" is.

All in all "MoCap for Artists: Work flow and Techniques for Motion Capture" is a great book for anyone interested in learning about the ins and outs of mocap. After all there are not many books on Mocap and this one is a real life saver.
Originally posted :
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"Where does the dancer end and the dance begin?"

Great Line for late coffee house discussions and also a fundamental question for new - possibly undiscovered - disciplines. If you are an animator, illustrator, dancer, game designer, film maker, video dude, or an all around artist - then the book's content and attractions are pretty obvious. But there is a LOT MORE...

This book is just a STARTING place for new MoCap related technology waves. If you are an engineer, an athlete, a medical researcher, a medical product developer, or are someone concerned about quality of life issues for an aging population, then you NEED to understand current MoCap technologies and how to use them.

If there are negative aspects - then its a "turn off" that the MoCap process is presented using (very) expensive tools and software. But that is how technology works: something revolutionary starts out expensive and is the province of a "chosen few" - like IT was in the '60s/70s. MoCap software and tools are going to get more affordable: FAST. (It will add some difficulty in absorbing the material if you are not familiar with these tools.)

In the 60s/70s, I wanted to play on the university computing system but the (then) High Gods of University Computing did not let "peon students" have unfettered access to the systems... Well... these days my 9 and 10 year old children do systems and IT maintenance. My last computer purchase was a $599, 4g DDR, Quad (2.1G) core PC that - I believe - would out perform the total of ALL COMPUTERS WORLDWIDE THAT EXISTED in 1970. Point is that MoCap systems cost will drop. The APPLICATIONS will explode - and you MUST start somewhere.....

You should buy this book... Get a sense of where things are headed.... In technology, you come in early - and then start to apply the concepts to an exploding sea of applications - far beyond the immediate artistic implementation. If you are going to techno surf - then this is a good place to start....

You may know all about the Wii... Motion Capture was also used, for example, in the last Olympics to analyze Olympian's bicycle motion - and then provide the DETAIL to make SUBSTANTIAL training improvements... You may be able to use those same MoCap systems as a consumer in the very near future.. the list of applications goes on and on...

As as systems designer, I get to see very early on how some technologies just diffuse everywhere.. MoCap is one of those core technologies that apply to robotics, medical/fitness systems, motion analysis, communications, or even the book's initial target application of entertainment.