[REQ]Alternative software for animation

I think im supposed to post this kind of question here, i think...

Im looking for some alternative ways to animate my character.
So I know there is some programs that you actually record some movements with a camera, while dressed in a funny black and with white spots clothes.
Does anyone know any software like those?

thanks

it's not _a_ camera, more like 48. so unless you have cash for 48 cams, each havin their own computer to record the data, cash for the suit etc, i suggest you forget quickly about it all.

Or you could rent, but still very expensive..

LOL
nevermind then...
is there any other way to animate a character besides vertex and bones animation?

you can do it manually, setting up a camera on the side, and front and taking pictures between frames then using them as background images to line the frame up. A cheap but semi effective way for motion capture.

there's physical simulation for things like falling down, being shot, stuff like that, take http://www.naturalmotion.com/endorphin.htm endorphin for example. but i doubt it's worth it for the average game designer's needs.
all animation is vertex animation in 3d game desing, since we work with vertices and triangles and all approaches like bones, joints etc have just been invented to make that more handy and streamlined. 1 abstraction level above bone animation, there's NLA, short for non-linear animation, which is basicly the process of blending different animations together, like walkin, shooting, and looking up at the same time. you can do that in the well-known big 3d suites.
truespace offers some kind of muscular simulation, but relies on bones and mostly determines how the surrounding mesh is deformed.

so no, there is no real alternative to bones. what's wrong with bones, it's actually a really nice concept and once you've set them up and pulled all the ik chains, it's fun.

You can search for free motion capture files (.bvh files), you can trim them in the free program bvhacker, and attach the results in fragmotion to a model .and export it to 3DGS.