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Why is Motion Capturing so expensive?
#182278
02/06/08 01:44
02/06/08 01:44
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Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,093 Germany
Toast
OP
Serious User
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OP
Serious User
Joined: Sep 2007
Posts: 1,093
Germany
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I just watched this video http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=Jd3-eiid-Uwand now I'm asking myself again: Why is Motion Capturing so expensive? I mean ok - the "Pro" sets for this are really really good but why is there no pretty cheap version? I mean when you can get pretty nice results with the technology a Wii gives you there should be no problem providing a rather cheap version. Ok you probably won't have IR Cameras stick to some white balls you can position but you'd have some of those IR sensor bars and instead of the balls you'd have to have some kind of LED thingy that doesn't just emit in one direction but emits light in a more or less sperical way (probably the most tricky part of this idea) so they don't need to head towards a sensor... Might not be the most precise method but I think a solution for around 1000 $ / € would be quite something for Indies providing realistic animations on the one side and save you time as you just have to tune the recorded animations instead of creating them in the first place. Might make those Bone Animation Sets you can buy superfluous though...  Enjoy your meal Toast
Last edited by Toast; 02/06/08 01:45.
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nAWESOME deal on Mocap right now.
[Re: Orange Brat]
#182281
02/06/08 03:35
02/06/08 03:35
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Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 86 Michigan
mrbones
Junior Member
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Junior Member
Joined: Aug 2005
Posts: 86
Michigan
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Howdy folks, Here is a special 24 hour discount on the Monster Bones Mega Motion Pak! Now with over 2000 high quality motion captures in BVH format. For more information or previews of TrueBones motions in BVH formats visit. http://www.truebones.ComTo get this special MonsterBones Mega Motion Pak, offer today Click Here Now. This special offer ends soon SO order now. Thanks again and Cheers Folks :banana: ]MONSTERBONES SPECIAL PRICE
Last edited by mrbones; 02/06/08 07:23.
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Re: nAWESOME deal on Mocap right now.
[Re: mrbones]
#182283
02/06/08 12:16
02/06/08 12:16
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Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 8,177 Netherlands
PHeMoX
Senior Expert
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Senior Expert
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 8,177
Netherlands
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Quote:
Howdy folks,
Here is a special 24 hour discount on the Monster Bones Mega Motion Pak!
Now with over 2000 high quality motion captures in BVH format.
For more information or previews of TrueBones motions in BVH formats visit.
http://www.truebones.Com
To get this special MonsterBones Mega Motion Pak, offer today Click Here Now.
This special offer ends soon SO order now.
Thanks again and Cheers Folks :banana: ]MONSTERBONES SPECIAL PRICE
Hahaha, shameless plug right there. 
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Re: Why is motion capturing so expensive?
[Re: Toast]
#182285
02/06/08 23:48
02/06/08 23:48
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Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,134 Netherlands
Joozey
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Oct 2004
Posts: 4,134
Netherlands
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I created my own headtrack with a headset and 3 lights, and a webcam, and used freetrack to track it, worked fine! And it was all free! (Wrecked two remote controls to get the IR Leds  ). There is another thread about this, featuring the wii "3d experience" with this video. Some cheap alternatives were given by users. http://www.coniserver.net/ubbthreads/sho...true#Post807494
Last edited by Joozey; 02/06/08 23:52.
Click and join the 3dgs irc community! Room: #3dgs
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Re: Why is motion capturing so expensive?
[Re: Joozey]
#182286
02/07/08 00:34
02/07/08 00:34
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,305
Damocles
Expert
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Expert
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 4,305
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With two video Cameras, a Video Capture software and some effort you can make your own mothion capture animations...
Its not that hard, just needs some thinking.
You film the scene with the two camera, positioned one in fron one to the side (positioned far away, and zooming in as high as possible, to adjust for the view-angel distortion)
Then put some colored makers at a neutral suit.
Film the scene, like walking.
mabye make a laptop (visible by both cameras) play a running timer to know which pair of shots are taken at the same time.
Then get the video into the PC,
Cut it to pairs of shot-frames (one from each camera).
Then use this pair, to adjust the bones of your Model for this frame in a 3d Editing Program.
This is of course not as nice as the realtime capturing with high.tec equipment, but can be sone at how, without spending much money. (as long as you have two good video cameras)
It the end its probably better to just purchase readymade Mocaps online, to use it in your game.
The economical reason for MoCap to be so expensive is easy:
There is a moderate Demand of Personalized MoCap animation, mostly by professional Developers/Movie makers, who can spend the required money. And there is just a small Supply of Studios offering the professional-technology. But these few Studios can meet the demand by the developers. -> This simply results in a high market price for MoCap Services and Equipment.
If every grandma and child would like to make a MoCap Recording after breakfast to send it as EMail to a friend, automatically functioning MoCap Equipment would cost only a few dollars.
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Re: Why is motion capturing so expensive?
[Re: Joozey]
#182287
02/07/08 00:43
02/07/08 00:43
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Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,441
ventilator
Senior Expert
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Senior Expert
Joined: May 2002
Posts: 7,441
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motion capturing is expensive because it is complicated.  tracking your head isn't enough. building a system for the whole body is much harder. when i first heard about the wii controller i was excited and thought maybe those cheap acceleration sensors could be used for building motion capturing equipment but once i had a wii controller in my hands i was very disappointed about how inaccurate it was. i also thought about ultrasonic sensors and things like rfid triangulation but this wouldn't easily work either. if it were easy there would be cheap solutions already. the best solution still seems to be the one with the black suits and styrofoam balls and many ir-cameras but it's expensive because you need a lot of studio space and complex software. i think at siggraph there was a presentation about a new software which can figure out body poses from normal video. maybe that's the direction it is going. still camera based but no need for special marker suits and ir-cameras anymore. <edit> i posted at the same time as damocles... Quote:
[...]automatically functioning MoCap Equipment would cost only a few dollars
and what technology would this ultra cheap method use? i think technology isn't there yet to make something like that possible otherwise cheap motion capturing would already exist.</edit>
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