Introduction to motion capture sequences and their characteristics
In short, motion capture is an attempt to record the simultaneous movement of items (usually the joints or bones of the human body).
Motion capture sequences have been successfully created in a number of ways:
- Motion capture suits contain a number of sensors that return the actual joint rotations as an actor is performing an action
- Optical motion capture often uses cameras to pinpoint the position of key markers within three-dimensional space.
In the past, both of these methods required special equipment and, consequently, were very expensive. Advances in movement control in game consoles such as Wii, Playstation, and Xbox have made simple motion capture using markerless motion capture more affordable and accessible.
The motion capture sequences provided as examples with this book were captured with a Kinect sensor connected to a PC. Motion capture is used in video games for the same reasons that it is used in visual effects...
