Table Of ContentPerforming for
Motion Capture
i
ii
Performing for
Motion Capture
A Guide for
Practitioners
John Dower and
Pascal Langdale
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METHUEN DRAMA
Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
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1385 Broadway, New York, NY 10018, USA
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BLOOMSBURY, METHUEN DRAMA and the Methuen Drama logo are
trademarks of Bloomsbury Publishing Plc
First published in Great Britain 2022
Copyright © John Dower and Pascal Langdale, 2022
John Dower and Pascal Langdale have asserted their right under the Copyright,
Designs and Patents Act, 1988, to be identifi ed as authors of this work.
For legal purposes the Acknowledgements on p. xxi constitute an
extension of this copyright page.
Cover design: Ben Anslow
Photos by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture &
Faceware Technologies
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Contents
List of Figures vii
List of Contributors xii
Acknowledgements xxi
1 What is motion capture? 1
We defi ne the technology and the challenges ahead in this
exciting and signifi cant performance medium.
John Dower and Pascal Langdale
2 Th e body 25
How to develop a responsive, free and versatile instrument.
Pascal Langdale
3 Imaginary environments 53
We explore the limits of our imagination and
professionalizing play.
Pascal Langdale
4 Mocap is an animated medium 67
Th e pure, simple and ruthlessly honest information that is at the
heart of the process: How the actor is one part of a team of
artists behind the animated character and how your
performance is manipulated aft er capture.
John Dower
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vi Contents
5 Building a character in motion capture 95
You can play anybody . . . but only if you can play anybody!
Pascal Langdale
6 Video game locomotion 117
We look at how to perform under the extreme limitations
required by video games, within the long pipeline of game
development.
Pascal Langdale
7 Cinematics 127
Th e key diff erences between performing for conventional
mediums and acting in the digital realm. Looking at the
diff erent challenges involved in motion capture, performance
capture, facial capture and working with pre-recorded audio.
John Dower
8 Direction and the lack of it 159
Th e reality of working in the volume, actors oft en having less
preparation time than they are used to, the frequent need to
self-direct and the challenges of being part of an interactive
narrative.
John Dower
9 Th e industry – fi nding your place in a new medium 175
A realistic and comprehensive guide to opportunities off ered
worldwide in this industry.
John Dower
10 What will the landscape be in ten years’ time? A low
wager bet between professional futurists . . . 201
We try to predict the inevitable evolution of the unpredictable!
Pascal Langdale
Appendix: Chapter by Chapter Summary 213
Index 221
Figures
1.1 Physical transformation has existed since we began telling
stories. Masks have been used for centuries as a way of creating
character in theatre. Complementary physicality is essential.
(Dogon dance mask from Mali, Noh Th eatre, Japan,
Commedia Dell ’Arte and Greek Th eatre mask. Artwork by
Eden B ø Dower.) 5
1.2 Optical mocap – actors wearing mocap suits with
refl ectors. (Photo by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid
Motion Capture.) 12
1.3 Centroid Motion Capture volume. (Photo by Archis Achrekar.
Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture and Motion Analysis
Corporation.) 13
1.4 Inertial mocap – an actor wearing a mocap suit with IMUs.
(Image courtesy of Rokoko Mocap and Animation Tools.) 14
1.5 An actor being captured without any markers.
(© Qualisys 2021 Markerless tracking with Qualisys motion
capture. Model Sten Remmelg.) 15
1.6 An actor standing in a T-pose. (Photo by Archis Achrekar.
Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 16
1.7 An actor’s skeleton drives the animated character. Centroid
Motion Capture. (Photo by Archis Achrekar.) 18
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viii Figures
2.1 Even something as simple as walking can reveal your
personal physical heritage; not the character’s. (Image by
Centroid Motion Capture.) 31
2.2 In both the images above the actor has been asked to pull
against a weight. (Photos by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of
Centroid Motion Capture.) 37
2.3 Th e point cloud data reveals any illusion by highlighting
the skeleton’s centre of balance. (Photos by Archis
Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 38
2.4 Th e uncropped reference picture. Mocap is never fooled.
If you are faking the weight of an object, the skeleton will
show how you are compensating to make the illusion,
rather than making a counter balance to a real weight.
(Photos by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid
Motion Capture.) 38
2.5 Triangles are associated with strength and aggressive
display. (Artwork by Eden B ø Dower.) 46
2.6 Irregular angles are associated with danger. (Artwork by
Eden Bø Dower.) 46
2.7 Angles and curves are associated with healthy and integrated
strength. (Artwork by Eden B ø Dower.) 47
3.1 Empty space to be fi lled by your imagination. (Photo by
Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 57
3 .2 Mask is highly recommended to train nonverbal storytelling
skills. (Artwork by Eden B ø Dower.) 59
3.3 Tape on the fl oor is a guide to how you move through the
world you have imagined. Walk through and around the
tape to reinforce your experience. (Photo by Archis Achrekar.
Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 61
Figures ix
4.1 Th ere are on average around 60–65 markers on a
mocap suit used to approximate the human skeleton.
(Photo by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid
Motion Capture.) 72
4.2 ‘For animators, everyone would pick an HMC’ (Goran Mili ć ).
(Photo by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion
Capture and Faceware Technologies.) 75
4.3 You will likely be asked to perform a facial ‘range of motion’
(ROM) which will include extreme facial expressions of
fundamental emotions, eye movements and lip shapes.
(Actor and photos by Pascal Langdale.) 77
4.4 Facecam Premium (two cameras). (Courtesy of Standard
Deviation. Actor: Philip ‘Fury’ Wainwright.) 79
4.5 StretchSense gloves are dedicated to fi nger capture.
(StretchSense, 2021.) 83
5.1 However you choose and apply techniques to create a
believable embodied character, the link between physical
and psychological must be the fi nal goal. (Photo by
Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 98
5.2 Each capture sequence starts and ends with a ‘T-pose’.
(Photo by Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion
Capture.) 109
5.3 Limb extensions can be used to play creatures with diff erent
body shapes, for example quadrupeds. (Actor Ace Ruele.
Courtesy of Creature Bionics. Photo by Archis Achrekar.
Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 113
6.1 Locomotions like strafi ng must be repeated with each
weapon the character has as an option. (Photo by
Archis Achrekar. Courtesy of Centroid Motion Capture.) 119
