Motion Capture Production

Course Number:      ARTS COL 790, 5 credits
Prerequisites:           3D modeling/animation experience, permission of instructor
Instructors:               Suba Varadarajan
Meeting Times:       M, W 3:45-5:30
Office Hours:          M, R 1-2 and by appt.
Call Number:          18700-7
Class Location:       1224 Kinnear, Classroom & Motion Capture Lab

Course Description:

This course provides an introduction to the motion capture pipeline from setting up the lab and capturing data to applying the data to animated characters in Maya.

Course Objectives:

Students will be expected:

To understand the history of motion capture and motion capture pipeline
To be able to setup and teardown the cameras, cables and computers in the lab
To position cameras for different capture sessions
To learn the skills to direct an effective motion capture session
To master the software used in capturing and cleaning data
To master the software packages required to create skeletons for the data
To be able to apply the data to models in Maya

Course Methodology:

The course will attempt to survey most of the important issues surrounding the capture and cleaning of motion capture data. Students will learn primarily by capturing and cleaning their own data for an animation project. The class format will take on a variety of styles, as the disparate subjects dictate. Examples will be presented in lectures and demonstrations. Students must demonstrate satisfactory achievement of course objectives through fulfillment of course projects and by contributing to class discussions. Course projects will require students to use a wide variety of software and equipment at ACCAD to process their motion capture data for use in an animation package. Collaboration between students in the course and other faculty, staff and students at ACCAD is encouraged. Course evaluation will be based on the following:

Project one:                    20%
Project two:                    20%
Project three:                  20%
Final Project:                  20%
Class Participation:        20%

Grading Policy:

All students are required to be on time and in attendance for each and every class. Students arriving to class more than 15 minutes late may be counted as absent. Two absences will lower a final grade by 1/2 a letter, three absences will lower a final grade by one letter and four absences will result in failure of the course. You must inform me if you know in advance that you will be late or must leave early from a class.
Adherence to deadlines is expected. It is the individual student's responsibility to keep track of deadlines and to present the work to the class and instructor on the specified dates. 15% per day will be subtracted from late assignments.

Technical problems will happen frequently during the semester and students will have trouble accessing the computer lab during "prime time" hours. Students must make their own arrangements for overcoming these difficulties and submitting their work on time. Unless there is a complete system failure in a computer-related course, technical difficulties are never an acceptable excuse for not meeting a deadline. Students should plan their time and work so as to anticipate the technical hurdles that is a part of this profession. The software licenses used for processing motion capture in this course are limited and sign up sheets will be used for access to the machines.

A = 94 - 100   A- = 90 - 94
B+ = 87 - 90    B   = 84 - 87   B- = 80 - 84
C+ = 77 - 80    C   = 74 - 77   C- = 70 - 74
D+ = 67 - 70    D   = 64 - 67   E = 0 - 64

Topics by week:

1. History of Motion Capture; Motion capture pipeline; Planning a session
2. Motion capture lab setup
3. Calibrate/capture data
4. Calibrate/capture data
5. Workstation cleaning data
6. Bodybuilder/Diva cleaning & creating skeletons
7. Bodybuilder/Diva cleaning & creating skeletons
8. Bodybuilder/Diva cleaning & creating skeletons
9. Applying motion capture to models in Maya
10. Applying motion capture to models in Maya

Assignments:

Project #1: Due Apr 15
Create an animation storyboard requiring motion capture and plan the motion capture session using the Planning Sheet Handout. The motion capture should include at least one unusual element such as a prop, multiple characters, non-human data, facial data, or hands data. I'm open to any other ideas.

Project #2: Due May 8
Label and clean the assigned motion capture data and your takes.

Project #3: Due May 27
Complete cleaning your data and create skeletons using Diva and/or Bodybuilder.

Final Project: Due June 10
Apply your motion to characters in Maya to create your animation. You're welcome to use any other animation package that you're familiar with and that can import motion capture data to create your animation for the project, but I will be covering issues of using Maya in class.

Reading List:

Understanding Motion Capture for Computer Animation and Video Games by Alberto Menache

References:

Motion Capture Lab Setup Documentation
Recipe for Motion Capture
Vicon 8 Hardware and Software manuals
Vicon Bodybuilder manual version 3.5
Diva Software manual
Maya Tutorials and Manuals

The college will make reasonable accommodations for persons with documented disabilities. Students should notify the Office of Disability Services and this instructor of any special needs. This instructor should be notified the first day of class.

Last Modified: April 1, 2002