Video Guidelines

iClone Video Mocap can track actor motion from any angle, whether it is shot from the front, side, rear, or while turning. Follow this guide to optimize the motion capture results.

Actor Conditions

  • Video Mocap does best with real human beings. Non-humans such as monsters, chibi style, and game avatars are poorly captured.
  • Ensure that the actor size is not too small and that it's size stays consistent (no extreme zooms or dollies).
  • For full-body mocap, the entire body must be clearly visible. Ensure the limbs are not covered by clothing.
  • For upper-body mocap, at least the body from the pelvis up must be clearly visible.
  • Ensure the feet touches the ground if legs are to be captured.
  • Hands should be clearly visible for finger tracking.
  • Actors should not be wearing clothes of a similar color to the background.
  • Actors should not wear solid color clothes.

Backgrounds and Camera Angles

While dim lighting, busy backgrounds, and patterned clothing will not present an issue, it's best to ensure the following conditions are met:

  • The background of the video should be clean and tidy to minimize interference with the actor's movement. Avoid cluttered lighting and background as much as possible.
  • Use a flat viewing angle. An overhead view or elevated view may cause the action to lean forward or backward.

  • Do not move camera, or use videos with switched shots. Make sure that the video is in one shot as much as possible.

Not Recommended

Video Mocap is able to detect body turns and postural shifts to capture some challenging pose transitions like complex and fast-paced footwork. However, only minor hand shake and camera movement is tolerated. There are still some situations that should be avoided.

  • Avoid video segments where no person is in frame.
  • Any body part that moves out of the frame will present a problem.
  • Avoid capturing feet that are not grounded, e.g., swimming.
  • Avoid vertical movements, e.g., pull-ups, high jump or long jump.
  • Avoid rapid movements, e.g., acrobatic flips, moving fast, or shaking violently.
  • Limbs that intersect with other actors can cause confusion, e.g., fight sequences.
  • Avoid occluded hands, like running fingers through hair.