motioncapturelucian

[motioncapturelucian]

UAL Level 3 Extended Diploma in Art & Design: Creative Practice and Communication

Student Name: Lucian palmer Pathway Specialism: animation Working Title of Project: Undead Front: Soldiers of the Damned Date: 01/05/2024

AO1: Apply an understanding of specialist industry practice to a creative project(approx 100 words) What were the reasons for citing your project within your selected specialist context? What specialist considerations have you taken into account? What ethical considerations have you taken into account? What cultural considerations have you taken into account What sustainability considerations have you taken into account? The reason i chose to do animation was because i thought it be a nice challenge and broaden my view from just 2d and 3d game making i wanted to do this as it gave my project more independence as i could move away from outsourcing my animations to a online software and i could actual make them in real time with my movements, the ethical considerations i took where what the effect of motion capture would be on those who are disabled from wheelchair bound to missing limbs, the sustainability of this is like mentions above it means i can focus on making my own animations and not have to go through another software to get a little crouch animation

AO2: Produce a self‑initiated project proposal (approx 100 words) Explain your reasons for choosing a particular project subject/concept. Outline what you have learnt in relation to your chosen subject/concept. Have your original intentions changed or been modified? If so, why? In what broader context/situation is your line of enquiry being situated, e.g., illustration, performance, product design, surface design etc.? I chose motion capture as it seemed to be a good idea as no one else was doing it and it would be a fun challenge if i could get this working, i learnt that with motion capture it is a challenge on its own to set it up properly but once set up it can be a amazing tool for animators as once set up it would take less time to record animation instead of going frame by frame, I have learnt not to over scope my abilities as it does take time to get things right my original intentions where to have a base game built using those animations from enemies that attack to you moving and fighting but i had to move away as i was not going to be able to produce everything with the time i had, learning motion capture is good because it shows im willing to leave my comfort zone of just making/ the coding side for a more hands on role of game making

AO3: Use research to inform and direct a creative project (approx 100 words) How have primary observations, experiments, initial material developments and technical engagement supported the developing understanding of your subject? How have other people’s ideas and working methods interested you? (secondary research; ethical, social, cultural etc) Explain how you think these ideas and methods have supported and nourished your development? I was able to research my problems and mistakes through the errors of the making of these animations, these were helpful as they showed me what was wrong and where to go to fix the mistake, thought the project i spoke to an animator through instagram to give advice and help me with how he did his animation video

AO4: Use technical skills and materials associated with a specialist industry practice to realise a self‑initiated project (approx 100 words) Reflect on all the specialist practical processes and skills you have explored, adapted and developed throughout your project. How appropriate were they to the development of your project? Which specialist processes and skills have you been interested in the most and why? How effective have you been at mastering the techniques, processes and skills selected? From the beginning i used a Xbox 360 Kinect which i found out the program had been scrapped which meant i couldn't get a hold of it so i moved to Xbox one Kinect which worked well but there where a few problems so i moved over to rokoko which was a free online software which needed no outside programs to record and turn into animations, i found setting up the cameras and getting the software working with my laptop interesting as this gave me more of a detailed view of the way it works as well as the results of my recording, i think i was successful for the most part, i didn't get everything done i wanted to but 50% of the animations got done and rigged which in my head is a task well done especially with the swapping of resources to record.

AO5: Resolve problems within a creative project (approx 100 words)Reflect on those significant aspects of your work (failures and successes are of equal importance) that you have had to resolve in order to progress? How well have you adapted to unforeseen practical and technical problems? What factors have influenced your ability to solve problems in the most effective and appropriate manner? The main problem i had for most of the project was the animations not working as the skeletons for the model and animations had very different amount of bones, after researching i found a way to retarget the skeletons animations over to the new model which after many hours of moving, rotating and relabeling bones i finally got it to where the animations are 99% the same there are a few clipping issues but i think if i had some more time i could flesh those out

AO6: Use specialist practice visual language to communicate ideas and concepts (approx 100 words) Explain your reasons for selecting the ideas and methods chosen for producing your final outcome(s). How do these outcomes relate to your audience? I chose to do motion capture as i thought it would be a nice break and a challenge from what i normally o as well as it gives me a new path to learn coding and game design, i identified this as the best way through researching my options, animations are good for games as they are what make a game feel like its real there are games that are there for fun so the animations are more silly and laughable but there are then games that try to serious so there animations are more gritty, smooth and more like what you would do in real life

AO7: Use specialist practice presentation techniques to present ideas and outcomes (approx 100 words) Explain your reasons for adopting the strategies you chose when presenting your project and final outcome(s). How appropriate are they to your developing professional practice? How effective have you been in communicating your ideas? I chose to do a show real as its the industry standard and it shows all of my animations in one neatly packed video and can be used in my portfolio, i made the show real by using a application called premier pro i used it once before on a airsoft video but not to the extent i used on my showreel so everything was uncharted territory i found it easy to use once i got the hang of a few bits ,yes i believe it does with the project being the main focus you also see a side by side of what the real life video of me was doing from a friend helping with the melee attacks to me doing the movement.

AO8: Apply reflective practice to a creative project (approx 100 words) Identify the aims and objectives that you were interested in developing when you started your final project. How effective have you been in reflecting on your developing work and progress against these targets? I learnt that animations good thing to learn but if you have the time and are ready to be hit with roadblocks and problems but once there overcame it becomes a smooth ride, i wanted to learn how animations would look if i did them myself and not relying on premade ones, i found it fun to make my own once i got the equipment set up

[motioncapturelucian]

Art Station

iv set up an art station account and uploaded the video below

[motioncapturelucian]

i made the show real by using a application called premier pro i used it once before on a airsoft video but not to the extent i used on my showreel so everything was uncharted territory i found it easy to use once i got the hang of a few bits

I am happy with the results of this it came out nicely i also think the side by side helps show the prosses of where i was trying to get to from the animations

[motioncapturelucian]

Right swing face on

[motioncapturelucian]

Right swing

[motioncapturelucian]

Mulit Melee

[motioncapturelucian]

Kneeling face on

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Kneeling

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Crouching face on

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Crouching

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Walking face on

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Walking

[motioncapturelucian]

Final retargeting project

after fiddling with the bones, sizes rotation and location i managed to get the animations working properly, i was trying to fix the skeleton as the body would not line up with the animations skeleton [left], the skeleton one the [right] was half doing the animations once it came to the arm movements they did not want to budge or they would flip back like it was some exorcism,

to fix the problem i when thought tones of ways from rotating the bones 25,50,75 degrees to inverting there locations to even just deleting bones after numerus testing i finally got it to where it to a acceptable level

I am pleased with this if i could i would of loved to made it more smoother or even get a running one made and splice the animations to have multiple versions of the same like a run to a crouch, walk to crouch, and vise versa

[motioncapturelucian]

Retargeting

to get the animations to work for my metahuman i had to retarget the bones from the animations to the meta human so it would use those animations

This is the rig set for the meta body and below is the rokoko animation rig

[motioncapturelucian]

Troubleshooting

When recording with one camera I found it wasn't giving the best tracking as it only had the one view. I signed up on Rokoko for a free trial to use 2 cams this in theory would make the animations smoother as there was a front and a side view. These were the results:

I ran into a few problems but the main one was the character turned into a crab.

the issue was that the tracking was not working properly causing the software being unable to find my bones/ track them to what it should be, the solution i was going to implement was moving the cameras location to where they will be able to find my body, but i ran out o time to test this solution

[motioncapturelucian]

Issues with Motion Capture and Disability

"As per the instructions of the system, we strapped an array of sensors around the torso, head, and appendage joints using elastic belts. Quickly, the system made apparent incompatibilities with a number of bodies. The straps were elastic and while they stretched to a certain extent, they would likely not accommodate some fat bodies. This fat phobia is further embedded into the equipment software through the ubiquitous skinny white avatar which visualizes the sensor movement. The motion capture system was also totally incompatible with people who use wheelchairs or otherwise do not stand. Much like the software that models and animates, the system requires the user to stand in a T-pose. To perform this requires the subject to be able to stand and have upright motion for the hardware to calibrate to the software. On top of this, the metal frames of mobility devices caused significant interference with the electro-magnetic sensors, preventing the system from accurately recognizing the placement of limbs."

this is not good because people who cant stand cant calibrate due to them needing to stand in a T pose

[motioncapturelucian]

they would be problems about the use of props when motion capture especial since i have one camera but as they have a full studio to use which uses tone of sencers they have to be extra careful, when capturing the lipstick scene they had problems with them losing tracking when the lipstick coved over the sencer so they did the lip stick behind the sencer so they got the movement but not the actual lip stick,

another thing with the character though the actors where about the same hight there player models where not with lady D being 9 ft tall and everyone else 5-6ft tall her actor had to always look down at people even if she was Infront of them