Motion Capture or MOCAP, the key to the most real movement

El Mocap or also known as the motion capture, it is a process by which a movement that is being performed live is recorded and that allows us to elaborate 3d recreation with said movement.

The first studies that were carried out were based on the motion technology, these were made by the renowned photographer of English origin Edward mybrigde, during the XNUMXth century, just before the cinema appeared. These studies were used for years as a kind of base to understand what the normal movement of animals and humans.

Origin of MOCAP

And the famous Edward mybrigde, made extensive and difficult photographic studies on the movement, but one of the most recognized is the one carried out in 1887, which shows a naked man doing the movement of hitting a ball with a baseball bat.

Later and in 1937, Walt Disney began conducting experiments with this type of technique, in order to perform his famous animated film Snow White, since this work was adapted to the rotoscopy technique, which was invented in previous years by Max Fleisher.

Later and when 3d animation entered the entertainment industry, they began to look for techniques to capture human movement in a more creative and flexible way, it should be noted that this use was not limited to the field of animation, but it was also used in the area of ​​medicine to study some serious diseases and to review injuries.

Likewise NASA, currently use MOCAP to create special outfits and costumes for these expeditions.

Regarding cinema and animation we can say that in 2002, the prestigious film The Lord of the Rings, managed to establish a before and after in terms of motion capture technology, the company that took care of this and developed it was Weta digital, which became a world icon.

We have to know that thanks to all this, the film industry does not stop, thanks to Technological advances that usually appear constantly and is that the characters made in 3D can perform completely real movements.

For example, in Gollum it is possible to appreciate the evolution that has been obtained over time, this goes from the first appearance in 2003 to a few years later, in 2013 when the The Hobbit saga. This character has gained a lot of realism but we have to emphasize that in the movements that were made in the first Gollum you could see the traditional animation and the capture of the movement.

But not all companies dedicated to animation usually perform motion capture, since for example and in the case of Pixar, he does not usually use them and you can see that all his movies are based on real animation.

In the case of the world of video games, MOCAP first appeared in 1995 with the creation of the game Soul edgeIn most games, Motion Capture, this technology is often used to seek more realism, since the actions performed by the characters are similar to those performed by humans.

On the other hand, in Wii games they are used to interact with the game, where many video cameras are connected to a computer that has special software. The special markers are designed to be easily identified with the software and the markers are practically small lights that stand out in the background.

Likewise, there are capture systems that are used to track without having to use markers or some type of special suit. Animators and Game Developers can capture motion in less time and at a lower cost, this is based on the implementation of some algorithms.