Motion Capture in Action | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
Descriptive Transcript of Video (PDF)
In order to facilitate my process, I learn to use the software MotionBuilder using which I capture my movement in a dance studio with marley floors and a 12-camera Vicon motion capture system at the interdisciplinary intersection of the Department of Dance and the Advanced Computing Center for Arts and Design at The Ohio State University. I work long hours to familiarize myself with the MotionBuilder interface while experiencing the motion capture process. The entire motion capture experience from data collection, cleaning, to analysis is ritualistic, with clear rules and guidelines as to how the capture can work. The optical cameras need to recognize my moving body and there are specific movements that I engage with to activate the optical system. I stand in a T-pose at the center of the room. The space is marked with clear boundaries with the use of black tape. I repeat the first set of exercises, constituting a series of hip rolls, shoulder rotations, upper body twists, knee to chest, and wrist rolls. It gives me a sense of the Bhumi Pronam, the first series of movements I engage to honor the space before I start my dance practice. I feel the motion capture process is exactly like the Bhumi Pronam, a series of moves to activate the cameras in order for it to then recognize the moving body. Without this initial calibration of the system, the system will start malfunctioning—analogous to the indigenous wisdom in my dance, which claims that noncompliance with the ritualistic discipline might lead to angering the gods and goddesses who protect the Bhumi or the earth on which my feet will stomp.