Mocap.Me Rocks Motion Capture From Belgrade

Whether we like to admit it or not, we are living in times that could best be described as bordering on science fiction. Ok, sure, we do not have spaceships that are having working interstellar drives. However, we do have space shuttles. And people living in space. Ok, it is technically Earth’s orbit but you get it. The point is, we live in a time of wonderous achievements, we just need to remind ourselves of that every now and then. But to bring us back to Earth, lets talk about some less spacey, but no less stellar achievements (all puns intended). To be exact, I want to talk about motion capture and Mocap.Me.

Motion Capture

First, let’s talk about motion capture, or mocap for short. It is a process of recording the movement of objects or people, used in military, entertainment, sports, robotics and medicine. It is most famous for its film making and video gaming industry application, though, when mocap records of humans are translated into digital form and used in animating digital characters. Think of Mark Ruffalo in Avengers, Angelina Jolie in Beowulf, Andy Serkis in Lord of the Rings or Tom Hanks in The Polar Express.

When more subtle performances are recorded, such as face expressions or finger movement, it is also called a performance capture. Outside entertainment industry mocap is also known as motion tracking.

There are many advantages and disadvantages of this technique. You can record complex, rapid and real time movements in various styles and deliveries that are limited only by actor’s talents. The amount of animation data that can be produced within a certain amount time is extremely large when compared to traditional animation techniques. Huge plus for cost effectiveness and deadlines. Disadvantage is that its software and hardware are pretty specific and usually expensive, equipment is sometimes limiting to actors and you cannot record any movement that is outside the laws of physics. So goodbye comic and fantasy movements!

Take One

To get back to Mocap.Me. It is a website of Take One, company founded in 2012 and located located in Belgrade, Serbia. Although a young  company, their team has been working together for over 5 years for different motion capture companies around the world. They are specialized in mocap data processing including tracking, solving and editing. In their studio they provide all body capture services: body, face and full performance capture. They are also capable of building any custom sets and props and providing motion capture on the green screen.

Main focus of their developing team is on building custom solutions for motion capture and animation pipeline, custom scripts and developing software for mobile applications-  if you want to see their work, feel free to contact them and they will send you some examples of what they do best. For now, they are working on three different games in different production stages. Each game is a part of a different series and you’ve probably heard for at least one of them: “Battlefield: Hard Line” and “The Witcher 3 – Wild Hunt”. Even if you are not a gamer, trust us, these are some famous gaming names.

Science fiction or not, you must admit that mocap is pretty awesome, and that Take One at mocap.me is making a pretty good job with some popular names in gaming industry. So next time you are watching a blockbuster, or playing  a game, do not forget that there is more work in it than it meets the eye!