TEMPE, Ariz., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- CaptiveMotion LLC, an
industry-leading studio specializing in high-fidelity facial performance
capture announced today a groundbreaking proof of concept video. Starting with
ultra-high-resolution facial scans acquired from Aguru Images, Inc.
(http://www.aguruimages.com), the world's leader in high-performance shape and
material property measurement for true-to-life computer generated digital
doubles and other world materials, CaptiveMotion began the process of
modifying and preparing the scans for animation. The challenge was to modify
Aguru's incredibly detailed scans into a format compact enough for the gaming
community. Aguru Images scans weigh in over 2.8 million polygons with 5
million pixels of color and specular data.
CaptiveMotion engineers created a proprietary set of automated tools to
re-sample the surfaces into a video game ready mesh of less than 7,000
polygons. The high-resolution geometric detail was maintained using industry
standard displacement for cinematics and normal maps for real-time in-engine
lighting. CaptiveMotion high-fidelity motion capture data was used to drive
the final model. The resulting proof of concept video is exceptional and can
be viewed at http://www.captivemotion.com
"When I saw Aguru's work, I knew that this was the 'holy grail' of
scanning systems," said Adam Kraver, president of CaptiveMotion. "It produces
exactly the kind of high-fidelity facial model that is desperately needed in
the vfx, advertising and video game industries." A veteran of over 15 years in
the game industry, Adam was the chief technologist that invented and developed
CaptiveMotion's high fidelity facial performance capture system. "Although
CaptiveMotion processes are specifically designed to meet the high-volume
needs of the video game industry, we can significantly increase the quality
and fidelity of animated characters in any industry and the Aguru scans allow
us to overcome the final hurdle."
"When we saw the work that CaptiveMotion was doing, we knew we wanted them
to drive our scans. The turnaround on the demo has been extraordinary. We
literally sent them a pair of scans 2 days before Siggraph started, and by the
time the show floor opened we had 5 minutes of amazing animation," said Paul
Carroll, Directory of Development for Aguru. "Although, I have to say, it
makes me feel a bit uncomfortable seeing someone else's words and voice come
out of my mouth."
What sets CaptiveMotion's "Embody" motion capture system apart from the
competition is that it is a highly automated internal system that requires no
artists or animators to look exceptional. Everything included in the demo is
consistent with production line processes and time frames with no pre-artistic
production or post production touch-up. There are virtually no changes to the
captured data beyond adding a light source and the final rendering and the
level of detail is 100% feasible for any production: from a large scale RPG
style console game to a time-sensitive broadcast production.
CaptiveMotion LLC is currently working on a complete tool chain for
transferring Aguru Images model data cleanly and effortlessly onto high
resolution performance capture data. A follow-up video planned for early 2009
will highlight CaptiveMotion capability for full body capture integrated with
facial performance capture of over 2,000 markers.
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