Hello all :).


In one week i ll start my official work with iPi.
But i ve still some Questions :).

It exist a video in the gallery of iPi where a walkcycle was recorded.
Unfortunately there exist no Set-Setup for this recording technique.
Can anyone help me, how i can setup my set with 4 cameras for recording a Walk & Runcylce?
I need the position, height and the distance of my Cameras for a good record.

Its important! So i hope some one has to many time :D.

Regards Radiac

There are a couple of ways to do a walk cycle. (By walk cycle, I assume you mean having the character walk in place in a loop, like in game animations.) At work, we used a treadmill for one job. This was the same device used for fitness excercises but we removed the rails and control housing, and controlled the speed remotely. (More accurately, our hardware people at R+H did this for us. We just shot the action.)

Another way is to record and track a few steps, and then use mocap editing software to loop the action. I'm almost sure you can do this in Animeeple, and certainly you can do this in Motion Builder. Once the loop is set, you can you can also define the path for the character. Animation programs that include a non-linear editor also may let you do this. For example, Lightwave has a feature called Motion Mixer, which lets you break motions into clips on a timeline, and you can do things like blend and loop the clips by applying behaviors. I've only used the LW version before, but I believe Maya and XSI have similar features.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Demo Reel (2017) | Demo Reel (2015) | Demo Reel (2013)


Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Hi Greenlaw,

thank you for your answer :). But my question ist not about the Walkcycle but the Set Setup with iPi ;).
I need a map to build up my Set for a good Walk & Run animation record. Blender has a technique for cylces :).

My Question build on the iPi Demo Video about a walkcycle. But there is no map to set up the cameras.

Ps. You are really from LA?

Hi,

Oops, sorry for the misunderstanding. Are you asking about the positions of the cameras to capture a long walk or run sequence? I haven't done this myself, but my guess is that you would want to capture as much of the side view as you can as that's where you see the most extreme movements. Since iPi doesn't like the cameras to be directly across from each other, try a semi circle config with three cameras on one side and one on the other ahead of the performer. Something like this maybe:

cam 1

<--- o ---
cam 4
cam 2

cam 3

Maybe capture your T-Pose to cam 3?

Obviously, you're going to need a lot of space for this, so you may need to shoot outdoors, preferably on an overcast day. You'll want to avoid any location with very shiny floors, like a gymnasium. (I think I've seen some iPi footage that was shot in a gymnasium, however, in my experience, shiny floors can lead to a variety of problems.)

Because the cameras will be farther away than typical, you may need higher video resolution for detail, but if the run is going to be fast you may also need 60fps. If you can only reliably get 30fps with your gear, try running in slower motion, then speed up the tracked motion in your animation program.

Allow me to repeat that I haven't done this setup myself yet. So far, most of my own iPi usage has been captured in a smaller space without much running or long walks. Hope this helps.

G.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Demo Reel (2017) | Demo Reel (2015) | Demo Reel (2013)


Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

Hi Greenlaw,


I ve many space for my capture :). Because i have rent a (sportshall?).
Are 60 fps support since the new Update?

Can you draw me a little map of your idea? With paint or so is enough. Only Positions with Target-arrows.

In the Video from iPi i see, that they use it into a office or school? I dont know how they do that.
only 6 days remaining °_° :D.


Regards Radiac

Sorry, I didn't expect the forum to 'correct' my ascii sketch. I'll post a hand drawn sketch today.

_________________
Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | Demo Reel (2017) | Demo Reel (2015) | Demo Reel (2013)


Watch a one minute excerpt on Vimeo now!

If you have lots of space, I would suggest a full-circle camera configuration for capturing walking or running motion:



Latest version of iPi Studio should not have any problems calibrating a full-circle configuration.

It helps to have at least some of your cameras installed high (2 meters or higher).

If you have small space, you can use a half-circle camera configurations.

Hello and Thanks for drawing a example.

Okay then i test it with full circle. 2 meters should not be a problem.
I think, i do a little test @ home. On my first tests without reading the tutorials i do a fullcircle capture... but in v. 107 ^^".

When i was succesful, i send a feedback in few days with my experience.


Tanks to Greenlaw too. I hope i ll be succesful ;).