Off topic - Facial Mocap

1k0 · **Posted:** Wed Apr 02, 2014 11:36 pm

Hi everybody,

That subject is a little off topic because it only concerns iPi Recorder (latest version).
I recently completed a series of test for facial motion capture using 2 Pseyes, iPi recorder is the only free software able to record multiple Pseyes without frame drops and until 60fps.

Here is the DIY helmet:

The only downside for now: it's not a wireless solution.
Despite the DIY look it gave pretty satisfying results.

For the mocap itself I used Movimento BUT, I recently learned Autodesk will soon release Matchmover for free, and if it keeps the mocap module, we will also be able to perform marker based mocap for free which is real good news and a good addition for iPisoft body capture.

Here is the complete post: http://1k0.blogspot.fr/2014/03/work-in-progress-facial-mocap-ii.html

Greenlaw · **Posted:** Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:57 am

As always, marvelous stuff 1k0.

G.

1k0 · **Posted:** Sat Jul 19, 2014 2:01 am

And after a few months I can thanks Greenlaw: Thank you Greenlaw!
And say I'm back with the final video and the making of (obviously the most interesting part ;) )

The 2 Pseye camera head mounted rig and ipirecorder worked like a charm, as in the tests. So another big Thank you to iPisoft team for that awesome recorder.

The short: https://vimeo.com/100562444 (it comes with French, English, German, Norwegian and Spanish subtitles in the "CC" options)

The making of is only available in English: http://1k0.blogspot.fr/2014/07/an-unexp ... ng-of.html

That signs the end of that Off topic, thanks for watching!

Mikecl · **Posted:** Tue Oct 28, 2014 4:02 pm

That's actually really impressive results you are getting!

I have long been thinking of investing time in building my own headrig for my studio..

however it's hard for me to find the time these days. Do you happen to have any advice where I could find headrigs similar to yours? I've been looking a long time at solutions like Cara from Vicon and others but they don't seem to have any pricing at all on their site. Which makes me think it's pretty expensive. But I am looking in to finding a solution for face capture within a few months.

Great job man!

1k0 · **Posted:** Tue Oct 28, 2014 6:41 pm

Hi Mikecl,

Thanks! Unfortunately before going on the building of my head mounted camera rig I looked after solution offered by facial mocap studios and everything proposed was way too much expensive, they couldn't sell the helmet without cameras or electronic.
From memory, back in the time, the cheapest product from Faceware was more than 1500 usd.

The DIY solution I opted for was around 100 usd, the most expensive item being the Pseyes at 15€/piece. The downside: it's not a wireless solution.

However, technology is moving real quick and soon we could get light depth sensor (like Kinect) we could put in such DIY rig and use depth sensor based facial recognition and animation software.

That's all I can say for now :)

Mikecl · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2014 2:15 am

Yeah.. They are really expensive.

You have actually inspired me to create my own.. These days you could go pretty far since it's getting relatively cheap to 3D print stuff as well. Hmm.. will probably schedule in some time and make a digital prototype.

May I ask, what was your pipeline for solving the animation? You recorded with IPi Recorder right? Then used Camera tracker to track the trackers?

About the wires. Wondering if there's not a transmitter available somewhere where you can plug in USB devices and it sends the signal through WiFi?

1k0 · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2014 1:52 pm

True, we can now use thr 3D print solution to create our own rigs, that's what "motion capture design" did for their helmet.

For the facial mocap tracking I used Movimento but you can get equivalent results in Pftrack, Matchmover or 3DEqualizer, then I simply imported the animated points in 3dsmax and linked my facial controllers to them.

Sure, a WiFi transmitter is a better option but I suck so much at simple electronics already lol
For that short film I worked on shots that didn't made it in the final edit. The most complex one was facial mocap (all the complex preparation explained in the making of) + full body mocap (trackers based), a total of 6 cameras, it was not really enjoyable to manage all that alone with cables running through my body, pushing a simple button to send data via WiFi would have been way more futuristic :)

Here's my facebook, let's keep contact, I'd like to see the WIP of your helmet:
https://www.facebook.com/Nic0lasbrunet

Mikecl · **Posted:** Wed Oct 29, 2014 2:12 pm

ah yes...

Absolutely.! Added you on facebook. Would love to have someone to throw around ideas and get feedback from once I get a bit further with it.

For camera placement. Did you learn anything from it creating the helmet? Like what would be the ultimate placing for it?

Off topic - Facial Mocap

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