Hey I was just thinking and I thought it would be nice if there were a wireless option with a fast data rate (so it wouldn't drop too many frames) that you could use in-place-of of a repeater cable. Does anyone know of such a thing that would still recognize the camera when connected through? I was thinking that since three camera's seem to work quite well for the mocap.... to use a fourth camera to directly capture facial footage via a face cam in sync with the rest of the acting. You could then run it through Zign Track or just use it as perfectly timed reference footage. I could use a cord but that could interfere with the acting and/or mocap itself. Maybe the face cam itself would interfere too much with the software to be of any use. I might give it a try with a repeater cable first just to see how well it works. Any thoughts?

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To the best of my knowledge, nobody makes good wireless USB 2.0 extenders.

Google finds this:

http://www.gefen.com/kvm/dproduct.jsp?prod_id=4505

but 54 Mbps speed is too slow for video.

I would recommend using a long USB cord.

I remember there was a video interview with Image Metrics in their office showing the cameras they use for facial mocap: small webcams fixed to actor's head using some kind of wireframe. But seems like the video is no longer available from their website. If anyone finds it can you please post a link to it. I think it shows a good example of camera for facial mocap.

Ok so I found out I was searching for the wrong term. As we all know it doesn't matter if you know what you want on the internet if you don't type in the exact right word.... In this case it was "usb wireless hub" and there only seems to be a few. None of which are supported by Windows 7 and don't seem to be reliable at all or live up to the advertised 480MBps. One review I read said that their audio had horrible lag. So unless I can find one at a brick and mortar to test out (and most likely return) I might have to wait out for a better a wireless option for now. the models I found were. IOgear and the BELKIN F5L009 Wireless Network USB Hub. The Gefen model was the slowest at 54 Mbps and the priciest at $400 but maybe it's more reliable or something. Not the greatest news but if anyone doesn't have a horror story about the IOgear, Belkin, or any other wireless usb hub I'm all ears.

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Speaking on cameras for facial mocap, you may want to check Zoe Saldana video interview:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LJKxcbcvxa4

Towards the end of this video (3:10), you can see the cameras they used when shooting "Avatar".

"Each actor wears a head rig that holds a tiny HD videocam a few inches away from their face. The camera’s wide-angle lens records every subtle facial twitch, blink, and lip curl. The data is then mapped onto the CG face."

More info in Wired.com article:

http://www.wired.com/magazine/2009/11/ff_avatar_5steps/

Michael already pointed out that the data rate for wireless is too slow to be useful, but I wanted to add that you really don't want to risk even a few dropped frames as this may very likely throw off your calibration and tracking efforts.

I haven't used Zign Track but I really think you should do your facial capture as a separate pass. Trying to capture everything at once is very complicated even with expensive high-end equipment. Maybe you could record the body capture session on a separate camcorder for visual reference, and use the camera's built-in monitor for playback to help you 'sync' your facial performance to the action as you record that data to your laptop. Just a thought.

Greenlaw

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Greenlaw
Artist/Partner - Little Green Dog | My Demo Reels (2013,) (2015,) (2017,) and (2019)

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