Training

HENRY FORD COMMUNITY COLLEGE

Course Master

(Form revised November 2007)


Approved by:

Division: Fine Arts and Fitness: Jan 7, 2009

Academic/Career Education Council: Jan. 28, 2009

College Council: Feb 2, 2009

I. Division: Fine Arts and Fitness

II. Course Number and Title: STH 263: Intermediate Motion Capture

III. Credit Hours: 3 credit hours

IV. Total Contact Hours: 47

V. Prerequisite: STH 262: Introduction to Motion Capture with a Grade of C or better

VI. Co-requisites: None

VII. Course Grading Scale: A – E

VIII. Catalog Description: A lab-based computer class dealing with the principles of Motion Capture Performance and Motion Capture Production for use in Virtual Theatricality, Motion Pictures, Gaming, Television, Web Media and Motion Capture Studies. This course provides an intermediate bridge to the final class in the Motion Capture Systems Technician course sequence. This course will focus on cleaning and editing data, hand capture, and facial capture.

IX. Goal Statement: To prepare students for the third and final course in Henry Ford Community College’s Motion Capture Course Sequence.

X. Measurable Objectives

Major Core Course Objectives

Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:
• Clean Marker Data*
• Edit Marker Data*
• Properly Place and Set Facial and Hand Markers
• Capture Hand and Facial Data
Detailed Course Objectives

Students who successfully complete this course should be able to:

• Create a facial Motion Capture animation of 2 minutes in length using at least 10 blendshapes mapped to a character in Motion Builder
• Create a body, hands, and face Motion capture of at least 2 minutes in length mapped to a character in Motion Builder
• Create an animation of a least 2 minutes in length using both flexible and non-flexible props mapped to objects and a character, respectively, in MotionBuilder

XI. Assessment of Academic Achievement
• Objective Quizzes
• Midterm
• Final
• A Final Project
XII. General Course Requirements and Recommendations

• Excellent attendance
• Full participation in each exercise
• Objective feedback for other students
• Full professional courtesy to other students
• Willingness to step outside one’s personal level of comfort

XIII. Texts: Texts Windsor, Brian, MoCap for Artists, Focal Press, 2008. Liverman, Matt, The Animator's Motion Capture Guide: Organizing, Managing, Editing , Charles River Media Game Development. 2008.

XIV. Core Course Topics

I. CLEANING AND EDITING DATA.
A. Cleaning Marker Data.
1. Types of Data.
a. Optical Marker Data (Translational Data).
b. Translational and Rotational Data.
c. Skeletal Data.
2. What to Clean and What Not To Clean.
a. What to Clean.
b. What Not To Clean.
3. Labeling (Identifying).
4. Data Cleaning Methods.
a. Eliminating Gaps.
b. Eliminating Spikes.
c. Rigid Body.
d. Filters.
e. When To Stop.
5. Applying Marker Data To The Skeleton.
a. Actor.
b. Skeleton.
c. Character.

II. Skeletal Editing.
A. Retargeting.
1. Reducing need for retargeting.
2. Scaling a skeleton.
3. Fixing foot sliding.
4. Working on the spine.
B. Blending Motions
1. Selecting a blending point.
2. Matching Positions.
C. Inverse Kinematics.
D. Floor Contact.
E. Rigid Body.
F. Looping Motion.
1. Getting Motion Ready.
2. Setting up the loop.
a. Walking down the z-axis.
b. Taking out the translation.
G. Poses
a. Deciding what to use.
b. Creating a pose.
c. Key-framing a pose.

III. Data Application-Intro Level: Props
A. A Stick With Two Markers.
B. A stick With Three Markers.
C. Flexible Props.

IV. Hand Motion Capture
A. Anatomy of a Hand.
B. Rig and Marker Set for the Hand.
C. Capturing Hands.

V. Facial Motion Capture
A. Anatomy of a Face.
B. Camera Setup and Capture.
C. Facial Rig.
D. Marker Set.
E. Facial Data Stabilization
F. Facial Data Editing.
2. Organization.
1. Preventing Occlusions.

XV. Can credit for this course be granted through credit for prior-college level learning?

No.

XVI. Does this course satisfy MACRAO requirements?

No.

* Meets critical thinking objectives