Motion Capture In MatchMover

[Anonymous]

Hello, I would like to know what kind of motion capture files you can export as after you use the motion capture tool in MatchMover? Also, with the motion capture tool, do you need two of the same digital cameras or can you use two different cameras for the image sequences?

[slimboJoe]

I don't think anyone really looks at posts in the MatchMover.  Except me.

You need two cameras rolling at the same time from two perspectives.  Matchmover uses the parallax info to derive 3D data.  Can be any cameras, though.  I have seen where you can get good enough results with a few still shots from the sides as your main camera rolls in the front.  I am by no means an expert in matchmover, though.  I can hardly move around the interface...

[Anonymous]

When you export a motion capture project from MatchMover as a Maya file (.ma) or a Motion Analysis file (.trc), how do you use this data to animate 3D characters? When I import the Maya file into Maya, how do I use the tracking data to animate 3D characters? Another thing that I notice is that when I import the Motion Analysis file in MotionBuilder, the tracking data is so small. Why is that? Attached are images representing the projects that I've exported from MatchMover and imported into Maya and MotionBuilder (.ma and .trc). 

[jasoncbraatz]

this thread is a year old but thought I'd contribute since i'm looking to do the same.

the idea is to grab the movement and then using constraints (even a simple 'parent') onto a skeleton to make it "move".  one thing you point out is the scale, so care has to be taken (and of course a lot of experimentation) to get the rig you are trying to move to the same spatial size as the match moving.  there's probably a technical way of doing that but I believe in the naked eye in producing the best visual result (in the end).

while it's an extra step, the best procedure would be to use this technique to make an HIK skeleton move, then make the rig move from the HIK skeleton so that you have always a mocap-like skeleton that can be your 'reference' point and then make the adjustments to the rig itself independently (through animation layers, direct tweaks to the rig, or whatever technique is preferred in your workflow).  This way you are keeping the integrity of your matchmove and being able to recycle it onto multiple rigs.

I'm just beginning to play with this myself, but those are the techniques I'd begin to use..