TechConnect - The Nano Issue

008

Captive Audience

writinG by :: christopher di virGiLio

Tempe company is ahead of the game in motion-capture technology

I wanted to develop a game
that allowed a real connection
between character and player.

developing graphics software and he has not looked back since. His own animated demeanor is well suited for his profession, as seen in a Captive Motion promotional video on the company Web site.

“I wanted to develop a game that allowed a real connection between character and player,” Kraver says. “Something the game player could relate to.”

The self-taught gaming guru has left his mark at companies such as Design Studios and then Rainbow Studios, both in the Valley, where he engineered game development and testing systems and managed some innovative projects. Kraver has become a leading expert in graphics, 3-D modeling, game development, motion capture and game design, and has been nominated six times for visual and technology engineering and best game of the year by the Academy of Interactive Arts and Sciences.

In 2005, Kraver developed his Embody 1.0 prototype, and after some trial and error on himself and members of his family, founded Captive Motion in 2007. Partnering with his father, Ted, and business associate Mark Carson, the three men recently closed a deal on their first gaming project.

“We are excited that people are starting to see us as another tool in capture technology,” Kraver says.

To make it all possible, Kraver employs a proprietary tracking system that uses special markers applied directly to the actor’s skin. More than 800 markers can be applied in roughly 30 minutes. The markers are flush to the skin and can withstand touch, rub or sweat. The process gives actors a look similar to Georges Seurat’s 1884 painting, “A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte,” one of the artist’s most famous works, comprised entirely of small dots.

From the makeup department, the color-dotted actor goes into a sound-proof booth that houses eight high-resolution cameras arranged in a 180-degree sweep around the actor that

captures the face from multiple viewpoints.

“The positioning of these cameras is very flexible and allows us to add additional cameras to extend the capture volume,” Kraver says. “We can place the cameras in virtually any position to get the shot that the director needs.”

The system can capture up to four hours of raw footage before hard drives need to be swapped out. The footage then is exported into a series of preview shots and shown to the client. The processing department then works its magic by tracking a 3-D mesh that was established by the color-dot markers on the actor into a simple file format. The actor’s eyes also are tracked, adding more realism to the character. The 3-D mesh then can be transferred to the animations of the final character.

“Captive Motion provides the final innovation needed to create full-fidelity, virtual interaction,” Kraver says. “We can capture the nuance of the actor and (the program) is designed to allow ‘casting’ of digital characters, thus eliminating the traditional gap between the human element and the technological requirement.”