Comments on: The Emily Project http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/ Fresh Blender News, Every Day Sun, 22 Nov 2009 01:06:38 +0100 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.6 hourly 1 By: Shawn Kearney http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-438085 Shawn Kearney Fri, 02 Jan 2009 00:28:19 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-438085 I really take issue with this, you will need real actors to get the motion capture to look realistic, and this in itself limits applications, why not just film the actor in the first place. As banor said above, if an animation system could easily and readily produce these results without a human actor it would be more impressive. While there are things that this could be useful in, quite a few in fact, having a real actor there kind of begs the question "what's the point, why didn't you just film her in the first place." A bit of "never mind the man behind the curtain" trickery. I really take issue with this, you will need real actors to get the motion capture to look realistic, and this in itself limits applications, why not just film the actor in the first place. As banor said above, if an animation system could easily and readily produce these results without a human actor it would be more impressive.

While there are things that this could be useful in, quite a few in fact, having a real actor there kind of begs the question "what's the point, why didn't you just film her in the first place." A bit of "never mind the man behind the curtain" trickery.

]]> By: banor http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-438011 banor Thu, 01 Jan 2009 16:31:23 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-438011 @LOGAN: Thanks for clearing that up. Yes, from the making-of video you linked here I saw the sphere with the projecting lights. I also noticed in the 3D app someone was using that he had the video right next to his 3D model so he could accurately mimic it. I thought the movement was automated, captured by the video somehow. If it was all animated by hand that is quite a bit more impressive, at least for the artist. An automated motion capture system that would capture her facial movements would be awesome and amazing as well, but on the coding and engineering side, not the artistic skill side. Cheers! -b @LOGAN: Thanks for clearing that up. Yes, from the making-of video you linked here I saw the sphere with the projecting lights. I also noticed in the 3D app someone was using that he had the video right next to his 3D model so he could accurately mimic it. I thought the movement was automated, captured by the video somehow. If it was all animated by hand that is quite a bit more impressive, at least for the artist. An automated motion capture system that would capture her facial movements would be awesome and amazing as well, but on the coding and engineering side, not the artistic skill side.

Cheers!
-b

]]> By: LOGAN http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437974 LOGAN Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:49:55 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437974 BTW its important to understand a few things about the project and the 'performance capturing' this company does. First they make a cyber scan of an actor using the rig they have. This rig most likely also makes shading references by projecting lights from all angles and this is captured on a file so they can virtually apply any lighting condition using the recorded lights. Also they don't have an automatic way of capturing the performance but the artists manually re-create a performance using the reference video. There's no magic performance capturing software involved that the movie with the article suggests. The artists manually keyframe the animation for the performance, something is a bit lost in the article. So people wishing to see 'this' in Blender by 2011, well, the animation tools are already there. The only thing they have is the equipment to create detailed models, something that's hardware based. I hope to see something in the area of performance capturing into blender though without a complete motion capture rig. Nowadays there's software that can automatically track facial features, or think into the area of what ILM did with Pirates 3, using some suits with shapes that allow software to track the motion, it's almost like those augmented reality tracking images. Maybe something like that is possible to get into blender one day. Anyway, more related to blender and open source (that could possibly be put into blender) would be appriciated. Anyone know Open SOurce for facial tracking? BTW its important to understand a few things about the project and the 'performance capturing' this company does. First they make a cyber scan of an actor using the rig they have. This rig most likely also makes shading references by projecting lights from all angles and this is captured on a file so they can virtually apply any lighting condition using the recorded lights.

Also they don't have an automatic way of capturing the performance but the artists manually re-create a performance using the reference video. There's no magic performance capturing software involved that the movie with the article suggests. The artists manually keyframe the animation for the performance, something is a bit lost in the article.

So people wishing to see 'this' in Blender by 2011, well, the animation tools are already there. The only thing they have is the equipment to create detailed models, something that's hardware based.

I hope to see something in the area of performance capturing into blender though without a complete motion capture rig. Nowadays there's software that can automatically track facial features, or think into the area of what ILM did with Pirates 3, using some suits with shapes that allow software to track the motion, it's almost like those augmented reality tracking images. Maybe something like that is possible to get into blender one day.

Anyway, more related to blender and open source (that could possibly be put into blender) would be appriciated. Anyone know Open SOurce for facial tracking?

]]> By: vidrazor http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437922 vidrazor Thu, 01 Jan 2009 09:07:57 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437922 Someone was working on a Bruce Lee film a while back with a 3D character. They were hyping about how the Lee family agreed to do it, yada yada, but I never personally saw anything come from it except for a still that looked promising. Someone was working on a Bruce Lee film a while back with a 3D character. They were hyping about how the Lee family agreed to do it, yada yada, but I never personally saw anything come from it except for a still that looked promising.

]]> By: banor http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437710 banor Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:17:14 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437710 @LOGAN: OK. Thanks for the head's up on that, I may check it out. @LOGAN: OK. Thanks for the head's up on that, I may check it out.

]]> By: LOGAN http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437708 LOGAN Wed, 31 Dec 2008 20:11:08 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437708 digitally resurrecting dead actors? Already done... some commercials for example. And from the same company of Emily... Richard Burton for the great War Of The Worlds life concert. Check it out, they use a 'hologram' of Burton to narrate the story. digitally resurrecting dead actors? Already done… some commercials for example. And from the same company of Emily… Richard Burton for the great War Of The Worlds life concert. Check it out, they use a 'hologram' of Burton to narrate the story.

]]> By: Kintaro http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437602 Kintaro Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:54:51 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437602 I've never liked this project. they got a model derived from automatic computer generated topology, which is often multi million vert and not very good for animation, then instead of using this as a good reference they just retopo'd it, used more auto computer power to animate it, which was only copying something that had been done in RL. This is really a lazy scientific project imo, the technology has been around for a long while now, it's just that nobody has done it because it's pointless and requires no talent. 3D is a tool. It's designed for the artist, not for a computer to do things automatically. Now, I DO respect the programmers and people who developed this software. it is an amazing research project, and the animations created are AMAZING resources for learning about natural movements in detail. I've never liked this project. they got a model derived from automatic computer generated topology, which is often multi million vert and not very good for animation, then instead of using this as a good reference they just retopo'd it, used more auto computer power to animate it, which was only copying something that had been done in RL. This is really a lazy scientific project imo, the technology has been around for a long while now, it's just that nobody has done it because it's pointless and requires no talent. 3D is a tool. It's designed for the artist, not for a computer to do things automatically. Now, I DO respect the programmers and people who developed this software. it is an amazing research project, and the animations created are AMAZING resources for learning about natural movements in detail.

]]> By: banor http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437592 banor Wed, 31 Dec 2008 15:04:41 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437592 @elliot: Sorry to hear that. :( @Bart: I'm still learning. ;) It does apply to 3D news, but maybe it didn't fit for BN? @elliot: Sorry to hear that. :(
@Bart: I'm still learning. ;) It does apply to 3D news, but maybe it didn't fit for BN?

]]> By: ROUBAL http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437561 ROUBAL Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:36:47 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437561 The technology is interesting, but very believeable CG human have already been created for several years, without any special capture technology. Liam Kemp has done an amazing work in this direction since at least 2003 : http://www.liamkemp.com/news2008.htm His movie "This wonderful life" is a master work, and his demo animations are awesome. The technology is interesting, but very believeable CG human have already been created for several years, without any special capture technology.

Liam Kemp has done an amazing work in this direction since at least 2003 :

http://www.liamkemp.com/news2008.htm

His movie "This wonderful life" is a master work, and his demo animations are awesome.

]]> By: marijn http://www.blendernation.com/the-emily-project/comment-page-1/#comment-437558 marijn Wed, 31 Dec 2008 12:16:53 +0000 http://www.blendernation.com/?p=6311#comment-437558 making a super realistic head in itself is not useful. but it IS useful if you'd want the head to explode or her skull to open so you could see her brains (or other things real actors wouldn't like you doing to them :P). still to bad i won't be able to use something like this for myself unless i win the lottery. and i don't gamble. ;) making a super realistic head in itself is not useful. but it IS useful if you'd want the head to explode or her skull to open so you could see her brains (or other things real actors wouldn't like you doing to them :P).

still to bad i won't be able to use something like this for myself unless i win the lottery.

and i don't gamble. ;)

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