Motion Capture
Move freely while capturing in real-time
The Zign Cam SDmax is developed to give the motion capture actor more freedom to move and act, while simultaneously capturing the facial footage. This head mounted camera can be used in combination with motion capture suits and optical full-body motion capture solutions.
For facial motion capture it is important to have reliable video footage of the actors face. You don’t want markers to go out of view or get blurry frames on fast movements. For this, the Zign Cam SDmax is the perfect solution.
Camera
The camera is rotated 90° to provide optimal use of the video resolution. Now the face can fill the entire frame and no pixels are wasted on the background. This means the effective resolution is much higher compared to standard orientation, providing even more tracking accuracy.
Build-in LED lights provide reliable lighting, making sure the markers are always lit. The wide dynamic range camera automatically adjust to changing light conditions in the environment, so you don’t have to worry about light while moving while performing motion capture.
Wireless
The Zign Cam SDmax is equipped with an eight-channel wire video transmitter. This means you can use up to eight Zign Cams at the same time on the same set. The transmitter is equipped with a wired video output as well.
Receive & Capture
A video capture card/device with composite video input is required. We recommend Blackmagic Design Decklink video capture cards, although other capture devices can be used as well.
The eight-channel video receiver can be connected to the computer’s capture device.
On Screen Display Control
Use the buttons on the camera to access the advanced video control features. Control the exposure, white balance, dynamic range and many other settings from the on screen control.
Helmet
The helmet comes in two sizes:
Other sizes can be made available at request.
What’s included?
The Zign Cam SDmax comes with an eight-channel video receiver, Lithium-Ion battery (5 hours working time) and a Lithium battery charger.
Requirements
*The Zign Cam SDmax can be used with other video capture applications as well.
Zign Track Pro
Professional performance & quick to set up
Motion capture with Zign Track Pro does not require any special skills or expensive equipment. You can use any webcam, DV or HDV camera, connect it to your computer and start capturing.
With Zign Track Pro you can use up to eight cameras in real-time. Or, you can record your video in advance, load your video in Zign Track and process it.
Zign Track Pro’s improved interface
You can see the input from your cameras and see the captured motion on the face rig in the 3D preview in real-time. The build in tweak tools allow you to correct any motion or apply exaggeration before, during and after recording.
Select a marker layout from a list of presets or create your own custom layouts. Zign Track Pro automatically detects your markers as soon as they are visible. If small tracking errors occur, Zign Track Pro will detect these errors and correct them while you capture. Cleaning up errors yourself is hardly needed anymore.
Customizable marker layouts
You can select from different predefined marker layouts, or design your own layout that best suits your 3D character models. With Zign Track Pro you can use up to 44 markers in your layout.
With Zign Track Pro it is no longer needed to specify the placement of each marker in your video. Zign Track Pro will search for markers based on the selected marker layout and automatically detect them.
Multiple cameras
Zign Track Pro allows you to use multiple cameras in real-time. You can use up to eight cameras to increase the actor’s range of motion and improve the tracking accuracy.
You can arrange the cameras in any order, at any position. If you wish you can combine different types of camera (DV, HDV, webcam) or use the same type of camera for each input.
Common export formats
Zign Track Pro exports to the common motion capture formats BVH, TRC and C3D. These general motion capture formats contain bone or marker data and are supported by most 3D animation applications.
Morph driven export
The exporter for Poser®, DAZ Studio™ and Animation: Master creates 70 base morphs based on the captured motion. You can use and combine as much of these morphs as you like to as many target morphs your model needs. This will give you maximum control over your morph based facial animations.
Real-time motion capture export stream
New in Zign Track Pro 2.1 is the real-time TCP/IP motion capture export stream. Using a simple protocol, software and plugin developers can use this to get the captured motion in real-time into their 3D application, engine or animatronics.
The TCP/IP connection makes it possible to stream the data to other computers over a network. A reference for the data protocol is available here. A test application for monitoring the data over a network can be downloaded here. Note: this application does not work with the trial version as the trials are export disabled.
Support for head mounted cameras
For optimal use of the video resolution of the Zign Cam SDmax head camera, Zign Track Pro supports live video input with 90° camera rotation. This eliminates the need to pre-record all footage, rotate and finally import. Now you can simply select the orientation (clockwise of counter clockwise) and start capturing in real-time.
Complete Package
Everything you need to start capturing facial motion
Now you can get everything you need for facial motion capture in one package:
Zign Track Pro, Zign Cam SDmax, a set of facial markers and skin-bond latex glue.
Zign Track Pro
Zign Track Pro is the perfect facial motion capture solution for professionals. Capture and stream in real-time, from your desktop or studio.
Zign Cam SDmax
Move freely, stream your facial footage to Zign Track Pro in real-time. This wireless head camera is the perfect solution for performance capture.
Facial Markers
A set of 50 markers. These latex-rubber markers are reusable and stick very well with skin bond latex glue.
Note: not suitable for people with latex allergies.