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Recording
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Pre-Recorded Videos to Motion Capture
***Read through this guide at least once before putting the steps into action.***
Pre-Marionette: Before You Begin
1. Calibration Pattern
- Locate the file “Marionette_data/StreamingAssets/CalibrateExtrinsics.png” (or download it here)
- Print the file as large as possible on a sheet of A3 white paper (or two pieces of A4 put together to form an A3 size).
2. Camera Setup
- Place the calibration pattern you just printed at the very center of the area you will be capturing motion in.
- Set up your cameras (at least 2 cameras but for this example we will use 3 cameras) so that the pattern is in view of all of them. Space the cameras about 3-4 meters apart.
- Make sure that the human being captured is also in full view with some room to spare.
3. Record Calibration Videos
- Record 3 short videos (one with each camera) of just the calibration pattern.
- Save the 3 videos to your desktop for later.
4. Record Your Motion
- Remove the calibration pattern from the floor.
- Record motion with your cameras. (It is recommended to start the recording session with 3 claps of your hands for auto-sync later on.)
- Save the videos to your desktop for later.
Marionette: Launch Marionette
1. Import Your Videos
- Select the “Import Video” button.
- Import all videos as separate takes.
- In our example, import all videos that belong to one take (v1, v2, v3).
- Then, go back to Import Video and import all calibration videos together (c1, c2, c3).
- Now you can see your takes on the left panel.
2. Convert The Calibration Take
- Select the cog wheel and then the Calibration Take toggle.
3. Take Marked As Calibration
- The calibration take is now marked as a calibration take.
- Select the cog wheel again and more options are now available.
4. Lens Calibration Using Presets
(If you do not see your preset, see the Lens Calibration guide.)
- If all your cameras are the same type, select the large cog wheel and then select the lens preset (in this example it is Go Pro HERO 10).
- If your cameras are different types, select the small cog wheels on the individual videos and then select it’s preset.
5. Camera Position Calibration
- Now, you will setup the camera positional calibration.
- Select the “Position Calibration”.
- It starts from the In Marker on the take and runs automatically.
- When completed, it will fill out the positional values for the videos automatically.
6. Prepare Take
- In this recording, cameras were sideways to cover more vertical space. In such a case, use the take settings to re-orient the videos.
- On some devices, the recorded videos could end up with a small offset. Use the “Sync Videos” button to open the “Sync Timeline” and synchronize the videos.
7. Generate Motion
- Now you can drag the take to the Timeline.
- Mark your In (I) and Out (O) to choose what to render.
- Press the “Render” button to generate motion.
8. SUCCESS!
- After the wait time, your character should have the recorded 3D motion.
- We suggest trying a small amount of motion first to start out with.
EXPORT NOTE:
- When you review your exported animation, please be aware that Marionette adds to the model’s animation. Therefore, you will see additional animation clips.
- Select the additional clips to review your exported animation.
- If you do not see an additional clip, please report the error here.
