So much of the magic in Hollywood, from raptors in “Jurassic World" to aliens in "Star Wars" -- is thanks to motion-capture technology.
And now, it is gaining traction elsewhere too.
Anna Stewart introduces us to a young girl suffering from cerebral palsy. She hopes the technology can help her walk.
--REPORTER PKG-AS FOLLOWS--
"can you lift this leg up in the air for me? like that.
RACHAEL IS 8 YEARS-OLD, SHE SUFFERS FROM CEREBRAL PALSY.
"and again, big lift"
A DISORDER WHICH AFFECTS MUSCLE CONTROL, MAKING IT INCREASING HARD TO WALK.
(Alison Dewdney, Mother) "We are here to assess her walking position, and to see if her current splints are doing the job that they should be doing"
(MOS) "Are you ready? and go."
THESE SMALL STICKY BOLTS WILL HELP MEASURE EXACTLY HOW RACHAEL IS WALKING, USING CUTTING EDGE MOTION CAPTURE TECHNOLOGY.
(MOS) "They come out on the computer screen, they show the pattern of where are bones form when she is walking"
(Rachael, Has Cerebral Palsy) "slightly fun"
MOTION CAPTURE ACTUALLY STARTED HERE IN LIFE SCIENCES, BUT IT WASN'T LONG BEFORE THE MOVIE INDUSTRY CAUGHT ON. DRIVING THE DEVELOPMENTS, MAKING IT CHEAPER AND MORE ACCESSIBLE FOR HEALTHCARE AND MANY OTHER INDUSTRIES.
THEY ALL LOOK VERY REAL, AND THAT'S BECAUSE BEHIND EVERY MONSTER, THERE IS A REAL LIFE ACTOR.
TODAY, THAT'S ME.
(Anna Stewart, CNN) "Nick i'm all suited up, i'm ready to go, i don't look how i thought i would for my first Hollywood performance. What's going on?
(Nick Bolton, CEO, Oxford Metrics Group)"oh i'm sorry about that first of all, but so what you've got on a series of reflective markers all around your body, front and back, heads and feet, and we are filming those movements of those markers from multiple angles. As you can see on the screen here, here is your character, when you move your left arm, it moves, you move your right arm it moves and So forth.
THIS ISN'T EXACTLY BLOCKBUSTER STUFF, THE NEXT STEP IS TO MATCH THE MOTION CAPTURE TO A GRAPHIC CHARACTER, BE IT A BEAST, OR MAYBE A WARRIOR PRINCESS.
(Nick Bolton, CEO, Oxford Metrics Group)"Well motion capture is already in people's living rooms, they connect sensor from the microsoft on the Xbox right, that's a motion capture system, we see motion capture, not dramatically, you know, exploding into the marketplace, but actually almost creeping into our lives in a much more subtle way."
(MOS) "steady and go"
AND AS IT FINDS MORE USES, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL GET BETTER AND CHEAPER. PERFECT FOR LIFE SCIENCES WHERE IT ALL BEGAN. SO HOPEFULLY MORE KIDS LIKE RACHAEL WILL REAP THE BENEFITS.
ANNA STEWART, CNN, OXFORD.
Instructional Links
Magazine Article: Scholastic SuperScience, The Perfect Pitch, Mar2014
May Need Password
Video: What Is? - Motion Capture
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fm-A1lknrxE
Website Article: What is Motion Capture?
http://www.vicon.com/what-is-motion-capture
Website Article: KidsHealth, Cerebral Palsy
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/brain/cerebral_palsy.html