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Ariel in the tempest2/20/2023 ![]() ![]() “In the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, we would be struggling to get mocap cameras behind the actor, looking back at the audience, and to keep them hidden in the set design. The result handles the video and images of Ariel as augmented reality data that needs to be positioned accurately in 3D space.īen talked about some of the other technical implications of their choice of workflow and, especially, an inertial system. Logisitics on the Stageīecause the screens and props onto which the video is projected are mobile and of unusual dimensions, a separate optical motion capture system based on Vicon cameras and software – described in more detail further on in this article - is set up at the theatre to continuously supply the projectors with precise, real time location data at every moment of the show. It generally runs on a laptop or dedicated d3 hardware. Productions use it to design, sequence and playback stage shows, working with props, venues, LED screens, projection, lighting and moving stage elements. The d3 media server, and its integrated video production application, is software based on a real-time 3D stage simulator. The UE4 project replicated on two machines in case of failure, and on each machine, two different camera views are stored to enable various effects,” said Ben Lumsden. The video output is then sent as 1080p 60fps video data to d3 servers powered by Intel Xeon processors connected to the RSC lighting desk, which in turn controls 27 projectors located around the stage. In the most recent MVN release, these measurements have been refined enough to allow the Xsens Mocap Engine to capture height data from the sensors as well as horizontal movement.Īs the actor’s performance is tracked, the data is processed moment-by-moment through Autodesk MotionBuilder software, and imported into the Epic Unreal Engine 4. While optical systems derive motion from positions of markers per captured frame and may need to filter the data to remove jitter, the inertial system is only concerned with the tracked changes in the speed and direction of motion, generally producing a cleaner result than camera data. Inertial mocap measures acceleration - that is, the rate at which the speed changes over time – in terms of both absolute and angular values. ![]() The MVN system uses inertial motion capture, as opposed to optical systems that depend on data from an array of cameras. No part of his performance needs to be recorded first. The untethered nature of the Xsens systems makes it possible for the actor to interact normally with cast members in his human form, while the transformations occur live as he performs on stage every night. His movements are transferred to a digital avatar, which is then projected onto various props on stage and in the air. RSC and The Imaginarium achieved the transformation by capturing the movements of actor Mark Quartley through Xsens motion capture sensors, on an Xsens MVN Link suit, placed within the actor’s costume. Several times during the performance, Ariel morphs from a spirit to a water nymph to a harpy, a vicious, mythical creature combining a woman’s figure and head with the wings and claws of a bird of prey. “Without unrestricted performance capture, Ariel would have been just another earthbound cast member in a costume.” “For this performance to work, Ariel needed to fly, walk in space and interact with other performers spontaneously,” said Ben Lumsden, head of studio at The Imaginarium Studios. In his play, Shakespeare wrote more stage directions - describing stage actions, movements of performers or production requirements - for Ariel than almost any of his other characters, making this character, a spirit, one of the most complicated to stage. There, Prospero reveals Antonio's scheming, pardons the King, and sees Miranda happily married to Alonso's son, Prince Ferdinand. He conjures up a storm to lure his treacherous brother Antonio and the conniving King Alonso of Naples to the island. On a remote island, the exiled sorcerer Prospero, Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place using magic and cunning, and the help of his magical servant Ariel. It also features some of the first live motion capture performances to appear in a major stage production. ![]() The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has been collaborating with The Imaginarium Studios and Intel on a new production of Shakespeare’s play ‘The Tempest’, which opened on 18 November 2016 and will run until 17 January 2017, to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Mocap Innovation Captures the Spirit of Ariel in ‘The Tempest’ ![]()
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