Christian Iseli, what is motion capture?
Motion capture is a tool used in the production of animation films. Actresses and actors wear special suits bearing markers whose movement data are captured by special cameras and subsequently converted into a 3D model by a computer. The recorded data of real people can be transferred to computer-generated characters to lend them natural-looking movements. High computer performance enables motion capture to be used live. For example, dancers can animate projected virtual characters.
The “Immersive Arts Space” has been running as a pilot project at ZHdK since March 2018. Students from the fields of film, game design, interaction design and dance are working with students from the Bachelor of Arts in Animation at Lucerne University of Applied Sciences on a project based on motion-capture technology. In the summer of 2018, artists from the Hong Kong theatre group Zuni Icosahedron and ZHdK students co-created a motion-capture-supported live performance. This will be performed as part of the Swiss Digital Day on 25 October 2018. From 2019, the Immersive Arts Space is set to become an interdisciplinary research lab in which interactions between the latest technologies and art will be researched using transdisciplinary approaches.