A step into virtual cinematography

Artanim just added a new tool to its motion capture equipment: the Optitrack Insight VCS, a professional virtual camera system. From now on, everyone doing motion capture at Artanim will be able to step into the virtual set, preview or record real camera movement and find the best angles to view the current scene.

The Optitrack Insight VCS shoulder mounted

The motion capture data captured by our Vicon system is processed in real time in MotionBuilder and displayed on the camera monitor. The position of MotionBuilder’s virtual camera is updated by the position of the reflective markers on the camera rig. In addition, the camera operator can control several parameters such as the camera zoom, horizontal panning, etc. The rig itself is very flexible and can be modified to accommodate different shooting styles (shoulder-mounted, hand-held, etc.).

We can’t wait to use it in future motion capture sessions and show you some results. Meanwhile, you can have a look at our first tests in the above video.

Virtual cinematography

3DIM @ Montreux Jazz Festival

3DIM @ Montreux Jazz Festival

3D In Motion (3DIM) – our experimental setup of capture, visualization and sonification of movements in real time – was presented at the Montreux Jazz Festival on the 12th of July 2014 during an one hour workshop. For this occasion, a special sound design was developed by Alain Renaud from MINTLab. A mapping of different artists’ audio tracks recorded during their visit to the festival was performed. The tracks were generously provided by the Montreux Jazz Lab of EPFL.

Moreover, several improvements in the 3DIM application were achieved. For instance, an iPad App was implemented to easily switch between the sound design scenarios, a prompter was added to provide instructions to the user and an OSC connection between the sonification and graphical applications was programmed to control visual feedback from sound events.

Again, the feedback from the public was positive. We look forward to developing a first live performance using this system.

More information about the 3DIM project here.

A demo video of the setup including the sonification part will arrive soon. Stay in touch!

Montreux Jazz Festival demo Montreux Jazz Festival demo

Best Technical Paper Award @ CAOS 2014

Best Technical Paper Award @ CAOS 2014

Artanim won the Best Technical Paper Award for the paper entitled “A Patient-Specific Measurement Technique to Model the Kinematics of the Shoulder in Tennis Players” at the 14th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Computer Assisted Orthopaedic Surgery (CAOS) in Milan!

More info on this research here.

Sex after hip transplants – scientists reveal new guidelines

Sex after hip transplants – scientists reveal new guidelines

What are the risks related to sexual activity after total hip arthroplasty? This is the question Artanim’s researchers tried to answer in a motion capture study published in the Journal of Arthroplasty. Artanim joined forces with a surgeon from the University Hospitals of Geneva, Dr. Christofilopoulos, to provide the first scientific guidelines for hip transplant patients wanting safe, pain-free sex. Post-operative intercourse for people who’ve undergone hip replacement surgery can be stressful and risky but, for at least one patient, the guidelines are putting the joy back into sex. Watch the story of Reuters TV.

This research received a special distinction for the best discussion of the poster entitled: “Sexual Activity after Total Hip Arthroplasty: A Motion Capture Study” at the 15th Annual Congress of the European Federation of National Associations of Orthopaedics and Traumatology (EFORT) in London.

EFORT

 

3DIM @ Electron Festival

3DIM @ Electron Festival

In collaboration with Alain Renaud from MINTLab, we gave on the 20th of April a workshop at Electron Festival in Geneva. At this occasion, we presented the 3D In Motion (3DIM) experimental setup of capture, visualization and sonification of movements in real time. About twenty people participated to the workshop, where they had the opportunity to test the system and to learn more about the underlying techniques.

It was the first time 3DIM was officially presented to the public and the feedback was positive. This gave us a good basis for further developing the system both in terms of visualization and musicality. The next demonstration will take place in June at the New Interfaces for Musical Expression (NIME) Conference in London.

More information about the 3DIM project here.

Electron Festival demo Electron Festival demo