The USC School of Cinematic Arts has installed state-of-the-art OptiTrack motion capture and tracking systems in three locations within the Robert Zemeckis Center for Digital Arts ahead of the Fall 2014 semester. In addition to outfitting its updated performance capture stage with OptiTrack, the school established two new labs with integrated mo-cap technology:a World Building Media Lab directed by 5D co-founder Alex McDowell, and a world’s-first university IMAX theater.
SCA’s new motion capture stage features a film-caliber performance capture system, capable of tracking high-fidelity body movements and facial expressions simultaneously. The 48 Prime 41 camera PCAP stage serves traditional animation functions for student film and game projects and will be the foundation of the university’s motion capture curriculum.
The brand new World Building Media Lab focuses on using the power of technology to enhance storytelling capabilities. Utilizing Virtual and Augmented Reality, students can explore story logic from a multi-user viewpoint to create new narratives from inception through iteration and prototyping, into final multimedia making. OptiTrack’s real-time precision tracking enables artifact-free immersion via a number of display and control devices from the lab’s extensive toolkit.
The very first of its kind in a university setting, the Michelle and Kevin Douglas IMAX® Theatre and Immersive Lab provides students and researchers with unprecedented access to the most compelling and largest format IMAX theater experience. The lab’s high-precision Prime 41 cameras measure human gestures for real-time interactivity with displayed media, live stereoscopic media, gestural interface and audience tracking.
For more information on OptiTrack products and pricing, please visit www.optitrack.com.
