HOLLYWOOD, Calif. (May, 2006) - Motion Analysis Corporation (MAC), the undisputed world's leading manufacturer of high-performance computer-based real-time optical motion capture systems, recently demonstrated at The Jim Henson Soundstage the superiority of their system with a ten person realtime motion capture session.

A twenty eight camera Eagle-4 Digital System was used for capturing ten performers at 60 fps in a 40x40x15 feet capture area. Each of the ten performers was wearing 42 markers. The Eagle-4 cameras captured and Motion Analysis' EVaRT software tracked the motion and identified the data of all ten performers in real-time.

Industry First - Ten Person Motion Capture in Real Time
"The software algorithms enabling us to track ten performers in real-time is a major breakthrough for our industry. This release of our tracking software is at least two years ahead of the industry", said Shel Fung, Senior Vice-President of Engineering at Motion Analysis. "Using only 28 cameras for a 40x40x15 feet capture volume demonstrates the advanced development behind our tracking software. Other companies need to use twice as many cameras for the same capture volume, hoping that increased camera coverage will make up for inadequate tracking software. This is a self defeating strategy for real time because it only increases the complexities of real time tracking. For post process, our advanced algorithms provide similar benefits for reducing data clean-up. Excessive numbers of cameras also increase the burden of sorting out terra bytes of unnecessary data, requiring extensive clean-up software bandaids", Mr. Fung explained.

Jeff Forbes, Technical Manager of Jim Henson's Creature Shop and an observer at the test said, "Watching the world's first ten-person realtime capture was a true glimpse into the future for all forms of CG entertainment production. It is clearly the most cost effective solution and gives the opportunity for unlimited creativity."

"Multiple character previsualization has been an industry request for many years. This capability is unmatched in the mocap industry", said Rita Maloney, Vice-President of Marketing for Motion Analysis. "When doing ten person real-time capture with the Motion Analysis system, it is not necessary for all ten performers to be in the capture volume all of the time. Once the setup is complete, any combination of performers can enter and exit the capture volume and the software will automatically identify and track each individual performer within three frames of data collection. No operator action is required to identify markers or the performer's skeleton at any time. Plus the realtime feedback allows for more on-set creativity and artistic exploration", Ms. Maloney explained.

About Motion Analysis Studios
Motion Analysis Studios is a state of the art motion capture facility dedicated to providing the 3D animation industry with the highest quality motion-capture services available. MAS, a pioneer in character animation services, provide animators and directors from feature films, music videos, television, games and commercials with the best technology and superior Motion Capture service. Founded in 1999, MAS is located in Hollywood, California. The Motion Analysis Studios website is located at: www.mastudios.com

About Motion Analysis Corporation
Motion Analysis Corporation (MAC) is the undisputed worldwide leader and provider of optical motion-capture systems in entertainment, video games, film, broadcasting, virtual reality, medicine, sports and research. The company was formed in 1982 and has its headquarters in Santa Rosa, California. Motion Analysis. Recent film projects using a Motion Analysis system include Peter Jackson's "King Kong", "Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King", "I, Robot", "Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow" and the "Matrix" trilogy.The Motion Analysis website is located at: www.motionanalysis.com

Hollywood, CA (Summer, 2005) - During a very busy summer, the crew packed up their gear and moved to Hollywood. Located near Highland and Santa Monica, the new space has a permanent green screen, dressing rooms and soundstage amenities that provides our clients with a production environment unlike any other motion capture facility. With access to multiple soundstages and equipment, there is no limit to the resources we now offer the world of motion capture.

Culver City, CA (June 8, 2004) - Motion Analysis Studios (MAS) has teamed with Digital Domain to create the seamless integration between live-action and CG elements needed for Fox’s upcoming I, ROBOT (opening July 16, 2004).

The action thriller inspired by the classic short story by Isaac Asimov, in which a human detective investigates a crime believed to be committed by a robot, required a large amount of motion capture services in order to create the life-like movements and actions of the robot race. It also included the creation of a major CG character.

“MAS was very dedicated and ingenious in adjusting the mocap setup to accommodate our specific needs,” said John Nelson, visual effects supervisor for I ROBOT Prods. “We asked for some extreme stuff and Motion Analysis got us what we needed quickly and straightforwardly. This included adjusting capture dates and dealing with large sets and camera occlusion.”

The team at Motion Analysis Studios traveled to the set of the film in Vancouver to capture, track and solve data in realtime, so director Alex Proyas could easily manage the robots’ performance for each shot in the film. “With film production, the setup time allotted between shots allows our team to streamline the data onto the character model so that production can immediately see exactly what was captured during the previous shot,” said Scott Gagain, vp of project development for MAS.

In addition, the company was brought in to help create the fluidity of human motion without losing the classic robot-like stiffness needed for the robot race. To achieve this effect, Motion Analysis built a 32x32 foot stage that was 17-feet high and used 22 Motion Analysis Eagle cameras. The film's actors were trained to move like robots and the team at Motion Analysis maintained every nuance of the actor’s performances by using their proprietary software which retargets the data to the CG robots and is able to drive the CG skeleton directly.

Since most of the shots were tailored for specific parts of the film, production had a video reference crew on set to mimic the camera angle from the footage shot on set months before. This was critical for creating the seamless integration between the live-action and CG elements.

“The data from our system was extremely accurate and allowed us to capture the most subtle motions for the dramatic portions of the film, as well as multiple person captures for some very intense action/stunt sequences,” said Jeff Swenty, head of production for Motion Analysis Studios. “Most importantly, the job that we did for I, ROBOT, didn't slow down the actors or the director at all. We provided retargeted skeletal data in Maya for each robot in each scene.”

“The data that we received from MAS was very clean to begin with and made things much easier on our animators. Typically, animators get frustrated with motion capture and end up throwing stuff out that was shot on set,” said Andy Jones, animation supervisor, Digital Domain. “MAS provided seamless data which enabled our animators to focus on the subtleties of the characters motions. It saved us a ton of time on our end.”

The pioneering Motion Analysis Studios (www.mastudios.com), based in Culver City, California, is dedicated to providing the 3D animation industry with the highest quality motion-capture services. The company is owned by Santa Rosa-based Motion Analysis Corp.