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This is Fred Ball for Zions Bank, speaking on business.
For the film and video game industry, realism is key in order to maximize believability. Studios and software companies all around spend millions of dollars in pursuit of creating realistic looking special effects and graphics. Mantis Motion Production of Lindon uses specialized software, computers and infrared cameras to capture human movement for video games and movies.
Michael Low and his partners, Russell Francis and Marilyn McDonald, started Mantis Motion when Michael and Russell wanted to acquire the technology for personal projects.
Though Mantis Motion is the newest and smallest company in the industry, Michael tells me the forecast already looks quite bright. Michael says only one other company in Utah has the technology for 3-D motion capture but it is limited to their own private use. However, Mantis Motion specializes in providing this service to any company, individual or organization.
To capture movements, Michael says actors are fitted with a black suit that has ball-shaped, reflective markers at the joints. The actors then perform their routine on the "stage" while sensitive infrared cameras trace the movements of the markers. A computer translates the filmed movements into a set of programmed instructions. The instructions are then applied to a graphic, and before you know it, you have a computerized image moving just the way a human does. After looking at some samples of their work, I must admit I was pretty surprised with how realistic the movements seemed.
In addition to doing custom work, Mantis Motion also sells several stock motions on its Web site. For a small fee, graphic gurus, home movie fanatics or anybody else can order the programmed instructions for a specific movement, including various martial arts, dances and sports moves.
For Zions Bank, I'm Fred Ball. I'm speaking on business.
