Solve the data

When you have finished any necessary cleanup of your data, run a final solve to produce the finished file ready for export.

In addition to the following information, see also the Vicon video 3 - Shogun Post - Processing and Solving, which covers using the Processing panel, editing a solving skeleton, and solving.

Even if you only had to clean up a single frame or a small range of frames, always run a final solve on the entire play range. You can run solves on smaller ranges so that you can review the results of your cleanup while you are working (depending on your requirements, you would probably use the Solve Labeling and/or Solve Solving options on the ribbon or in the Processing panel), but to avoid any jumps at the start and end of the solved range(s), when you have finished editing, you must run a solve of the whole play range.

To solve your data:

1. On the Processing tab of the ribbon, select Processing.
2. At the top of the Processing panel, ensure the required options are selected from the Time Range list (for example, to affect the whole play range, select All, as shown in the following image).
3. In the Processing panel, ensure the options for Reconstruct, Label, and Fix Occlusion are cleared (for more information, see About occlusion fixing), but Solve is selected.
4. On the Solving tab, ensure the settings are as required.
   If you are using any of the high fidelity fingers templates:
   • Ensure that the Plausibility importance option is set to a suitable value:
     • If you are using VST 3.7 or later (VST 3.7 was introduced with Shogun 1.10), the default, 12.5, is normally a good starting point. Smaller values produce better data fidelity (ie, the markers will better fit their constraints), but the pose likelihood may be weaker. Larger values produce better pose likelihood, but weaker data fidelity.
     • If you are using a version of Shogun earlier than 1.10, see Working with skeletons from earlier versions of Shogun.
   • Note that the Mean pose ratio, which affects the entire skeleton, has a strong impact on the final hand poses. Ensure it is set to a suitable value:
     • If you are using VST 3.7 or later (VST 3.7 was introduced with Shogun 1.10), the default, 0, is normally a good starting point, but if you need to adjust it (for example, if there is too much noise), try a lower value.
     • If you are using a version of Shogun earlier than 1.10, see Working with skeletons from earlier versions of Shogun.

5. Click Run Checked Operations.

   

   Any changes you have made to the labeling skeleton and the solving skeleton are included in this final solve.

6. Review your solved data and perform any further cleanup needed.

Working with skeletons from earlier versions of Shogun

To work well with VST 3.7 skeletons (introduced with Shogun 1.10), the solver included changes to these settings when compared with the values used with earlier VSTs:

• Less to no reliance on the Mean-pose ratio
• A much lower Plausibility importance

Because these changes are not suitable for use with previous VSTs, when you work on a scene that contains one or more full-body skeletons designed with VST 3.6 or earlier, you must restore the relevant solving settings (described below) to their legacy values.

If both the following conditions are true, a warning is displayed in the Log to let you know that you're using settings optimized for VST 3.7 or later:

• The scene contains a subject with fully articulated fingers
• The VST used is 3.6 or earlier

The warning identifies the relevant subject and advises you to change back to Shogun 1.9 default settings, which are:

• Mean-pose ratio = 0.75
• Plausibility importance = 25.0

When you switch to the recommended settings, the warning disappears.

About occlusion fixing

Occlusion fixing uses data from non-occluded markers to supply the missing data for the occluded markers. To give the best results and the smoothest trajectories, occlusion fixing may affect non-occluded markers throughout the take, even if you have selected a range before applying it. If you repeatedly run occlusion fixing in Post, the effect may be cumulative, resulting in greater (possibly unwanted) smoothing.

Interactive solving

If you want to perform a simple manipulation of a solving bone, you can save time and a lot of manual tweaking by using the interactive solving feature. This immediately updates the offsets for the constraints that drive the bone that you're adjusting as soon as you release the mouse button.

To manipulate a solving bone:

1. Ensure you have loaded the subject, which must have a solving skeleton.

2. In the Subject Setup panel, select the Solving tab, and on the Modify Setup tab, expand Constraints in Current Subject.

   

3. In the 3D Scene, select the joint you want to rotate.

4. On the right of the Subject Setup panel toolbar, select Enable interactive solving of the solving subject .

   At the top of the 3D Scene view, the text Interactive Solving is displayed.

5. Using the manipulator, rotate the subject's joint.

6. When you're happy with the new position of the joint, release the mouse button.

   The offsets for the constraints which drive the bone are updated.

You can follow a similar procedure to manipulate retargeting bones: see Interactive retargeting.

For information on the relevant HSL commands, see the following commands in HSL Scripting with Vicon Shogun.

• getInteractiveSolveLabeling
• getInteractiveSolveSolving
• setInteractiveSolveLabeling
• setInteractiveSolveSolving