Capture a take

Vicon Shogun Live enables you to go straight from live capture to post processing. Data is saved as a mocap file (.mcp), which contains a copy of the current calibration, active subject, and real-time data, along with paths to the .x2d (an XML file, which contains 2D camera data) and any video cameras in the system. As soon as you’ve captured takes (.mcp files), you can replay and review them without leaving Live. For cleanup, you open the .mcp file in Shogun Post.

In addition to the following information about capturing with Shogun Live, see also the Vicon video:

7 - Shogun Live - Capture Direct to Disk and Realtime Settings

To find out about streaming real-time data from Shogun Live into Autodesk MotionBuilder, Unity, or Unreal Engine 4, see the Vicon video:

8 - Shogun Live - Streaming to Game Engines

To capture a take:

1. To select the Capture Data layout, which displays the views and panels that are used for motion capture, at the top right of the menu bar, click View settings and select Capture Data.

   

2. Ensure you've completed the preparations described in Create and calibrate subjects and Work with props.

3. In the Processing panel, display the advanced options and in the General section, make sure that the Processing Output level is set to Retarget (the default) or Solve, depending on your requirements, and that Occlusion Fixing is selected.

   

   Important: To ensure you record the required data, always check the Processing Output level before capturing. Normally, make sure it is set to Retarget (the default) or Solve. If you set it to Reconstruct, the system will save only reconstructed data, and you will not see any labels or a solving skeleton when you open the data in Shogun Post. Similarly, if you select Label, you will not see a solving skeleton in Post.

4. On the right of the Shogun Live window, ensure the Capture tab is selected.
5. In the Take Info section, click the folder icon to the right of the Capture Folder field and select the Session folder that you created as described in Create a folder hierarchy to store takes. Anything you capture from now on will be saved inside the database you created.

6. In the Capture Name field, enter a name that will enable you to identify the take.

   

7. If you will be capturing multiple takes, to append a number at the end of the capture name for each take in the sequence, ensure Auto-increment capture name is selected.
8. If required, add text to the Description field. Note that if preferred, you can add comments after capture in the Eclipse database (also accessible in Shogun Post in the Data Management panel).

9. Display the advanced options and in the Capture section, note the options to capture processed data and video data. The option selected by default is Capture Processed Data. If the Solve option is selected in Step 3 above, this includes 3D labels and solving bones.

   To capture video from Vicon video cameras, select Capture Video. This lets you view a video overlay to check your 3D data in Shogun Post.

   Tip: A fast SSD is required to capture large datasets to disk. If you're using live video, a second SSD is recommended.

   The Capture Buffer Size is also displayed. This represents the amount of memory allocated to Shogun Live's capture. By default, this is set to 2 GB, which should be enough for most situations. For multiple video cameras, you may need to set it higher. We recommend that you always record your data onto a fast SSD drive.

10. Before capturing any data, you may want to reposition and/or resize the Data Capture panel as required (to move it, drag its title bar).

    

11. In the Data Capture panel (by default at the bottom right of the Shogun Live window), click Start Capture.

    In the menu bar at the top of the view pane, a flashing red circle and Capture Active are displayed.

    Tip: If possible, begin and end each take with the performer(s) in an A-pose. This can help with labeling and retargeting.

    Data is captured to disk at your source frame rate.

    If you are using an external timecode generator, in the Data Capture panel you can see the current timecode being received, and green icons, indicating that the system is running at genlock at the specified standard. This panel also displays any issues with the capture.

    The bar at the bottom of the Workspace displays red marks when the real-time system cannot keep up with the target frame rate and has to drop a frame. The percentage of dropped frames is also shown. Unless this number becomes very high (above 30%), you can continue to capture. If it is above 30%, this normally indicates that your system is out of calibration, and can't keep up with the amount of data currently being processed. In this case, you may need to re-calibrate or even upgrade your PC.

    The .x2d data from the cameras is also recorded. When you load the .mcp file in Post, .x2d data can be used to fix dropped frames (for more information, see Load mocap data files into Shogun Post).

12. When you have captured the required take, click Stop Capture.

    Shogun Live saves the necessary files to the folder specified in the Take Info section (see Step 5 above).

13. Depending on whether you want to remain in Shogun Live to continue capturing or move to Shogun Post for cleanup and further processing, you can now do one of the following:

    • Capture another take, as described above.
    • Review the last take (or other recent takes) while remaining in Shogun Live. (For more information, see MCP review in Shogun Live.); or
    • Load the data into Shogun Post. For information, see Load mocap data files into Shogun Post.

Load subjects and props via .mcp file

For an easy way to quickly load subjects and props from an existing scene, you can load an .mcp file directly into Shogun Live.

To quickly load subjects and props from an .mcp:

1. At the top of the Tracking panel, click the Load tracking configuration button .

2. From the Load Tracking Configuration dialog box, select or browse to the required .mcp file.
   The subjects and props are displayed in the Tracking panel as normal.