Place markers on a performer

After you have chosen an appropriate marker set (see Choose a marker set), you can attach the markers to the performer(s).

Place FrontWaist marker set on a performer

This marker set uses 53 markers (without fingers).

The following images show the marker placement for the Vicon FrontWaist marker set.

When placing markers on the performer's elbow, place the markers on the joints of the forearm in a location where they will not move when the performer bends their arm.

When placing markers on the performer's waist, place a marker in the center of the waist on the front and also in the center on the back. The placement of these markers distinguishes between the FrontWaist and SideWaist marker sets.

Ensure that the foot markers are placed so the toe marker is as far forward as possible on the foot while also facing upward.

Also ensure that the three other markers (the heel marker and the two markers on either side of the front of the foot) are:

• In the same plane as the marker on the front of the foot
• Are as low (ie, near to the floor), as possible.

For optimal performance, ensure that the toe marker is higher than the three markers that form this plane.

The following images show the placement of these four foot markers on the performer's shoes.

Place SideWaist marker set on a performer

This marker set uses 53 markers (without fingers).

The following images show the marker placement for the Vicon SideWaist marker set.

When placing markers on the performer's elbow and knee joints, place them on either side of the joint, where they will not move when the performer bends their limbs, as shown in the following examples.

When placing markers on the performer's waist, place a marker in the middle of the right side of the performer and also the left side, as shown in the following examples.

Place Production marker set on a performer

This marker set uses 57 markers (without fingers).

The following images show the marker placement for the Vicon Production marker set.

When placing markers on the performer's elbow and knee joints, on the outside of the elbow/knee place the marker on the joint, and on the inside of the elbow/knee place the marker above the joint. See the following images for more details on where to place the markers on the performer's arms.

Place finger markers on a performer

If you're using finger markers, place them on the hands and fingers.

The markers placed on hands and fingers are smaller than those placed on the rest of the performer. For marker sets that include fingers, on each hand replace the two knuckle markers from the body-only marker sets. This is why there are four fewer body markers listed in the marker tables in Choose a marker set, as four of the 14 mm markers for the knuckles are replaced with the 9 mm markers.

The following image shows the size of the 9 mm markers placed on the fingers and hands compared with the 14 mm markers placed on the rest of the performer.

Follow these guidelines to ensure that the finger markers produce an accurate solve:

• Wrists: The wrist marker placement is important because the foundation of a good finger solve is a correctly solved wrist. Place the wrist markers on either side of the wrist so that both markers are the same distance down the arm and as close to the joint center as possible.

• Hands: Place the hand markers just before the knuckle of the index and pinky finger.

  

• Upper arms and legs: To help with calibration, place offset markers on the upper arms and legs. This helps Shogun identify which is the left and right side.

• Fingers:

  • For 3 finger-marker setups, place a marker just before the first joint of the index, pinky, and thumb, so that it is not affected by the rotation of the second joint (see the photo of the 3 finger marker set).

  • For 5 finger-marker setups, place the markers at the end of each of the five fingers (see the photo of the 5 finger-marker set).

  • For 10 finger-marker setups, place the markers at the end of each finger, and mid markers on the second phalange apart from the mid (see the photo of the 10 finger-marker set).

Finger marker size: For a successful calibration, choose the correct size of markers for the hands, fingers and wrists:

• Hand markers. Marker size is critical for the wrist rotation in the A-pose. If you use large markers, this can cause an upward rotation of the wrist and downward rotation of the knuckles. For the best results, we recommend that the markers' centers are about 10 mm from the joint axis.
• Finger markers. Marker size is also important for calibration. For the best results, we recommend that the markers' centers are about 5 mm from the joint axis.
• Wrist markers. Marker size does not affect calibration, so you can use normal body-size markers or finger-size markers.

For instructions on how to place the markers on the hands, fingers, and wrists, see the following topics:

The following images show the placement for all the finger marker sets, as displayed in Shogun:

3 finger marker placement

These images show the placement of the wrist, hand, and finger markers in a three-finger setup:

5 finger marker placement

These images show placement of the wrist, hand, and finger markers in a 5 finger-marker set:

10 finger marker placement

These images show the placement of the wrist, hand, and finger markers in a 10 finger-marker set:

Place clusters on a performer

If you're using clusters (see Add labeling clusters to the tracking panel), if you haven't already done so, place them on the performer(s). Normally, a good location for the cluster is on the torso, but not too close to other markers. This can be on the front, as shown in the following image, or on the back.

When you've attached the markers to the performer(s), create the relevant subjects in Shogun Live and calibrate them (see Create a subject).