20th Century Fox's John Griffith shares his experience of IKinema on feature film X-Men: First Class

Saving production time was key for CINDEV Director, John Griffith. Maya being the core of John's pipeline, he turned to IKinema for simplicity, accuracy and speed. He explains, "I needed a simple method for streaming data from Xsens into Maya and a simple no frills method of tweaking the mocap data after the fact. IKinema is much easier to use (I believe) than Motion Builder in that regard."

When faced with the challenge of a multiple character fight scene, IKinema's motion capture and retargeting capability became a powerful factor to its creation. "An idea for a 6 man fight sequence on X-Men: First Class came about and I needed to quickly put together a cinematic. I motion captured all 6 performers and streamed the data into Maya using IKinema. It saved me a ton of time. The retargeting process was simple and I was able to get the whole fight finished in 2 days."

With IKinema's unique streaming and recording feature, John found streaming directly from Xsens' MVN camera system to Maya integral to the overall process. "Streaming from Xsens is the key component for me. It saves me a ton of time in retargeting."

John absolutely feels that IKinema's technology offers a new and advanced way to process motion capture data and plans on using IKinema on future projects. When asked about the powerful solver, he says, "it will certainly be crucial for me in the coming months."

And how long did it take to get up to speed I hear you ask? John's answer, "The learning curve is impressively shallow. I was up and running in less than a day. Very easy to understand." 

But of course the burning question on every studios lips – did IKinema help your team save time and money? "Yes, absolutely to both!"

Date: Questionnaire date June 15, 2011
Department: CINEDEV
Project: X-Men: First Class
Name/Title of Interviewee: John Griffith/ CINEDEV Director

IKinema Technology 
IKinema technology enables users to create and retarget data directly inside Maya, in real-time and for a fraction of the cost of alternative solutions. IKinema converts virtually any skeleton model to a full feature rig while generating fluid and life-like full-body animation for a wide range of characters. Retargeting can also be executed from other models, for rapid customizations of existing assets, or directly from motion capture data such as position markers and joint data. Additional features include real-time links to Vicon and Xsens motion capture systems for real-time streaming, retargeting and recording of data, as well as automatic balance and center of mass control for rapid animation.  For more information and a technology video, please visit:http://www.ikinema.com/Maya.html. 

About IKinema
Based in the UK, IKinema™ uses patent-pending technology for fast full-body solving and animation. With customers ranging from Framestore’s London Studio to Twentieth Century Fox’s pre-visualization department, IKinema’s technology enables animators to rig characters and stream, record and retarget motion capture data in a fraction of the time and cost of alternative solutions. Available as game middleware, standalone software or an online solution, IKinema’s technology is poised to radically simplify the motion capture workflows for professional production studios and bring real-time motion editing within the reach of home users.

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