Led by Ian Stoops ’27, president of the Game Development Club, students gave a live demonstration to their peers, showing exactly how motion capture animation works for television and video games.
Around a dozen students watched Stoops and his team pull back the curtain on a skill that could lead them directly into the entertainment or video game industry.
What is motion capture?
Some popular movies or games are made possible by motion capture animation, such as the Avatar films or the video game Fortnite.
Motion capture animation digitally records the movement of live actors and applies it to 3D models to create realistic, lifelike motion.
Stoops had two of his peers dressed in all-black motion capture suits, with multiple sensors on the suits from head to toe.
The two actors performed all kinds of movements — walking, running, jumping, and simulated fighting — and the sensors picked up their actions, allowing Stoops to later place animation avatars over the actors to recreate the scene.
Stoops, who first started using motion capture animation in high school and later at Wake Technical Community College, said the technology is “easy to get into,” and it was important for him to share what he’s learned so far.
“I think it’s important to show what we do here at Peace,” Stoops said. “It’s so effective, it’s a growing program, and it’s a growing industry.”
Career preparation
Stoops transferred to Peace this semester and immediately restarted the Game Development Club. Most of the students in attendance during the demonstration were members of the club.
During the demo, several students made suggestions for movements they wanted to see the actors perform in the motion capture suits, then watched as Stoops transferred the data into a game simulation on his laptop. The entire process took about 15 minutes.
Learning the basics of motion capture animation could lead to entry-level positions in game design or even movie and television production.
With the skills he’s already picked up at Peace, Stoops says he feels career-ready.
“I think preparing people for what they are going to go into is really important,” Stoops said. “I already have enough skills that I could do animation programming. I know what employers are looking for when I start applying for jobs and internships.”
Student experience at Peace
Markest Haugh ’28 is an SGD major. During the presentation, Haugh wore one of the motion capture suits and demonstrated the movements. While he served as one of the demo models that night, Haugh said he has learned the basic functions of motion capture animation in his courses.
Haugh applauded the SGD program for allowing him to gain real-world experience just two years into college.
“It means a lot to me because the gaming industry can feel overwhelming,” Haugh said. “There are so many different paths, but getting to see what one field looks like, learn about others, and bring them together helps me understand what’s possible.”
The reason for doing a presentation in front of students was twofold — it demonstrated how motion capture works and showed students how much real experience they could gain while at Peace.
“Most people think with game design you just sit at a computer all day, or you’re just drawing,” Haugh said. “We were enjoying being up there, and that can show people that this field looks interesting and fun.”
