Artistic Considerations in the Use of Motion Tracking with Live Performers : A Practical Guide

In this paper Robert Wechsler concerns motion tracking, especially its practical uses and artistic implications. He thinks "Motion Tracking" is very popular like 'Motion Capture' and 'Motion Sensing'. 'Motion Capture' means the recording of movement data for later processing. 'Motion Sensing' was coined by Frieder WeiᏰ in 2002 to describe EyeCon and systems like it. While these three terms are interchangeable, there's one distinction: some systems lend themselves more easily than others to realtime media manipulation. He says that in terms of 'Interaction' it is what we are not doing now. He thinks that interactivity depends on a certain degree of looseness, or openness in the artistic material. It is interaction that you can achieve in a performance setting and relates to spontaneity, openness and communication. He also introduces the EyeCon system and several input and output parameters applicable to the system. In the Artistic implications section, he explains mapping and other relevant issues. He says that three aspects to mapping are input, output and compliance which refers to the nature of the casual relationship. Also he thinks there are situations where multiple mappings can be extremely effective, but it causes a diffusion which increases with the number of simultaneous mappings. Then he points out the pitfall of position tracking. From the technical side camera doesn't see the entire stage from above because of the low ceiling of theatres, so the computer will see one person instead of two. From the artistical side the movement takes time, and this time frame defeats a convincing interactive effect. Second, position tracking tends to fail is that it is rarely a physical experience. Finally, location in a space is simply of little interest to us compared to parameters such as shape, acceleration, height, and so on. In the last section, he refers several things that make interactive art interesting: amplification of gesture, communication with an unseen player, visual or acoustic accompaniment and that make interaction convincing: education, timing, repetition, interaction by implication and intuitive logic. In conclusion, he thinks that the central challenge that this field faces is not one of improving the technology, but rather one of developing an understanding of its implications-the changes in the mindset and sensibility of artists as they put it to use.