Ground Breaking Virtual Production
Virtual production is in full force as Cie Gilles Jobin utilizes their Qualisys motion capture system to harness the movement of dancers as it is presented across the globe live and in real-time. Cie Gilles Jobin’s mocap undertaking is described as “a new generation telematic show for the audience, displayed in an auditorium, yet, hundreds of kilometers away from the real scene of the performance. Dancers and their avatars are particles in a quantum state and their movements instantly teleport to any location.”
Motion capture allows for such ground breaking productions to be performed, and Cie Gilles Jobin takes full advantage of the endless possibilities offered using Qualisys mocap.
Cie Gilles Jobin was founded in 1997 by Swiss choreographer, Gilles Jobin, whose creations have been touring worldwide since 1999. Besides his own productions, Gilles Jobin has launched his own company, its headquarters being Studios 44 in Geneva – a pioneering place for the recognition of contemporary dance in Switzerland, international professional exchanges, daily training for dancers, educational activities and capacity building, workshops, artistic residencies.
The company took an opportunistic approach to social distancing by virtually producing dance performances so that we could all still “go to the show” together – a venture referred to as their #tourwithouttraveling, which includes numerous tour dates and notable locations such as the Paris Chaillot Theatre on June 23, 2022, and others mentioned here. Optical motion capture is used for these online real-time performances.
Cie Gilles Jobin chose Qualisys because it provides them with the fidelity needed to capture three dancers in real-time and stream the data directly into Unity. 42 Qualisys Miqus M3 cameras surround a 10m x 6m rectangular space where the performances are practiced and performed as the systems captures.
The animation data is streamed in real-time directly to a Unity Project. They can, then, transmit the data through the network to end up on screen at any other venue in the world! This method was applied when performing their most recent piece, COSMOGONY, which captures the movements of 3 dancers from the studio in Geneva and broadcasts it across the globe with almost zero delay, since the data is transmitted while they render it locally.
Real-time SDK
Stream motion data, for example 2D, 3D and 6DOF, over TCP/UDP to your application.
Finger Solving Solutions
QTM has built in support for finger solving either as a stand-alone hand or part of a full body skeleton.
Active marker support
Passive and active marker support for long distances & adverse conditions
Real-time motion capture is essential for the group, as animation data is transmitted directly to the Unity PC using the Qualisys SDK.
Hand captures are performed using the Claw Marker Set in QTM, which is then retargeted in MotionBuilder allowing for hand information to be streamed in real-time. ROKOKO Smart Gloves are used in some performances for motion capture of each digit’s movement, which is integrated in Unity and combined with the rest of the body’s movement captured and streamed from QTM. Facial motion capture is also performed using using the ARCore implementation in Unity.
The next step is using Qualisys’ active markers for reproduction of older pieces, and implementation testing is already underway!
COSMOGONY
COSMOGONY is a performance with three dancers who dance live in the studio of the Gilles Jobin Company in Geneva and broadcasted live in real-time at locations all around the world. The captured motion of the dancers is sent instantly across the network to reappear as avatars on any broadcasted screen. Puppeteers of their own bodies, they animate their avatars in real time and, thus, compose the cosmogony of a suspended world. The audience has never experienced such an expanded space!
Cosmogony was broadcast on local TV Léman Bleu , live, that was for what is known to be a first-ever on public TV. It was also screened as a video mapping in Bucarest, existing as the first (known) remote mapping with live performers under mocap to be accomplished. And the tour is ongoing! In mid-October, Cosmogony visited El Cairo in a lovely outdoor setting, followed by MEET in Milan, an amazing digital venue.
COSMOGONY is a performance with three dancers who dance live in the studio of the Gilles Jobin Company in Geneva and broadcasted live in real-time at locations all around the world. The captured motion of the dancers is sent instantly across the network to reappear as avatars on any broadcasted screen. Puppeteers of their own bodies, they animate their avatars in real time and, thus, compose the cosmogony of a suspended world. The audience has never experienced such an expanded space!
Cosmogony was broadcast on local TV Léman Bleu , live, that was for what is known to be a first-ever on public TV. It was also screened as a video mapping in Bucarest, existing as the first (known) remote mapping with live performers under mocap to be accomplished. And the tour is ongoing! In mid-October, Cosmogony visited El Cairo in a lovely outdoor setting, followed by MEET in Milan, an amazing digital venue.
Another live show was performed called “La Comedie Virtuelle Live Show” – a Virtual Reality (VR) a multiuser experience. There were 3 dancers under Qualisys motion capture in the Geneva studio, plus one dancer in Bangalore and one in Melbourne using Rokoko suits – a truly integrated approach! The remote audience has reached 13 different countries.
The idea for the #tourwithouttraveling launched after the the world turned into lockdown, as the group was scheduled to perform at the Venice Film Festival in 2020, which was cancelled due to the pandemic along with many other upcoming festivals. It was then that Cie Gilles Jobin took the bold step of changing their activities from live performances on stage to live performance online. In moving to 100% digital performance after their last year as a touring company, emissions from plane travel dropped from 100 tons of carbon emissions per year to zero – a side effect not initially considered!
"The Qualisys cameras were hyper-reliable during the live performances and the many hours of rehearsals."
Gilles Jobin
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