LOS ANGELES – Faceware Technologies, a provider of markerless 3D facial motion capture solutions, has launched a new package in its Facial Mocap Professional Product Line targeted at independent and mobile game developers and artists.
Called the Indie Facial Mocap Package, it includes the lite versions of Faceware’s software, Analyzer and Retargeter, and a GoPro Headcam facial performance capture kit. In addition, Faceware has also updated its Pro Facial Mocap Package with enhancements to Faceware Analyzer 2.0 Pro and a new HD Headcam Pro system.
Faceware is best known for its professional tools, which have been used in Academy Award-winning movies and top-grossing video games. With the launch of the Indie Faceware Mocap Package, Faceware is bringing its tools to a rapidly growing segment of the video game market: developers of mobile and indie games.
The Faceware Indie Facial Mocap Package is geared toward budget-conscious development teams that still demand a superior level of realism in their characters as well as animation teams seeking their own internal performance capture solution. It includes all the technology users need for facial performance capture and animation: a lightweight and performance-enabling GoPro Headcam Kit, which includes a GoPro Hero3+ Black camera mounted in front of an actors’ face with Faceware’s industry-leading design.
The facial performance capture kit also includes a one-size-fits-all helmet and a variety of camera-mounting options; a license of Analyzer 2.0 Lite, which allows users to automatically extract facial movements from any video source; and a license of Retargeter 4.0 Lite, which allows users to automatically apply/solve video performances quickly onto their digital characters. The entire Faceware Indie Facial Mocap Package can be purchased for $2,995, which is a $700 savings over the separate purchase of all tools in the package.
“The games market is undergoing tectonic shifts as new platforms emerge. With that shift, we’ve seen downward pressure on production budgets. Yet at the same time, gamers continue to demand quality games with good stories and believable characters,” said Peter Busch, vice president of business development at Faceware Technologies. “With the new Indie Facial Mocap Package, we hope to give animators at every budgetary level the tools to create and add more realism to their characters, no matter what platform they are created those characters for.”
Faceware has also launched upgrades to two products in its Professional Product Line: the ProHD Headcam and Faceware Analyzer Pro.
The HD Headcam Pro system upgrades the current Professional Headcam system with a new option for an HD camera head with 1080p30 or 720p60 HD-SDI outputand simultaneous 480i 29.97fps SD composite output. Other enhancements include polished fiberglass helmets, slimmer belt systems, and an optional zero-frame delay HD wireless system.
Faceware Analyzer Pro now includes the features of batch/script capability and export landmark positions, which gives users the ability to export the X, Y positions of the landmark (Marker) positions and is great for quality control, shader integration, and/or facial research and study.