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Anatomical considerations in facial motion capture

Published:01 May 2009Publication History
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Abstract

Facial performance capture has been enabled unquestionably by significant technological advances in three dimensional motion capture and modeling. Yet from a critical artistic perspective, the question remains: why do performances so generated frequently read as lifeless or "zombie-like"? While improvement in the density of collection and integration of data will undoubtedly refine the quality of the motion capture product, the anatomical answer to this artistic question goes beyond refinement of quasistatic simulation schemes and finite elements methods to address several basic principles of human facial anatomy, expression and ontogeny (development from juvenile to adult). The latter consideration is especially important in issues involving inter-individual scaling, because translation of facial performance onto characters of differing proportions presents one of the greatest challenges to the utility of motion capture.

References

  1. Charles Darwin, The expression of the emotions in man and animals. London: Murray, 1872. For review of recent research and an anatomical view of culture and facial expression see "Selection for universal facial emotion. By Waller, Bridget, M.; Cray Jr., James J.; Burrows, Anne M. in Emotion. Vol. 8(3), June 2008, 435-439. A study by an authority in analysis of facial expressions is Paul Ekman's "Cross-cultural studies of facial expression". In P. Ekman (Ed.), Darwin and facial expression: A century of research in review. New York: Academic Press 1973. A popular work summarizing his research can be found in Unmasking the Face coauthored with Wallace Friesen, Malor Books, ISHK Press, Cambridge, 2003.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  2. Although there are later editions, Gray's Anatomy edited by Peter Williams, 38th edition (1995, reprinted 1998, Churchill Livingstone) remains the most detailed anatomical account and our personal favorite. Most facial expression research is of surprising limited applicability to facial performance capture and animation, as psychologists are largely concerned with reliability and utility of coding systems. A useful though overtly psychological start for online resources on facial expression is http://www.face-and-emotion.com/dataface /misctext/iwafgr.html. The Artist's Complete Guide to Facial Expression by Gary Faigin (Watson-Guptil Productions 1990) remains useful.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  3. For detail on psychological methods of quantification, see Hager, Joseph. C. A comparison of units for visually measuring facial action. Behavior research methods, instruments and computers, 1985, 17: 450-468. A highly technical but very relevant paper is "Automatic determination of facial muscle activations" by Eftychios Sifakis, Igor Negerov and Ronald Fedikiw (2005) in Volume 24, Issue 3 Proceedings of ACM SIGGRAPH 2005:417-425.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  4. Reminger, Sheryl L.; Kaszniak, Alfred W.; Dalby, Patricia R.. "Age-Invariance in the Asymmetry of Stimulus-Evoked Emotional Facial Muscle Activity" Aging, Neuropsychology, and Cognition Volume 7, Issue 3 September 2000: 156 - 168.Google ScholarGoogle ScholarCross RefCross Ref
  5. See The Official Preppy Handbook (1980) by Jonathan Roberts, Carol McD. Wallace, Mason Wiley, and Lisa Birnbach, Workman Publishers, sadly out of print.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar
  6. Facial Expressions Babies to Teens: A Visual Reference for Artists by Mark Simon, Watson-Guptil Productions 2008 is an inexpensive and useful reference, although photographic quality is a bit disappointing. For an academic approach, see also Charlesworth, W. R.,&Kreutzer, M. A. Facial expression of infants and children. In P. Ekman (Ed.), Darwin and facial expression: A century of research in review. New York: Academic, 1973. Chapters 5&7 of Measuring Emotions in Infants and Children Vol. 1 ed. by Carroll Ellis Izard (Cambridge University Press, 1982) are worth consideration but unfortunately of limited utility to the artist.Google ScholarGoogle Scholar

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                    cover image ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics
                    ACM SIGGRAPH Computer Graphics  Volume 43, Issue 2
                    Building Bridges - Science, the Arts & Technology
                    May 2009
                    37 pages
                    ISSN:0097-8930
                    DOI:10.1145/1629216
                    Issue’s Table of Contents

                    Copyright © 2009 Authors

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                    Association for Computing Machinery

                    New York, NY, United States

                    Publication History

                    • Published: 1 May 2009

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