Ecstasy motions for Poser

The 2012 CMU Ecstasy Motion BVH release v1.0: CMU_EcstasyMotion_BVH-Poser-friendly-2012.zip (138Mb .ZIP, expands to 383Mb).

In summer 2012 Chris Calef of BrokeAssGames used his Ecstasy Motion software to correct and clean the full set of CMU’s 2,600 motion-capture files, targeting for Poser, DAZ Studio and others. These motion files had been freely released into the public-domain by Carnegie Mellon University. Chris worked with a 2010 DAZ Studio friendly, “hip-corrected” set of these CMU files, which had already been produced. Chris’s release further cleaned and rectified the files: re-sampling at 30 fps instead of the original 120 fps; removing data for fingers, eyes, buttocks if the animation didn’t use them; and trimming back the over-specified joint rotation data. This work reduced the file set from a huge 5.12 Gb down to just 380 Mb.

So far as I’m aware, this is the latest Poser/DAZ-friendly set of these useful BVH motions. The .ZIP has a text list of the motions, which are grouped as folders by type of motion. So far as I know there there is not yet a handy visual-preview PDF catalog of the CMU library that looks like this…

Thus, some trial and error is required. Finding ‘swordfight’ is easy, but seeking a ‘walk’ gives you a huge range of choices and no visual previews. In which case, it’s a case of “try it and see”.

Import of a BVH into Poser is fairly simple:

1. Load your character to a starting T-pose, or use a preset to restore the default T-pose if they load with some fancier pose. Ensure the character’s BODY remains selected, and that you haven’t then accidentally grabbed a light or a bit of clothing.

2. Top Menu | File | Import BHV. Zoom the camera out. (Sadly there is no drag-and-drop of a BVH… maybe in Poser 12?)

3. Top Window | Window menu | Animation Palette.

4. Scrub along the opened Animation timeline. Usually the starting and ending segments are just the performer getting started or coming to a halt.

5. When you have found a pose you like, zoom in and view it from various angles. For more toony characters you want want to make the foot angle and head-tilt a little more believable, if needed.

6. Frame the character up for the Library thumbnail picture. Switch to the character’s existing poses folder in Library | Poses. Save the pose as a single frame animation. Poser will include a thumbnail preview picture for the pose.

I had success with Nursoda characters, as well as stock V4, M4 etc.

Especially useful for comics, as you can quickly scrub through the equivalent of 100 poses, and just choose the best. Rather than laboriously trying one pose after the other picked from store pose-sets.

I’m fairly sure it’s just as easy for DAZ Studio. Note, however, that in 2010 it was said of the DAZ conversion that… “The new conversion is for the DAZ 3rd-generation and 4th-generation characters such as Aiko 3, Aiko 4, Victoria 3, Victoria 4, Michael 3, Michael 4”. A quick search shows someone trying a dance on Genesis 2, way back, and failing — so the BVHs may not suit the later Genesis line of figures. That said, Genesis 1 apparently had a lot of the V4 rigging left in her and so the first Genesis may work better.