### Summary

This chapter presents the concept of animation from observation. It defines what motion capture is and gives an overview of the motion capture pipeline. This includes the entire motion capture pipeline. It discusses topics such as when motion capture is appropriate (and why it is not always appropriate), its strengths and weaknesses, and some general suggestions on how to use motion capture correctly.

### Problem

Motion capture is difficult to define and thus a difficult topic to discuss. It is often seen as the be-all and end-all in computer animation when it is simply not the proper solution in many cases.

### Key Ideas

1. Motion capture is the abstraction of motion from appearance. It allows observed motions in the real world to be encapsulated in data suitable for the kinds of processing and analysis desired in computer animation.

2. Motion capture is *not* suitable for all cases of animation. There are motions that are simply not well suited to being captured in the real world. This includes both unrealistic motion as well as many cartoon animation styles.

3. When doing motion capture, be sure to capture the *right* motions. Joe in accounting does not play basketball like a basketball player.