May 23, 2023
2
min read
An Interview with Virtual Production Expert Jeasy Sehgal
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Join Jeasy on a journey to uncover the secrets of digital motion and learn about the insights and student preparation required for successful Virtual Production.
Join Jeasy on a journey to uncover the secrets of digital motion and learn about the insights and student preparation required for successful Virtual Production.
Motion is the heart of virtual production, giving life to digital creations on a virtual canvas. This idea is something that industry-renowned professional, Jeasy Seghal, embraces as he continues to bridge the gap between real-world projects, academic research and education. As an award-winning virtual production expert, Professor in Visual Production at Georgia State University, co-author of research papers on digital humans, and founder of the project Oyun's Quest - just to name a few- Jeasy has established himself as a leader in the field.
Join Jeasy on a journey to uncover the secrets of digital motion and learn about the insights and student preparation required for successful Virtual Production. This article highlights how Jeasy uses and educates others about DeepMotion's AI motion capture technology and how it can be used to overcome barriers and push the boundaries of Virtual Production.
With Jeasy's expert guidance and the power of DeepMotion, unlocking the true potential of motion capture is easier than ever before, enabling you to transform pixels and code into an artistic masterpiece.
Jeasy's background in motion, production insights, and academic research make him a pioneer in virtual production education.
In addition to being a Professor at Georgia State University, he also trains Virtual Production professionals at the Virtual Production Dojo. This accessible online curriculum aims to fill the gap in the industry for Virtual Production talent capabilities by offering hands-on contemporary training skills and tools.
Jeasy Sehgal is the founder of Graphic Monk Productions, a versatile Production House that encompasses various entertainment production brands. Within this creative hub, Jeasy leads Imperial Swords, The Imperial School of Swordsmanship, and Dynakinetix: Motion Capture & Virtual Productions.
These brands offer a wide range of services tailored to clients seeking dynamic motion captures that draw from the expertise of weapons and combat specialists. With a focus on excellence and authenticity, Jeasy and his team are dedicated to delivering high-quality productions that showcase the artistry and precision of swordsmanship, while also leveraging cutting-edge motion capture and virtual production techniques.
With a keen interest in motion capture, AR/VR/MR, and game development, Jeasy has been involved in production for a long time both professionally and academically. It’s now his mission to use his extensive experience to help his students, both beginning and experienced, to become solution engineers by learning the fundamentals of virtual production and harnessing the power of AI motion capture. Through his academic research he in involved with projects such as bringing the Kennewick man to life.
Without motion, virtual productions would be static and lifeless, unable to express the depth of human emotion and creativity.
As a master swordsman and a martial artist, Jeasy has a keen interest in body movement dynamics or IK (inverse kinematics) and FK (forward kinematics). Through years of practice and training performers in fight choreography and performance capture for stage, screen and games, Jeasy has gained an in-depth understanding of the intricacies of movement.
Combat Arts Training Used For Motion Capture Production
This unique experience positions Jeasy as the ultimate guide to the impact of motion capture on the industry.
According to Jeasy, while technology is constantly evolving, the essence of performance capture remains the same. He believes in preparing future generations of creatives and upscaling the current industry.
That's where DeepMotion's product comes in as a solution provider. During testing of different motion capture options, Jeasy found that DeepMotion's technology enabled faster iterations and streamlined the performance capture process, allowing for more efficient and effective training of the next generation of virtual production artists.
“The essence of performance capture always remains the same, but technology is changing every day. We need to prepare future generations of creatives and upscale the current industry. DeepMotion's product is solution-providing, and for me, it's about preparing solutions. When we tested different motion capture options, the scale at which we could iterate and reiterate in DeepMotion made life much easier. While working with performance capture, having a camera running as a reference helped streamline the process.”
His best advice for students focused on motion?
“Characterize and build a persona of the digital actor is very important and to understand the body dynamics, by assisting performers to rehearse and embody the character and through role play exercises, gaining an understanding to center of gravity, weight distribution and movement inertia is an important aspect to bring emotion into motion”
Award-winning action-adventure short Qyun’s Quest harkens a new era of storytelling. As Producer, Writer and Director, Jeasy led his team in creating an immersive and cinematic experience that blurs the lines between storytelling, film-making, and gamification. Incorporating live performance capture, digital humans, full-body motion capture, virtual productions, and cinematic cameras. In this project Jeasy’s team pushes the boundaries of what's possible in indie virtual production.
Pilot Created Using Motion Capture Performance
Initially, Oyun's Quest was a live-action film, but Jeasy later transformed it into a game project and then into a short film that won over 26 best animation awards and nominations in international film festivals.
In addition to the innovative storytelling techniques utilized in Oyun's Quest, Jeasy and his team also relied on DeepMotion's AI motion capture technology to bring their digital actors to life. The use of DeepMotion allowed for quick and efficient iteration and reiteration in the motion capture process, streamlining the overall production workflow.
Jeasy was impressed with the scalability and agility of DeepMotion's product, enabling his team to focus on the creative aspects of production rather than being bogged down by technical limitations. The success of Oyun's Quest and its use of DeepMotion serves as a testament to the importance of accessible and effective motion capture technology in the world of virtual production.
“DeepMotion allowed the interns on the project as well as the performers to run self study for motion capture data analysis through the process of rehearsal recordings that were then processed for motion capture data for pre-visualisation.
The process was simple and easy to work with for a better understanding of fight choreography as well as character position and timing.”
Jeasy Sehgal's passion for educating future creatives in virtual production goes beyond just preparing them for a job. This drive stems from his own experience in production, where he hired professionals who lacked the skills to provide solutions. As Jeasy explains,
"Oyun's Quest is actually a really close project to my heart. Just before the lockdown, it was written as a live-action, but then I really wanted to try the emerging technologies, so we decided to make a game out of it instead. And we actually ended up hiring professionals and within a month, we fired them the Reason being was they would simply button pushing. They did not understand how to look for solutions."
These trained professionals did not think about providing solutions or going out of the box instead they were fixated on the limitations of their current toolset. This experience led Jeasy to make Oyun's Quest into a global internship program, where he could bring in young creatives who were eager to experiment and learn. By encouraging creative ideas and allowing interns to lead their own projects, Jeasy found that research and development was where the solutions emerged. Through this experience, Jeasy is committed to preparing his students to not only understand the tools of virtual production but also to become solution providers who can navigate any challenge that comes their way.
At the Virtual Production Dojo, he emphasizes the importance of problem-solving skills and creating effective solutions. His virtual production education focuses on building a strong foundation in performance capture and understanding body movement and mesh collision.
With the advancement of emerging technologies and machine learning, telling powerful narratives has never been easier. Jeasy's philosophy is to be "solution-specific" rather than "tool-specific" and to empower his students to go through the entire creative process of producing, writing, directing, and delivering their works.
“I want my students to be solution providers and to be able to go through the entire process of producing, writing, directing, and delivering creative works," says Jeasy.
"The key is to be 'solution-specific' rather than being 'tool-specific.' The show must go on is an old saying which holds true from the aspect of indie productions."
With Jeasy's guidance, his students learn to become creative problem-solvers who are capable of producing exceptional works of art. Jeasy's ultimate goal is to prepare his students to be at the forefront of the virtual production industry and to be able to navigate any challenge with ease.
DeepMotion’s Animate 3D has emerged as a prominent tool in Jeasy’s toolkit for virtual production courses due to its accessibility.
Motion Capture performed remotely using accessible tools
With the challenges of motion capture during the COVID-19 lockdowns, DeepMotion's unique one-camera motion capture technology opened up a new world of virtual production for creators of any experience level, enabling them to access motion capture from anywhere in the world at any time.
This technology has since become a staple in directing and motion capture production for Jeasy's studio and educational courses. He has found DeepMotion to be more accessible for indie creators and highlights its facial capture capabilities as a game-changer, making the process of designing a new master program at Georgia State much easier. As Jeasy explains, "I teach novices and industry veterans, and DeepMotion has made life much easier for everyone involved."
“I teach novices and industry Veterans. I found DeepMotion more accessible for indie creators. With DeepMotion's facial capture capabilities, it makes life much easier, especially when designing a new master program at Georgia State.”
Unlock the potential of motion capture with DeepMotion and Jeasy's courses.
As the world of motion capture and virtual production expands and evolves, access to production tools becomes easier, but the importance of mastering the fundamental elements remains unchanged.
With DeepMotion you can capture the essence of movement and structure to enhance your production pipelines. Sign up for our newsletter to stay informed about innovative solutions for both industry professionals and indie creators and stay tuned for more news on how how generative AI will provide more opportunities is 3D animation creation.
Let's push the boundaries of what's possible and create virtual worlds that captivate and inspire. Join us and be a part of the revolutionizing of the world of virtual entertainment. Sign up for DeepMotion.
