MARKER WORLD

MARKER WORLD HOW-TO BIBLE
“Marker World Inventory” fits in 14 boxes

· Suit Cabinet

· Accessories Cabinet

· Digital Stills

· Rolling Cabinet

1 Marker World Room Requirements

2 Suit Measurements

3 Suits

4 Shoes

5 Hoods

6 Eyeglasses

7 Gloves (Hands), and Cybergloves

8 Seamstress

9 Markers

10 Marker Supplies and Tools

11 Assembling Markers

12 Digital Stills

13 Choosing the Marker Set

14 Info for Database

15 Suiting up and Markering each Actor

16 Watching for Marker Problems in the Volume

17 Marker Problems

18 Marker Repairs

19 Suit/Marker Reports

20 Downloading Digital stills

21 Laundry/Cleaning the Suits

22 Preparing for the Next Day

Marker World Room Requirements
a) Space: We need at least a 25’ x 25’ area, or similar space, for all of our work areas,

I.e.: construction repairs, markering, office work, changing area, dressing areas, storage

b) Electrical = at least 16 outlets, 4-5 separate terminals, for following appliances:

i) 2-3 hot glue guns

ii) 1 hot air gun

iii) 2 large work lamps (rentals)

iv) 1 air fan

v) 1-2 space heaters if needed

vi) 1 sewing machine

vii) 1 clamp-on work light

viii) 1 laptop computer

ix) 1 boombox

x) 1 paper shredder

xi) electric drill

c) Heat = we must maintain an ambient temperature of 65-78 degrees for adhesives to work effectively

d) Changing areas = we need adequate space to dress up to 15 people at one time

i) At least 15’ x 15’ area

ii) 8-10 simple armless chairs

iii) 3 work tables

iv) Carpet on floor to protect clothing and accessories

v) 2 dressing screens = 4 C-stands, 15’ Duvatene or drape, plastic zip ties, grommets

vi) Space to store and have access to 2 large rolling cabinets (3’wide x 2 deep’ x 7’tall each)

vii) Place to hang 2 20-pocket shoe bags (“Patch Bays”)

e) Mirrors = 1 full-length mirror to attach to wall, 1 small mirror on cabinet door

f) Tables (and heights) = 3 x 6’ work tables for dressing area, 6 x 6’ worktables for repair area;

1 table needs to be 40” high (we used 4 x 17” extension pipes on 4 legs)

g) Chairs = 8-10 for dressing area, 3 office chairs with adjustable arms and backs for repair area

h) Wardrobe racks, hangers, etc.1 rolling wardrobe rack

i) 1 rolling wardrobe rack - @3’ wide by 5-6’ tall – collapsible

ii) 1 long rack for suit work = 2 C-stands with 6-8’ x 1 ½” steel pipe crossbar to hang suits

iii) @30 strong plastic hangars

Cabinets Required
Þ Up to 16 cases may be required for marker world

i) 3’ x 2’ x 7’ Wardrobe cabinet on rolling platform

i) Should hold up to 40 suits

ii) Cardboard or Tupperware Boxes for shoes and misc. equipment

j) 3 ’x 2’x 7’ Accessories Cabinet on Rolling platform

i) Should hold: 15 complete shoe and misc. equipment boxes, box of glasses, box of gloves, box of spare glasses and caps, 2 blankets

General Marker World Supplies
k) GROOMING GROVE: Deodorant, baby powder, Foot powder, Rubbing Alcohol, Hydrogen Peroxide, Mouth wash, Kleenex, cotton squares, Fingernail polish remover, Q-tips, Lotions, Aloe gel, Ibuprofen, Aspirin, Tylenol, nail clippers, nail files, Hair nets, hair bands, hair clippies, toothbrushes, toothpaste, 2 Shoe horns, comb,

l) Windex, Febreeze, Liquid soap, Stain remover

m) Baby Wipes, Kleenex, Paper Towels

n) Small First Aid Kit: Band-Aids, medical tape, antibiotic cream, etc.

o) Sewing Machine, black thread, extra machine needles, pins, safety pins, scissors,

p) Suit Fabrics, spare suit zippers, elastic

q) Sewing kit w/ various thread colors and hand needles

r) TOOLS:

i) Pliers

ii) Needle nose pliers

iii) Various sizes of screwdrivers – flat head and Phillips

iv) Eyeglass repair kit

v) Lots of scissors

vi) 4 pair small cuticle scissors

vii) 3 pair tweezers

viii) Wire cutters

ix) 2-3 Exacto knives and spare blades

s) Access to drill and bits

t) Adhesives: Crazy Glue, Crazy Glue Gel, Spray can of Quick Stick for rubber and foam, 3M quart, caulking gun with serious crazy glue, various bonds, etc.

u) Leftover screws and Neoprene bases from destroyed markers (save everything!) to repair sheers

v) Various hole punchers and paper shredder for 7610 tape

w) Supply of 7610 (sheets) and 8850 (¼” rolls) of Scotch Reflective tape for repairs and re-wraps

x) Supply of foam markers and foam sticky-back disks from Norma

y) Grommet gun and grommets, zip ties

z) Every kind of Velcro made! And lots of it! ½”, 1”, 2”, 4” (hard to find!)

aa) Office Supplies: pens, pencils gold gel pens, Sharpies, Thick permanent markers, paper clip, binder clips, White Out pen, white grease pen, colored markers

bb) Gaffer tape in every color, masking tape, transparent tape, office tape, blank labels

cc) Black Spray paint, White Spray paint, Dulling Spray

dd) Lots of small cardboard boxes for sorting markers and supplies

Getting Suit Measurements
1) Get suit measurements according to the measurement guideline sheet

a) Be sure inseam measurements are very accurate

b) Also get a crotch to waist measurement

2) Create an inventory of each person’s suit measurements and equipment.

Glove size, shoe size, suit measurements, suit colors

Suit Components
a) SUIT PANTS

b) SUIT TOP

c) HOOD – marker patch, ID initials, and T-Pose #

d) GLOVES – fabric and Aquaplast with markers

e) EYEGLASSES or HAT– with 3 - 7 markers

f) SHOES

g) PATCHES

i) Standard – most suit positions

ii) Offset –

iii) Small square – for small square female patches on smaller suits, also for front shoulder positions, top of head

iv) Shoe: Right shoe, Left shoe

h) STRAPS

i) Waist Hooks –

(1) To keep belt and suit closed together

(2) To tighten knee or leg or arm areas if loose

(3) To join any two soft areas together

ii) Medium stretch straps –

(1) To tighten knee or leg or arm areas if loose

(2) To join any two soft areas together

(3) To make supports for microphone packs, etc

iii) Long Stretch Straps –

(1) Same as above

iv) Harness straps – for markering harnesses

v) Various Velcro pieces to use in any manner that is effective

2) Choosing a color combination for each actor

a) Inventory from Database of all suits and hood color combinations.

b) Inventory of color samples.

c) Keep actor requests in mind

3) Final inventory lists: things to keep in mind

a) How much time 3x3 design needs to deliver a suit.

b) When do rush charges apply?

c) FedEx charges and how they’re billed

d) Turnaround on billing for suits

e) Choose suit colors and combinations to differentiate actors who work together

Shoes
1) Keep a list of shoe types, name/brand/style of each shoe (when it was purchased) and when each shoe type is applicable.

a) Martial Artist Shoes

i) For people doing Martial Arts stunts or dance moves

ii) For performers who need/want little support in shoe

b) Regular (cheap) deck shoes

i) General movement and easy comfort

c) Tennis shoes

i) Stunt work that needs supportive shoe – running, climbing, jumping

d) Performer’s personal shoes (sometimes a performer prefer his/her own shoes)

i) Actor benefits from body position of specific shoe

ii) Represents character movement better

2) Preparing the shoes

a) Cut 4” Soft Velcro (or use soft Norma patches) based on stencils in Shoe Patch Box

i) 2 toes, 1 right, 1 left per pair of shoes

ii) Put these inside each shoe before delivering to cobbler

b) Having a cobbler sew on the patches

(1) Show exactly where patches are to be attached – show examples

(2) Glue on patches carefully first with Barge adhesive– let sit overnight

(3) Double stitch patches onto shoe as close as possible to edge of each patch

ii) What materials were required?

(1) Soft Velcro pieces cut to fit stencils for toes and sides of shoes

(2) Norma’s suit patches, recut to fit over pieces, then zigzag stitched to secure seams

c) Having a cobbler stretch the shoes

i) When is this required

(1) New shoes, or shoes are a little tight

d) Heel Markers

i) Drill ¼” hole in proper heel position (see others)

ii) Insert a rubber pedestal base (clipped of overhang edge) through hole Cover post sticking out back of shoe with Hot glue till it forms a small puddle around base of post

iii) Immediately attach a heel marker onto post and into glue puddle

e) The marker combination

i) One soft marker in patch on each toe, centered in patch

ii) One soft marker in patch on left outer meta

iii) One soft marker in patch on right outer meta

iv) One heel marker about 3” off ground

Hoods
a) Hood should fit snug so that head markers don’t move

b) But it must not impair performer’s movement or speaking or concentration

c) If hood is too tight under chin, remove and clip the edge that is too tight with scissors

d) Some performers prefer caps or headbands if little movement is expectable

e) Some performers hook their hoods on top of glasses – be sure forehead markers are not occluded

Eyeglasses
1) Markered glasses are optional and may be used in place of a markered hat

2) Markered glasses will not be an option when doing face capture

Gloves (Hands) and Cybergloves (see capture tips:hand capture)
1) Gloves come in 3 different sizes

a) Small design –

b) Medium design –

c) Large design -

d) Purpose: keeps the thumb separated from the pinky for purposes of data tracking.

2) The materials required are

i) Aquaplast

ii) Glues and Adhesives

iii) Velcro

iv) Paint - optional

v) Pre-made markers

Seamstress
1) What the seamstress typically does

a) Sew suit pieces together – tops to pants to make one jumpsuit

b) Alter suits – take in seams as needed

c) Move patches as per feedback from Motion capture supervisor or as needed to be able to put marker patch on suit

d) Repair seam splits, patch holes, re-attach patches that get ripped or pulled off of suit

2) Equipment and materials the seamstress needs to bring

a) Sewing machine preferably with “Stretch and Sew” feature

b) #14 needles for suits, and #16 needles if lots of Velcro

c) Strong black thread

3) Sewing supplies need to be stocked.

a) Stock black thread as supplied by 3x3 Design

b) Spare machine needles – #12, #14, and #16

c) Straight pins

d) Good safety pins

e) Grease pencil

f) Chalk

4) A seamstress takes about 2-3 hours, depending on original fit, to tailor a suit.

5) Make sure the seamstress signs a confidentiality agreement

Marker Types
1) Marker types and their uses.

a) Hard clip-on and screw-on markers used for heels on non-stunt shoes, and for props and floor markers during calibration

b) MAC Hard Markers – for props, some shoes, calibration and “Capture Pig”

c) Norma Markers

d) B&L engineering Face Capture markers.

Marker Supplies and Tools
See marker world general supplies for full list

1) Reflective tapes

a) 8850 rubber backed heat sensitive 3M Scotchlite

b) 7610 paper backed 3M Scotchlite

Assembling Markers
1) This includes assembling the components (e.g. putting the base on, pushing it through a Velcro patch, hot glue-ing, etc.)

a) Suit

i) Markers are created and made ready to go into patches and onto suits

ii) When these are damages or destroyed, repair them

b) Shoe

c) Gloves/Hands

d) Hoods

Digital Still Background
1) Building the Digital Still Background

2) Purpose of the digital Still background: for the performer to stand against for a contrasting color where suits and markers won’t get lost in camera flash

a) What were the materials used

i) Soft pink paper

ii) C-stands with 8’ speed rail cross beam to hang paper

iii) Printed ID initials on left side

iv) Printed Date on right side

v) Digital Camera

3) When are Digital Stills Required –

a) Before each performer goes into the volume for daily T-pose and ROM

b) May need to take a second still if markers were missing or wrong

c) Good idea to take a still of harnesses or apparatus attached to actor

4. A digital still is required during

i) Actor Tposes

(1) Front, Back, Side (top?)

(2) For every new Tpose during the day

ii) Props

(1) Front, side, top views

(2) Follow prop naming

Preparing Your Work Areas on Stage
Duck Blinds (a hidden area near set where you can store reflective markers, material, and actors..while they are not shooting)

Marker Bags / Kits (Flashlights, etc)

Marker Repair Areas (Glue Gun, etc.)

Implementing the Marker Set
1) Marker Set Purpose: Differentiating one actor from another.

2) Identify the important body parts

a) Standard configuration

b) Offset choices

Info for the Database
1) The marker team is responsible for providing information to the database

a) Initials for the actor character code

b) Tpose #

c) Actor marker sets

d) Suit and hood colors

e) Marker Downs (during capture)

f) Props – if known

i) Names of props

Suiting and Markering Each Actor
1) Giving each actor an overview of what’s going to happen to him/her. Include:

a) Caveats and do’s and don’ts (don’t pull on the suit once tpose has happened)

2) Markering Times

a) How long does it take to marker an actor? – About 15 minutes

3) Additional process steps

a) Making labels for:

i) Digital Stills (Actor initials, Dates, Tposes)

ii) Actor suits (Actor initials and Tpose #)

b) Take digital still before each actor enters the volume.

Watching for Marker Problems in the Volume
1) How many marker people are required on set?

a) Depends upon the intensity of the action in the volume, but a good rule to follow is one marker person watching for marker downs for every three talent in the volume

2) What to watching for?

a) Marker downs

b) Marker replacements

c) Changes in marker placement. E.g.

i) Someone tugs on their suit, thereby moving their skeleton.

3) Preparing to go out into the volume

a) Fill a pouch with sufficient markers and type of markers.

b) Know your skeleton and body parts….

c) Know when to just re-attach a marker versus replace it with a new marker.

d) Know when to call out marker downs.

4) Calling our Marker downs

a) The onset marker world person is responsible for calling out marker downs

Marker Problems
Identify the typical marker problems

a) Loss of reflectivity

b) Loss of shape (not round, but now ovoid…)

c) Broken / Sheared

Marker Repairs
1) Triage the markers into the following categories

a) To be tossed

b) To be repaired – keep track of the numbers of each!

2) Do videotape and digital stills for the following:

a) Stripping Markers

b) Taping markers

3) Do videotape and digital stills for repairs to the following marker types

a) Placement location

i) Suit

ii) Shoe

iii) Gloves/Hands

iv) Glasses

v) Hood

b) Or, and/by Marker vendor

i) B&L

ii) MAC

iii) Vicon

iv) 3x3 Design

Suit / Marker Reports
Marker inventory

a) Total inventory by marker type.

b) Usually done periodically – especially before a strenuous stunt shoot day.

2) Keeping a daily log of marker repairs/replacements

a) How many markers are repaired and replaced per day by type.

3) Suit/Accessory report by Actor

Downloading Digital Stills
1) Notes: Done each day.

2) Process for downloading

a) Connecting the cable

b) Transferring the files into the right directory.

c) Renaming convention

i) Date, actor name, view, Tpose #

d) Clearing the camera file.

Laundry / Suit Cleaning
1) How often are suits cleaned?

2) Methods for cleaning

a) Through Production

i) What’s the procedure? (E.g. calling to notify wardrobe, dropping off the suits, how the suits need to be tagged, instructions, pickup procedures on the next day, paperwork (PO’s, forms, etc.)

(1)

b) Regular Laundromats

i) Cleaning and drying instructions (temperature, no linty materials, detergent, drying instructions)

c) Use Febreeze to keep smell down on things that cannot be washed.

i) Febreeze can also be used on suits that have not been used much

Preparing for the Next Day
Read the call sheet to identify actors for the next day’s shoot.

1) Prepare each suit

a) Check that it’s clean

b) Marker the suit in advance (after checking the marker combination)

2) Prepare actor accessory boxes (gloves, hood, eyeglasses and shoes)

3) On the morning of each shoot day, you might need to pick up suits from the Wardrobe department.