motion capture

American  

[moh-shuhn kap-cher] / ˈmoʊ ʃən ˌkæp tʃər /

noun

1. a data collection technique in which the movements of people and objects are tracked, recorded, and rendered to create animations, as for a video game.

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motion capture British  

noun

1. a process by which a device can be used to capture patterns of live movement; the data is then transmitted to a computer, where simulation software displays it applied to a virtual actor

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Etymology

Origin of motion capture

First recorded in 1980–85

Example Sentences

On the pitch, it benefits from new graphics, based on work with women's footballers in the motion capture studio, and a perhaps unlikely source: VAR.

From BBC • Nov. 1, 2025

The big barrier was a disagreement over motion capture actors whose work was treated as "data" rather than as a performance.

From BBC • Jul. 10, 2025

In 2016’s “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” Peter Cushing’s Grand Moff Tarkin was recreated through a mix of motion capture, CGI and archival material, decades after Cushing’s death.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 29, 2025

Amazon’s Stage 15 is Southern California’s largest virtual production stage, with a wall of more than 3,000 LED panels and motion capture cameras.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 25, 2025

"Maybe we can do like a motion capture day somehow. Do some animal studies, as it were."

From BBC • Dec. 27, 2024