AI Motion Capture Tutorial: Step-by-Step Beginner's Guide

1Prepare a trackable source video

Recommended starting point

Use one continuous 5–15 second shot at 720p or higher. A sharp 1080p/30 FPS clip is a strong default. Use 60 FPS for fast movement only when lighting keeps hands and feet sharp and the final workflow needs the extra samples.

• Keep every required body part inside a safety margin.
• Show the floor when foot contact, jumps or root height matter.
• Avoid abrupt cuts, large zoom changes and long out-of-frame movement.
• Use clothing that separates arms and legs from the background.
• Minimize long self-occlusion, furniture obstruction and multi-person overlap.
• Upload footage you recorded or have permission and rights to use.

2Upload the original camera file

1. Sign in to QuickMagic.
2. Open AI Mocap.
3. Select Upload Video or drag the file into the workspace.
4. Wait for the upload and verify the preview duration.

Prefer the original camera file. Messaging apps and social platforms may change resolution, compression, frame rate or timestamps, which can make fast motion harder to reconstruct.

3Trim the useful action

Use the built-in editor to isolate the movement, but preserve a short stable lead-in and lead-out when possible. Context helps review takeoff, landing, hand identity and contact transitions.

• Remove long inactive sections and irrelevant people.
• Do not cut exactly on a fast spin, jump or contact change.
• Use a short test before committing credits to a full clip.
• Name the test with the action and settings, such as jump_v1_30fps_2x.

4Detect and select the performer

QuickMagic detects people in the clip. Confirm the correct subject before assigning a capture/output preset.

• In multi-person footage, check overlap and identity continuity.
• Avoid selecting a person who repeatedly leaves the frame.
• Review whether the camera is static or moving.
• Do not treat successful detection as proof that hands, feet or depth are correct.

5Choose capture type and output settings

Capture scope

• Full Body: locomotion, dance, sports, kicks, jumps and floor contact.
• Upper Body: dialogue, gestures, presenters, sitting and animation layers.
• Hands: visible hand and finger movement; use larger hand images.
• Face: clear, unobstructed facial performance; dedicated close footage is stronger.

Reference pose

Select Original, T-Pose or A-Pose according to the destination. Unreal, Unity and custom rigs do not all use the same reference pose. Matching the target is more important than applying T-pose universally.

Export format

The current Free plan lists FBX. Paid plans list FBX plus Unreal, Mixamo, BIP, VMD, Only Face, Unity Anim, C4D, CC and iClone and Roblox. Other product pages may mention additional workflows; use the current export interface as the final source of truth.

6Name the project, generate and review

Use a descriptive name containing action and key settings, then generate the motion. Processing time varies with clip length, resolution, selected features, queue load and plan priority.

Review the source skeleton

• Do left and right limbs keep their identities?
• Does the pelvis/root follow the performer?
• Are takeoff, landing, impacts and body lean preserved?
• Do planted feet have plausible speed and contact?
• Do hands and face contain enough useful detail for the selected scope?

Use Physics Optimization cautiously

Start with a low iteration value to preserve motion amplitude. Higher settings may improve stability but can soften jumps, impacts, stride and expressive timing.

Use 2D Refinement for observable errors

On supported paid plans, 2D Refinement can correct a wrongly detected joint or foot contact before regeneration. It is not a replacement for target-rig mapping, skinning or scene contact.

7Export, retarget and validate

1. Download the available source motion and preserve an untouched copy.
2. Import with the correct axis, scale and frame rate.
3. Match source and target T-pose or A-pose.
4. Map root, pelvis, spine, limbs and optional hands/face.
5. Check duration in seconds, root travel and target stride.
6. Fix feet, hands, props, terrain and local noisy curves.
7. Reimport the final file into a clean scene and validate it again.