Jewels and Fear Sticks and Other Motion Capture Lingo

Mocap is short for motion capture, the process of creating digital characters for 2D or 3D computer animation by attaching reflective markers to an actor and having them move in front of a green screen while information about those movements is recorded. The Motion Capture Society has compiled a collection of slang used this industry. The reflective markers are referred to as dots or jewels. Those dots must remain in place, and if they fall off, the action may be stopped with a cry of Marker Doon! A hitchhiker is a marker that’s transferred from one actor to another but hasn’t fallen off, and a fear stick is a large stick with a pool noodle on the end of it, used to hit actors in order to make them react appropriately during a fight scene. This is part of a complete episode.