“A non-technical person can walk in, strike a T-pose in normal clothes, and be mocap-ready in seconds.”
That’s the headline from Episode 2 of Will it Mocap? and it tells you almost everything about where motion capture is going.
In Episode 1, Owen at Goblin Academy admitted he’d opened a mocap studio without actually knowing mocap, and then started learning in public. Episode 2 dials that up. The question this time isn’t just “can we capture movement?” It’s “can we capture drag?” – and more specifically: will drag… mocap?
The result is part tech test, part rehearsal, part chaos, and quietly, a real look at how markerless capture changes who gets to use mocap – and how fast they can work.
Goblin Academy meets markerless mocap
We’re back in Goblin Academy’s studio. It’s not a soundstage – it’s an average-sized office space with some adjustments made. Traditionally, that alone would have ruled out motion capture, but not any more.
Before this shoot, Owen’s reference point for mocap was the classic optical setup: suit on, reflective markers taped everywhere, range-of-motion calibration, operator at the desk, performer in the volume. When Vicon first installed that optical system, it felt like Christmas. But setting up was still a time-consuming process. That’s where markerless is different.
You walk in wearing what you’re already wearing. You hit a T-pose. The system recognises you, builds a body solve, and you’re live. No suit, no labels, no “can you reattach that marker to your elbow.”
Owen reflects on the moment he tried markerless, saying, “Markerless has completely shattered my already very positive perception of how easy motion capture can be”. He goes on to note his surprise, “…the reduction in friction is beyond anything I expected; it genuinely surprised me.”
How the setup actually works
Goblin Academy is running a hybrid rig using multiple Vicon camera types: Vanguard cameras track the performer markerlessly and build the live skeleton, while Vero cameras lock onto marked props and hands, all lit by a fast-firing strobe ring that keeps the whole volume evenly exposed..
- Body motion: Cameras capture the performer, generate a live digital skeleton, and track the movement in real time – no reflective markers on the performer.
- Hands / props / precision: Optical cameras track marked items like props. For Pembo’s routine, they added markers to fire sticks so they could come through accurately into Unreal later.
So the body is fast and free, and the hero details are still nailed. That balance is what convinced Owen this wasn’t just a fun experiment – it was production-ready. “Finding out that Vicon Markerless seamlessly integrated into our optical system… that’s a game-changer for us. The ability to marker hands and props, and then have actors walk into the volume with no markers whatsoever – that’s when we realised how serious this is.” For a small team, that matters. You don’t have to choose between speed and fidelity.
The Performance - Enter Pembo
To really push the system, Owen brought in Mark – better known as drag artist Pembo.
This is where the episode stops looking like a tech demo and starts looking like rehearsal for a live show. Pembo performs big: wigs, padding, spins, props, full-body attitude. That kind of movement usually makes mocap fall apart, because extreme silhouettes, shiny fabrics and fast shape changes can break traditional tracking.
Instead of avoiding that, the team leaned into it. They tried baggy clothes, reflective material and ridiculous outlines on purpose. Because that’s real indie capture: sometimes you’re shooting a drag performer in metallic fabric, under club lighting, whipping a prop. Even then, they were still able to capture, clean and review fast enough to keep shooting.
Cleanup in three clicks
Anyone who’s done mocap knows cleanup is where the day disappears. Normally, you’re fixing gaps, relabelling joints and smoothing curves frame by frame. Here, cleanup is designed not to kill the mood.
Owen walks through it on camera:
- Capture the take.
- Hit “reprocess.”
- Hit “clean.”
That’s it. No rebuilding a solve because someone hit an extreme pose. No stopping the session. “As a non-technician,” Owen says, “the speed and simplicity of cleanup… makes the whole process incredibly accessible for a layperson like me.”
Previs in the room
After capture, Pembo’s motion goes from Shōgun into Unreal and drives a digital character almost immediately. That means the team can watch the routine as an actual performance, not just data.
What used to take days – book a mocap stage, send data out, wait for cleanup, pull it into the engine – now can happen on the day. You’re not scheduling previs later. You’re doing previs while you’re still building the act.
Will drag mocap?
The finale is Pembo’s full routine. First, they capture in light, practical clothing, which is basically all markerless needs. Then Pembo performs again in full drag for the camera. The captured motion drives the avatar in Unreal, lit and framed like a live show.
Watching it back, Pembo lights up. “I thought I was going to be made into someone I’m really, really not,” they say. Instead, what they saw was recognisably them – just turned up. “Like a ’90s wrestler,” in Pembo’s words, and exactly the kind of energy their friends would scream over.
That moment is the point. When a performer looks at a digital version of themselves and says, “That’s me,” you’re not just capturing motion. You’re capturing identity.
Why this episode matters
Under all the jokes, Episode 2 is making an important point: markerless motion capture for indie studios isn’t just convenient. It’s access.
Owen can now run capture, perform, and get usable data into a project in the same session – without a dedicated mocap operator in the chair. “For an indie like us, where speed and ease are more important than high-fidelity, markerless becomes the obvious choice. You can get more done in a day, and the freedom it gives performers is game-changing.”
And because hybrid capture lets you add optical tracking to specific props or hands, you’re not boxed in. You can move fast for previs and still lock detail for hero shots.
“It closes the gap between a natural, authentic space to perform in and the technical constraints mocap performers usually have to adapt to,” Owen says. “That’s a huge step forward.”
So… did it mocap?
Yes. Drag did, in fact, mocap.
“Markerless made it feel like we could just walk in and make something,” Owen says. “It makes me want to get into the volume even more than I already did.”
Episode 2 is loud, smoky, briefly interrupted by a rogue bee, and absolutely full of personality. That’s the point. This isn’t motion capture as a sterile technical step. This is motion capture as part of the performance.
For indie teams looking at markerless mocap for indie studios, that’s the future: fast setup, fast feedback, and performances that still feel like the people who gave them. Contact us and let’s talk about how Vicon can help you create more.
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