Its becoming apparent that a number of customers are having a few problems with getting the MM system up and running, for us distributing this system to customers and getting them happily up and running is a bit of a learning exercise.
Its probably best if you look at the MM/Skull system as three separate systems, ie the Skull, Motion System and sound system.
If you are an existing skull owner then the learning curve to starting the system up is a little kinder than for customers who have bought a Skull and MM system as a complete set-up.
If this is the first time you have owned a SkullTroniX skull then its strongly advisable that you install VSA and get the skull working and playing its routine first, this process will establish that you have the DMX network working correctly and all the cabling.
Next connect the camera to the computer and start the MM software, get the pass code installed, set the camera up as directed in the manual, once you have it set-up try connect MM to the skull and test the motion, take slow steady movements and learn about how head motion is replicated on the skull, its a bit like riding a bike, at first good results are hard to achieve, but after about 10 minutes you find the system a little natural to move.
The most important thing when in motion tracing is to make sure that the camera can always see the three tracking markers, so keep an eye on the screen until you have learnt the limits of motion.
If the camera loses sight of one or more tracking markers then the motion can get out of synch with your head, if this becomes the case then look away from the camera/behind you then look back and you should find that sync is restored... this can also take a little practice.
Finally get the sound system and jaw motion working, the jaw motion will need a little tuning to get the best results, to tune the jaw motion you use the PC's volume level and mic gain controls, audible sound level should be controlled by the volume control on the speakers/amplifier, but its probably best to turn this volume down until you have the jaw motion working well enough, and then up the speaker volume to the required level.
Care should be taken with respect to the relative positions of speakers and microphone, otherwise you can get feedback problems, as a general rule the speakers should be directed away from the performer ans as far away as possible, you then need to balance the speaker volume and mic gain to give a sufficient volume level without causing feedback.
It may be the case that when you speak into the mic you don't hear any sound from the speakers, if this is the case then you need to check your sound card settings and make sure that the duplex or mic monitor mode is enabled
icemanfred
you mention there is a sync problem if the camera loses sight of one of the markers.
I wonder, does this limit the motion of the skull as compared to manually programing it?
Phoenix
The problem is that the skull has 180 degrees of motion and when you move your head through 180 degrees then the markers get obscured.
You can achieve the full range of skull motion, by using motion amplification. i.e. you tell the system that the skull moves +/- 180 degrees when you move your head say +/- 160 degrees.
Motion amplification is actually a useful feature because not only does it help get past the +/-180 degrees problem, but when operating live it means you can tune the skull such that it always looks at what the performer can see, regardless of the differences in position.
icemanfred
are there any situations , like nodding the head, that might go beyong servo limits?
Phoenix
Its unlikely that you will have a problem with nodding as the range of motion is comparatively small.
But you can use motion amplification to exaggerate (or reduce) nodding and tilt motions as well as panning
