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Motion Theater

Play video synchronized with recorded motion, or author motion paths for your own clips.

This short tutorial explains how to create motion paths for your videos and use them with your motion platform.

1 Prerequisites

2 Brief description

Motion Theater software allows you to prepare a motion track for the movie and synchronize it with the displayed image. Motion Theater includes two functional modules - player and editor.

2.1 Motion Theater - Player

Motion Theater Player enables the user to load and play video and motion sequence. That software also takes care of synchronization between the image and the motion sequence. You can be sure that the right motion occurs exactly in the right moment. To maximally simplify this component we built it on top of the very popular and ergonomic VLC video player equipped with additional plugins. It means you can work with any video format supported by VLC. To check the full list of supported files please visit the following website:

https://wiki.videolan.org/VLC_Features_Formats

Motion tracks are stored in separate files. The way VLC works with the motion tracks is very similar to subtitles. If there is a motion path file, it will be automatically loaded and synchronized with video playback. When the video is being played, the motion platform will perform movements according to data from the motion path.

2.2 Motion Theater - Editor

Motion Theater Editor allows users to prepare a motion path for a movie and then save it for later use. The motion path is created based on the movement of the controller - in this case the joystick or gamepad (or any other analog pointing device) - and reflects the movement of that device over time. Same as for the player, anything that can be played by VLC will work with the editor.

3 Installation

Before you start the installation process please make sure that you have the necessary equipment and software:

  • Motion platform
  • Standard analog PC joystick or gamepad with analog inputs
  • The current version of ForceSeatPM
  • Supported version of VLC

Then you are ready to set up a fully functioning work environment. Please carry out the following steps:

4 Motion path recording

Before you begin recording a motion path, please make sure that the video can be played by VLC and activate the Motion Theater profile in ForceSeatPM. Next, start the MotionTheater Editor.

MotionTheater Editor window

Click File, Open Video and select your video file. If there is already a motion path next to the video file, it will be automatically loaded.

Motion path file stored next to the video file

4.1 Tracks configuration

A single motion path can contain multiple motion tracks. Usually a single track corresponds to a single DoF.

  • For HS-20x and PS-2xx-xxx please use Rear-Front Rotation and Left-Right Rotation.
  • For PS-3xx-xxx - Rear-Front Rotation, Left-Right Rotation and Down-Up Movement.
  • For PS-6xx-xxx all 6 motion tracks can be used.

The Triggers track is used to control external peripherals and it is not supported by all motion platforms.

For the purpose of this tutorial, go to Edit, Tracks and select Rear-Front Rotation and Left-Right Rotation.

Motion path tracks configuration

4.2 Joystick configuration

Go to Edit, Set recorder and choose which joystick or gamepad you want to use. Next go to Edit, Recorder configuration (it should open automatically when you select the joystick) and map the joystick axes to tracks.

Joystick axis mapping

4.3 Recording

When everything is configured, just click Record and start joystick movements.

Recording a motion track

It is recommended to work on a single track at a time. When a track is finished, you can disable it by clicking the check box on the left so it will not be overwritten.

A finished track disabled to protect it from being overwritten

You can also click on the track to jump to a given position, and use + and - to zoom the track.

When Forward to platform is enabled, every time you move the joystick the motion platform should move as well. If it is not happening, please double-check that the Motion Theater profile is selected in ForceSeatPM, the motion platform is not parked and there are no pending issues in Action Center.

When you finish recording, save the motion path to a file next to your video file (it is recommended to use the same base filename as the video) and close the editor.

5 Playing video with a motion path

When the Motion Theater profile is activated in ForceSeatPM, it is enough to open the video with VLC. The motion path will be loaded automatically (assuming it is stored on disc next to the video file) and synchronized with the movie.

There will be a Motion Theater icon in the tray; after clicking it you can check the current status and manually specify a time offset if needed. You can also load a custom motion path.

Motion Theater status shown in the system tray

6 Troubleshooting

  • There is no Motion Theater icon in the tray when VLC is playing video. The plug-in for VLC is probably not installed correctly. Please reinstall Motion Theater.
  • The motion platform does not make any movements. First check whether ForceSeatPM can control the motion platform by going to Platform Diagnostic and moving the sliders. Next check whether the Motion Theater profile is activated in ForceSeatPM and there are no pending issues in Action Center.
  • Motion Theater says the motion path is not found when the video is played in VLC. Probably the name of the motion path is not the same as the video name.

7 In action

See Motion Theater synchronizing video and platform movement: