How Cerebral Palsy Helped Star Wars Help Life Science

The Force has awakened more than an unassuming scavenger from Jakku and a lot of budding acting careers. It has shifted applied health technology into hyperdrive. Characters, like Maz Kanata, played by Lupita Nyong’o, and the Supreme Leader Snoke, played by Andy Serkis, were created using motion capture, whereby an actor’s movements were recorded to animate 2D or 3D models.

Avatar, King Kong, Jurassic World, Lord of the Rings, Planet of the Apes and Barbie in the Nutcracker, in addition to Star Wars, are all Hollywood productions distinguished by their use of motion capture, some more acclaimed than others. What most people don’t know is that the art of motion capture began in life sciences.

Motion studies, used to measure bio-mechanical movement in animals and humans, in a more formal sense has been around since the 19th century, pre-dating the history of film. Through the next century it evolved into what we commonly envision as the ping-pong-balls-glued-to-some-dude-in–a-lycra-onesie thing.

This “motion capture” as we know it was originally purposed for the clinical assessments of individuals suffering from cerebral palsy and other severe motion-impairing disorders. By capturing data from markers (a.k.a. “ping-pong balls”) placed on the patient, algorithms construct an accurate 3D skeleton of the individual in motion.

Clinicians can more accurately analyze walking patterns, limb movements and joint rotations. This added layer of detail, when combined with data gathered from physical examinations, allows health care providers to make more informed diagnoses and therapy recommendations.

It was not long before animators in the movie-industry recognized the creative potential of motion capture. In fact, animation pioneer Max Fleischer, the man who brought Betty Boop, Popeye and Superman to life, conceived Rotoscoping in 1915. The animation technique was based on motion capture principles and entailed animators tracing over frames of live-action films to bring noticeably more fluid and life-like motion to their characters.

Walt Disney embraced the innovation and used it to produce his first full-length feature, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. The smooth, human-like movements were met with fanfare and evolved its way through other well-known classics: from Peter Pan to Ralph Bakshi’s Lord of the Rings, to American Pop, to Sinbad: Beyond the Veil of Mists, to The Mummy, to Gladiator, to Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, to The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, to Happy Feet, to Avatar, to The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug and recently, to Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens.

We as cinema-goers have seen motion capture advance so much in such a short amount of time. The speed at which the film industry has propelled motion capture has had a tremendous impact in the field of health.

Since being picked-up by Hollywood, the rapid evolution of motion capture technology has sent shockwaves back to its roots in life sciences. Cameras have become smaller and more powerful, algorithms used to interpret data have become more exact and the need for a large physical area, prolonged training, technical expertise and analytical skill have all decreased. These factors have improved motion capture quality, expanded its functions and made it more efficient, affordable and accessible.

Whereas health-based motion capture use had predominantly been confined to large research institutions or universities, it is now breaking free of these limitations. Motion capture is pushing its way into local clinics, surgery centers and local communities, thanks to lowered costs, simplified usage and breadth of application.

In addition to its use in aiding physically impaired patients, motion capture is now being used to track migrations of hip replacements, select and adjust prostheses, assess shoulder alignment in stroke victims, rehabilitate wounded soldiers, improve the form of world-class athletes, assess risk of re-injury and increase range of motion.

Motion capture is currently being applied by physicians and psychologists to understand brain control who attempt to 3D model thought processes to see why certain emotions occur. As the technology expands, it has great potential in preventative health. Routine assessments could be given to people that could predict the likelihood of needing a hip replacement later in life, for example, or indicate previously undetected issues that, with correction, would prevent further physical damage.

Thus, motion capture has come full circle in a bolder and more beautiful form and we are all better off for it.

Trivia Bonus: Which Star Wars film had the first fully digital major character, and who?

Answer: Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, Jar-Jar Binks*, played by Ahmed Best.

*Not bored? Look up Supreme Leader Snoke/Jar Jar Binks fan theory.