# Tutorial — Capturing Idle Takes *Augmented Traveler local tutorial.* Back to [[Mocap — Tutorials]] · runtime: [[Tutorial — Authoring a Q&A Experience with Ambient Idle]] · capture day: [[Tutorial — Running a Capture Day]] · movement: [[Tutorial — Period Movement Coaching]] What to capture so the figure looks **alive while waiting**, listening and thinking. The Q&A tutorial layers base idles, fidgets, breathing, gaze and hand poses. This page is the **shot list and directing notes** that feed those layers. > **Draft.** Written from our Q&A idle design and Epic's capture guidance. The director and technical animator validate it after the first idle session. Correct any setting names here. ## 1. The shot list Per figure, per posture (standing; seated at a desk or table): | Item | Count | Length | Layer it feeds | |---|---|---|---| | **Waiting takes** | 3–6 | 30–60 s each | Base idle (random sequence) | | **Fidgets** | 8–12 | 2–6 s each | Additive fidgets, every 8–25 s | | **Breathing** | 2 | 20–30 s | Additive breathing on spine and clavicles | | **Weight shifts** | 4–6 | 3–6 s | Transitions between waiting takes | | **Look-arounds** | 4–6 | 3–5 s | Gaze variety; the Look At node does the rest | | **Thinking / considering** | 4–6 | 1–2.5 s | Thinking state before first audio | | **Listening posture** | 2–3 | 10–20 s | Listening state | | **Turn to visitor** | 2 | 1–2 s | Waiting → Listening | **Thinking clips must be short.** First audio should arrive within about 1.5 s ([[AI Mind — Process]]), so a thinking clip that runs longer will be cut off. ## 2. Fidgets per figure (historian approves the list) | Maria Mitchell (1847) | Whaling captain | Lucretia Mott | |---|---|---| | Glance at the telescope | Glance at the sky or the window (weather) | Hands resettle in the lap | | Straighten papers on the desk | Thumb along the waistcoat edge | Small nod, as if hearing a thought | | Adjust shawl on the shoulders | Weight onto the back foot, hands behind back | Smooth the apron or skirt | | Touch the pen, not pick it up | Check a pocket watch (non-metal proxy on suit days) | Turn a page | Avoid modern habits: checking a phone-like object, tight crossed arms, hair-flicks, stretching the arms overhead. ## 3. Directing the waiting takes 1. **Give the performer a reason to wait.** "You have come to the Atheneum early; the hall is filling." A waiting take without a situation turns into posing. 2. **Low energy, but not asleep.** Blinks, small breaths, eyes that settle and move on. 3. **No big events.** Save big actions for fidgets, so they can be timed separately. 4. **Stay near the mark.** Feet may shift; they must come back within a few centimetres. 5. **Posture holds.** In stays the torso stays upright; the performer rests by shifting weight, not by slumping ([[Tutorial — Period Movement Coaching]]). 6. **One long take is better than many short ones.** Ask for 90 s and cut the best 30–60 s. ## 4. Loopability rules - **Start and end every base idle on the rest pose** (`rest_stand` or `rest_seat`, shared with [[Tutorial — Gesture Library and Tags]]). - Call "back to rest" 5 s before the end of the take. - **Hold still for 2 s at each end.** Cleanup trims to matching frames. - **Same foot placement** at start and end. Mark the floor. - **Fidgets and weight shifts:** start and end on rest; these are additive or short full-body pieces. - **Breathing clip:** capture a quiet, even stretch; cleanup cuts one breath cycle-aligned loop (inhale start to inhale start). ## 5. Listening and thinking - **Listening:** turned towards the visitor, still, a slight lean in, a small brow lift. Hands stop moving. Capture a version that holds for 20 s without looking frozen: tiny nods, a blink rhythm. - **Thinking:** a look aside, a touch of the chin, a glance down at the desk, a slight intake of breath. **No mouth movement** and **no sound**; filler speech is not allowed. - Record each thinking clip starting from the listening pose and ending ready to speak. ## 6. Recording notes - **Same costume proxy and props** as the monologues, so posture matches. - **Slate each take as idle:** `Mitchell_20261014_IDLEstand_T03` ([[Tutorial — Running a Capture Day]]). - **Face:** record face on waiting and listening takes too. Blinks and small eye moves are what sell "alive". - **Suit drift:** long takes show inertial drift. Recalibrate before each 60 s block. - **Markerless route:** idles are a good first use of [[Tutorial — Single-Camera Body Capture]], but check the feet; floating feet show badly on a still figure. ## 7. Delivery 1. **Naming:** - `AS_<Figure>_Idle_<Posture>_Wait_<##>` - `AS_<Figure>_Idle_<Posture>_Fidget_<name>` - `AS_<Figure>_Idle_<Posture>_Think_<##>`, `_Listen_<##>`, `_Breath` 2. **Cleanup:** loop points, locked feet, hands from the hand pose library ([[Tutorial — Hand Pose Library for Gestures]]). 3. **Additive settings** on fidgets and breathing as in [[Tutorial — Gesture Library and Tags]]. 4. **Hand to the Unreal engineer** with a short CSV: name, layer, length, posture, historian approval date. 5. The Animation Blueprint and State Tree in [[Tutorial — Authoring a Q&A Experience with Ambient Idle]] take it from there. ## 8. Practice exercise Capture three 60 s waiting takes for Maria Mitchell seated at a desk, plus four fidgets and two thinking clips. Build the idle in a test Animation Blueprint and leave it running for 30 minutes. Note every moment a loop or a repeat is visible, and capture replacements for the worst two. ## 9. Check before handing off - [ ] 3–6 waiting takes per posture, each 30–60 s, starting and ending on rest - [ ] 8–12 approved fidgets; nothing modern - [ ] 4–6 thinking clips, each under 2.5 s, silent - [ ] Listening holds for 20 s without looking frozen - [ ] Feet locked; no visible pop at loop points at life size - [ ] Historian has approved the fidget list ## Sources - Epic, MetaHuman Animator Performance Capture Guidelines: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/metahuman/metahuman-animator-performance-capture-guidelines-in-unreal-engine - Epic, MetaHuman Animator Video Capture Guidelines: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/metahuman/metahuman-animator-video-capture-guidelines-in-unreal-engine - Epic, Aim Offset (additive settings): https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/unreal-engine/aim-offset-in-unreal-engine - Full list: [[Sources — 2026-09-20]]