XR for POC

In the past few years, access to motion capture data, 3D base models, and software to “make an animation of yourself” has skyrocketed. From MakeHuman to Mixamo to CMU’s motion capture database, the ability to make and finish polished projects has become easier for many. While these resources are extremely helpful to create a range of projects, they lack tools to create diverse characters and movements unexplored by systems that center assumptions of neutrality.

The Black Movement Project (BMP) is an online database of Black motion capture data and Black character base models. BMP is a tool for activists, performers & artists to create diverse XR projects, a space to research how and why we move, and an archive of Black existence. We live in a world where Black existence is hypervisible, exploited, surveilled, and dehumanized. The Black Movement Project seeks to help Black performers connect to their bodies in a mental, physical, and spiritual way through use of digital media.

This meetup will introduce participants to the DIY 3D community. We will go over questions including “Who’s making in this space? How are they making?” and “Who is left out of the community due to a lack of resources?” Attendees will learn and create using current “accessible” motion capture and modeling technology, and will brainstorm ways to make the technology serve diverse communities/bodies in their needs and differences.