What innovative technique involves sensors placed on actors to create realistic movements for CGI characters?

Motion capture is a groundbreaking technique that utilizes sensors affixed to actors to capture their physical movements and translate these into digital environments, creating lifelike animations for CGI characters. This process allows animators to record the nuanced movements of performers, including facial expressions and body language, which are critical for conveying emotion and realism in animated films and video games.

The use of motion capture has significantly transformed the animation industry, enabling the blending of live-action performance with animated elements more seamlessly than ever before. This combination enhances storytelling by offering an authentic portrayal of characters that can engage audiences on a deeper level.

In contrast, while rotoscoping involves tracing over motion picture footage to produce realistic movement, it does not involve the real-time capture of a performer's movements. Keyframing is a technique where animators manually create specific frames to define motion, lacking the immediacy and fluidity that motion capture provides. Digital animation is a broader term that encompasses various techniques for creating animation, but it doesn't specifically refer to the use of sensors on actors. Each of these alternatives has its own relevance in animation, but motion capture is distinct in its approach to achieving realistic human movement in CGI.