Student Yaro Copijn talks about his role in the collaborative project 'A Final Transmission'

Can you tell us about the project you worked on?  

Yaro: 'I had the amazing opportunity to work on a collaborative project named “A Final Transmission”. Together with professionals from the film industry, a group of BUas students created a short film using motion capture (mocap) technology. BUas was approached by the project's director, Kelly Klingenberg, and actors to learn more about mocap productions. We did this project as a passion project at the end of the academic year and during the summer break. It was a perfect fit for me as I was a second-year student training to become a mocap supervisor.' 

'We were involved in writing the script, storyboard, and synopsis for this short story project. The story was set in a sci-fi setting. We used Unreal Engine with assets from the marketplace. An environment artist was brought in to help with set dressing and lighting. I was responsible for the virtual camera during the filming process, working closely with Kasper, the director of cinematography. Everything was then added in Unreal Engine. We adjusted the camera composition to better portray the actors. And after that, I helped with the motion capture body clean-up.' 

What was your role in this project, and how did you collaborate with your team?  

Yaro: 'During this project, I was responsible for bringing the characters to life and showing human emotions through mocap data. My role as a 3D character animator was to make slight adjustments to the data and bring everything to life. Working on this project gave me the opportunity to work closely with the mocap supervisors, but I also gained valuable insights into the film industry.' 

‘After filming was complete, the other students and I worked on post-production, combining all the different elements and polishing the final output. My role involved dealing with the mocap body clean-up process, which was an exciting challenge that allowed me to refine my skills further.’ 

‘The team worked closely together throughout the summer and communicated through Trello to get feedback on our progress. It was an incredible experience to work with everyone, and we all had a big role to play in bringing the project to life.'

'The short film “A Final Transmission" premiered in Amsterdam during the film festival in September 2022. Most of us were there and we had a great time!’  

Learn more about Yaro Copijn and his work on this project via his Artstation profile.

What other projects would you like to work on?  

Yaro: ‘My dream projects to work on involve short films, cinematics, mocap, and the clean-up process, as I am passionate about these aspects. I hope to continue my work in this field and build my portfolio further. Working on “A Final Transmission" has been a remarkable experience that has confirmed my passion for mocap, and I'm excited to explore new opportunities and build on my existing skillset.’