Motion capture (sometimes referred as mo-cap or mocap , for short) is the process of recording the movement of objects or people. It is used in military , entertainment , sports , medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics. In filmmaking and video game development , it refers to recording actions of human actors , and using that information to animate digital character models in 2D or 3D computer animation . When it includes face and fingers or captures subtle expressions, it is often referred to as performance capture . In many fields, motion capture is sometimes called motion tracking , but in filmmaking and games, motion tracking usually refers more to match moving .