Motion Capture
Transfer movements from any video to any character image. Create animations, place yourself in movie scenes, or bring illustrations to life—all by combining a motion video with a character image.
Motion Capture is the Studio workflow for taking movement from one video and applying it to a character image. The motion video provides the performance. The character image provides the identity. Chat Video Pro combines them with Kling Motion Control to create a new video where your character performs the reference motion.
What This Tool Is For
Motion Capture is for motion transfer, not general video editing. You give Studio two assets:
Motion video
The source movement, gesture, pose timing, dance, walk, action, or performance.
Character image
The person, character, illustration, avatar, mascot, or design that should perform the motion.
The output is a new animated video. The character image is the visual anchor, while the motion video tells the model how that character should move.
The motion video is not the final look. It is the choreography reference. The character image is what the viewer should recognize in the result.
Motion Capture is especially useful for:
Animating a static character design.
Making an avatar dance, walk, wave, teach, or perform.
Turning a brand mascot into short-form content.
Testing motion ideas before a proper shoot.
Applying a real performance to an illustrated, cinematic, anime, or stylized character.
Creating multiple clips with the same character and different motions.
When To Use It
Use Motion Capture when the main creative question is:
"Can this character perform that motion?"
Choose a different Studio workflow when the goal is not motion transfer:
Add rain, fire, atmosphere, or style to existing footage
Add Effects
Change lighting or mood on an image or video
Relight Scene
Generate a new moving shot from a still image
Motion Director
Create alternate camera angles
Multi-Cam
Remove a background or isolate a subject
Rotoscope
Remove unwanted people or objects
Erase Objects
Motion Capture works best when the motion is human-readable: dancing, walking, posing, gesturing, fighting, exercising, teaching, or acting. It is weaker when the source motion is hidden, heavily obstructed, very chaotic, or depends on objects the model cannot infer from the character image.
Studio Path
The Studio path is the cleanest way to use Motion Capture because it presents the workflow as the dual-input process it actually is.
Open Studio.
Choose Motion Capture from the Post-Production department.
Add a motion video in the first slot.
Add a character image in the second slot.
Click Continue.
Studio uploads both assets and starts generation automatically.
Review the animated result.
Add it to your chat/library when it is ready.
The motion video can come from upload, Recents, or your Premiere timeline. The character image can come from upload, Recents, or frame capture.
Studio currently optimizes the key settings automatically:
Quality: Pro.
Audio: Original sound from the motion video is kept.
Prompt: A focused baseline prompt is sent so the model follows the reference motion naturally.
Orientation: Studio chooses the best mode based on the motion video duration.
This workflow is intentionally light on controls. The quality of the two inputs matters more than tweaking settings. Spend your time choosing a clear motion video and a strong character image.
Classic/Editor Path
The older model-selector path may still appear in parts of Chat Video Pro:
Import a motion video.
Select Kling Motion Control from the video model controls.
Attach one required character image.
Choose quality and character-orientation settings if they are exposed.
Generate the result.
That path is useful if you are already inside a classic chat/model flow. For new work, use Studio. The Studio version removes setup friction and makes the required two-input structure much harder to miss.
Controls And Constraints
Motion video
Required. Use 3-30 seconds. The performer should be visible and unobstructed.
Character image
Required. Use a clear image with visible face/body or a readable character silhouette.
Model
Kling Motion Control. Studio uses the Pro path for this workflow.
Character orientation
Auto-selected. Shorter videos are treated differently from longer motion-transfer clips.
Audio
The original sound from the motion video is kept.
Output aspect ratio
Follows the character image, not a hard-coded vertical frame.
File size
Motion video should stay within the workflow limit of about 200 MB.
How Auto Orientation Works
Kling Motion Control has two orientation behaviors:
Match Image
Keeps the character closer to the direction and framing of the character image. Best for shorter clips and image-driven animation.
Match Motion
Follows the motion video more aggressively. Best for longer dance, gesture, or body-performance references.
In Studio, this is chosen automatically:
Videos around 10 seconds or shorter use the image-oriented path.
Longer videos use the motion-oriented path, up to the 30-second Studio limit.
You do not need to choose this manually in the Studio workflow.
Choosing Strong Inputs
Motion Video
The motion video should make the movement easy to understand.
Good motion videos usually have:
One primary performer.
Clear full-body or upper-body visibility.
Good lighting.
Limited occlusion.
A simple enough background for the body motion to read.
A clear beginning and ending pose.
3-10 seconds for testing, then longer clips once you trust the pairing.
Avoid motion videos where:
The performer leaves the frame.
Arms, legs, or the face are constantly blocked.
The camera shakes heavily.
Multiple people overlap.
The movement depends on a prop that is not present in the character image.
The action is too fast to read.
Character Image
The character image should tell the model who is performing the motion.
Good character images usually have:
A clear face or head shape.
Visible torso and limbs if the motion is body-heavy.
A strong silhouette.
Minimal occlusion.
Enough resolution to preserve identity.
A pose that is not wildly incompatible with the motion reference.
For dance, martial arts, workouts, or big gestures, a full-body or three-quarter character image is usually better than a tight headshot.
Best Practices
Start With A Short Test
Do not start with a 30-second final clip. Test the pairing first.
Choose a 3-5 second section of motion.
Use the exact character image you plan to animate.
Generate once.
Check identity, pose stability, and motion transfer.
If the pair works, try a longer motion clip.
Short tests save time and make it easier to diagnose whether the motion video or the character image is causing issues.
Match Body Visibility To The Motion
If the motion is full-body dance, use a character image with the full body visible. If the motion is talking, teaching, waving, or acting from the waist up, an upper-body character image can work well.
The more the result needs legs, feet, hands, or torso rotation, the more those features should be visible in the character image.
Use Cinematic Lab For Better Character Images
Motion Capture is only as strong as the character image. For a polished result, create or refine the character first.
Useful prep workflows:
Use Cinematic Lab to create a clean cinematic character still.
Use Relight Scene to improve the lighting or mood of a character image.
Use a saved character Element or consistent design image if you are building a series.
Do Not Fight The Motion
The baseline prompt tells the model to animate the character naturally using the reference motion. If you use the classic path where prompt text is exposed, keep the prompt aligned with the motion video.
Good:
Less effective:
The second prompt contradicts a dance reference, so the model has competing instructions.
Keep A Character Sheet For Series Work
If you are making a run of clips with the same mascot, avatar, or fictional character, keep a small folder of approved character images. Use the same strongest image as the character input when possible. This makes the series feel more consistent than reinventing the character on every clip.
Example Ideas
Brand Mascot Dance Clip
Motion video: A clean 5-second dance reference.
Character image: Mascot standing full body.
Result: A short social animation where the mascot performs the dance.
Animated Teacher
Motion video: A person gesturing while explaining something.
Character image: Educational avatar or presenter character.
Result: A teaching-style clip with natural hand and body movement.
Anime Performance
Motion video: Performer doing a simple choreographed move.
Character image: Anime-style character from Cinematic Lab.
Result: Anime character performing realistic motion.
Fitness Demonstration
Motion video: Trainer demonstrating a form or exercise.
Character image: Branded coach or fitness avatar.
Result: Character demonstrates the same motion for a tutorial or ad.
Character Reaction Pack
Motion videos: Wave, point, shrug, celebrate, dance, and present.
Character image: Same consistent character image.
Result: A reusable library of animated character beats.
Troubleshooting
The character does not look right
Use a clearer character image. The character should be large enough in frame, not blocked by objects, and visually readable at a glance. If the face or body design matters, make sure those features are visible.
The motion does not transfer well
Use a shorter, cleaner motion video. The model needs to understand the body movement. Avoid overlapping people, extreme blur, heavy camera shake, or clips where the performer leaves frame.
The body pose feels unstable
Try a character image with more of the body visible. A headshot gives the model less information about arms, torso, legs, clothing, and proportions.
The output framing looks wrong
Use a character image with the framing you want. Studio saves the result using the detected aspect ratio of the character image, so the character image strongly influences how the final video is displayed.
Audio is missing
Audio comes from the motion video. If the motion video has no useful audio, the generated clip will not magically create a soundtrack. Add music, effects, or voiceover in Premiere afterward.
Generation failed
Check that both inputs are present, your FAL API key is configured, the motion video is accessible, and the clip is within the Studio duration/file limits. If the problem persists, try a shorter motion clip and a smaller character image file.
Links To Related Studio Pages
Studio - Learn how Studio workflows are organized.
Cinematic Lab - Create stronger character stills before animating them.
Relight Scene - Improve lighting or mood on a character image.
Motion Director - Animate a still image with directorial camera motion instead of body motion transfer.
Add Effects - Add atmosphere, VFX, or character swaps to existing footage.
Multi-Cam - Generate alternate views from images or videos.
Next: If you want to animate a still shot with camera movement instead of transferring body motion from a reference video, use Motion Director.
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