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Data Pane

An overview of the Data pane and its contents.

Overview

The Data pane is used to manage the Take files. This pane can be accessed under the View tab in Motive or by clicking the icon on the main toolbar.

An annotated screenshot from Motive of the Data pane.
Click image to enlarge.

Pane Options menu

Click the button in the top right corner of the pane to open the Pane Options menu.

A screenshot from Motive of of the Data Pane Options menu.
Data Pane options.
Simple

Use the simplest data management layout.

Advanced

Includes additional column headers in the layout.

Custom Layouts (Optional)

Any custom layouts created by the user are available in the menu directly under the Advanced option, using the name selected by the user (Custom 1 in the example, above.)

New...

Create a new custom layout.

Rename

Rename a custom layout.

Delete

Delete a custom layout.

Import Shot List...

Import a list of empty Take names and notes from either a CSV or XML file. This is helpful when you plan a list of shots in advance to the capture.

Export Shot List...

Exports a list of Take information into either a CSV or XML file. Included elements are name of the session, name of the take, file directory, involved assets, notes, time range, duration, and number of frames included.

List of Session Folders

The leftmost section of the Data pane is used to list the sessions that are loaded in Motive. Session folders in Motive group multiple associated Take files, and they can be imported simply by dragging-and-dropping or importing a folder into the data management pane. When a session folder is loaded, all of the Take files within the folder are loaded altogether.

In the list of session folders, the currently loaded session folder will be denoted with a flag symbol , and the selected session folder will be highlighted in white.

Session Folder Buttons

  • Add a new session folder. The new folder will be saved in the Motive's default location.

  • Collapse the session folder sidebar.

A screenshot from Motive of the Data pane with the list of loaded session folders highlighted. The current session folder is noted with a flag icon.
List of loaded session folders. Current session folder is noted with a flag icon.

Context Menu Options

Right-click on any session folder to see the following options:

A screenshot from Motive of the Session Folder context menu.
Session Folder context menu.
Create Sub-Folder

This creates a new folder under the selected directory.

Show Folder Location

Opens the session folder from Windows File Explorer.

Remove

Removes the selected session folder from the list without deleting them.

Delete

Deletes the session folder. All of the folder's contents will be deleted as well.

List of Takes

When a session folder is selected, associated Take files and their descriptions are listed in a table format on the right side of the Data pane. For each Take, general descriptions and basic information are shown in the columns of the respective row.

To view additional fields, click on the pane menu, select new to create a custom view, and all of the possible fields will be available to add to the new view. Right-click on the column header to select the columns to display. For each of the enabled columns, you can click on the arrow next to it to sort up/down the list of Takes depending on the category.

A screenshot from Motive of the data pane, with the list of take names section highlighted.

Take Information

The following information about each take is available in the Data pane. To see all data, create a custom view that includes all fields.

Best

The star icon allows users to mark the best Takes. Simply click on the star icon and mark the successful Takes.

Health

The health status column of the Takes indicates the user-selected status of each take:

  • : Excellent capture

  • : Okay capture

  • : Poor capture

Progress

The progress indicator is used to track processing of the Takes. Use the indicators to track the workflow-specific progress of each Take. Right-click to select:

  • Ready

  • Recorded

  • Reviewed

  • Labeled

  • Cleaned

  • Exported

Name

Shows the name of the Take.

2D

Indicates whether 2D data exists on the corresponding Take.

3D

Indicates whether reconstructed 3D data exists on the corresponding Take.

If 3D data does not exist on a Take, it can be derived from 2D data by performing the reconstruction pipeline. Please see the Reconstruction page for more details.

Video

Indicates whether reference videos exist in the Take. Reference videos are recorded from cameras that are set to either MJPEG grayscale, raw grayscale, or Duplex modes.

Solved

Indicates whether any of the assets have solved data baked into them.

Audio

Indicates whether synchronized audio data have been recorded with the Take. See: Audio Recording in Motive.

Analog

Indicates whether analog data recorded using a data acquisition device exists in the Take. Please see the NI-DAQ Setup page for more information on working NI-DAQ devices.

Date Recorded

Shows the time and the date when the Take was recorded.

Frame Rate

Shows the camera system frame rate which the Take was recorded in.

Duration

Time length of the Take.

Total Frames

Total number of captured frames in the Take.

Notes

Comments and notes on each Take.

Start Timecode

Timecode stamped to the starting frame of the Take. Available only if a timecode signal was integrated to the system.

Captured in Version

Motive version used to record the Take.

Last Saved in Version

Motive version used to edit or save the Take.

Search Bar

The search bar is located at the bottom of the Data pane. You can search a selected session folder using any number of keywords and search filters. Motive will use the search text to list the matching Takes from the selected session folder. Unless otherwise specified, the search filter will scope to all of the data pane columns.

Search for exact phrase

  • Wrap your search text in quotation marks.

  • e.g., Search "shooting a gun" for searching a file named Shooting a Gun.tak.

Search specific fields

  • To limit the search to specific columns, type field:, plus the name of a column enclosed with quotation marks, and then the value or term you're searching for.

  • Multiple fields and/or values may be specified in any order.

  • e.g. field:"name" Lizzy, field:"notes" Static capture.

Search for true/false values

  • To search specific binary states from the Take list, type the name of the field followed by a colon (:), and then enter either true ([t], [true], [yes], [y]) or false ([f], [false], [no], [n]).

  • e.g. Best:[true], Solved:[false], Video:[T], Analog:[yes]

A screenshot from Motive of the Data Pane with Takes that have been partially processed.
Searching for Takes that contains solved assets data.

Customizing Table Layout

The table layout can be customized for the user's specific needs.

From the pane options menu, select New or any of the previously customized layouts. Once you are in a customizable layout, right-click on the top header bar and add or remove categories from the table.

A screenshot from Motive showing the columns available when creating a custom layout for the data pane.
Customizing header categories.

Import an Empty Shot List

A list of take names is known as a shot list. Shot lists can be imported from either a CSV or XML file or by copying text that contains a take name on each line, separated by carriage returns. This feature allows you to plan, organize, and create a list of capture names ahead of actual recording. Once a shot list has been imported, a list of empty takes with the corresponding names will be listed for the selected session folder.

Copy From a Text File

Take lists can be imported by copying a list of take names and pasting them onto the Data pane. Each take name must be on its own line.

2 screenshots - the image on the left shows the data pane in Motive with a list of simple take names. The image on the right shows the same list in a text file, with the context menu open and Copy selected.

From a CSV File

Take lists can be imported from a CSV file that contains take names on each row. To import, click on the top-right menu icon and select Import Shot List...

2 screenshots. The one on the left shows a simple Excel file with a list of take names. The image on the right shows the same list imported into the data pane in Motive, along with the pane menu with the Import Shot List... option highlighted.
Empty Takes imported from CSV.

Excel has several CSV file formats to choose from. Make sure to select CSV (Comma Delimited) when saving your file for import.

Import a CSV Shot List with Notes

  • To display the Take Notes in the Data pane, create a custom layout that includes the Notes field.

  • To import multiple columns, the CSV file must contain a header row with column names that match the column headings in Motive, i.e., Name and Notes.

When preparing the CSV file for import:

  • The import will fail if there is no column labeled Name.

  • The import will skip the Notes column with an error if it's not correctly labeled.

2 screenshots - 1 of an excel file with a sample list of take names and notes and the other from Motive, showing the same file's contents imported into the data pane.
Empty Takes imported from CSV with Notes included.

Import from an XML File

Shot Management Systems often include the ability to export data to an XML file, which can then be imported into Motive. The following XML fields can be imported:

  • <Name>

  • <Notes>

You can still import an XML file into Motive if it contains more fields than those allowed for import. If extra fields are detected, Motive will return the following error message:

A screenshot from Motive of the error message when importing an XML file to the data pane that has more fields than the 2 allowed for import.
Error message when additional form fields are included in the import file.

Click OK to clear the message and continue importing the valid fields.

Export a Shot List

The Shot List export option provides data on each take in the session folder in either a CSV or XML format. The shot list includes the take Name and the Notes field as well as other information contained in the Data pane such as the Best or Progress fields. It also includes a list of assets in the take, the duration, number of frames, and other information related to the take.

A screenshot of data from an XML file that contains Take information, exported from Motive.
Take information exported to an XML file.

Note that the export contains fields that cannot be imported back into Motive, which allows only the Name and Notes fields to import. See the example in the Import from an XML File section of this document.

Take Menu

Open the context menu for captured Takes by clicking the icon to the right of the Take name or by right-clicking on the selected Take(s).

The context menu lists options used to perform post-processing pipelines on the selected Take(s). The menu contains essential pipelines such as reconstruction, auto-label, data export and many others. Available options are listed below.

Context Menu Options

A screenshot from Motive of the Context menu for Takes, available from the Data pane.
Data pane context menu for a selected Take.
Save

Saves the selected take.

Revert

Reverts any changes that were made. This does not work on the currently opened Take.

Make Current

Selects the current take and loads it for playback or editing.

Rename

Allows the current take to be renamed.

Show File Location

Opens an Explorer window to the folder that contains the selected Take. This can be helpful when backing up, transferring, or exporting data.

Reconstruct

Separate reconstruction pipeline without the auto-labeling process. Reconstructs 3D data using the 2D data. Reconstruction is required to export Marker data.

Auto-label

Separate auto-labeling pipeline that labels markers using the existing tracking asset definitions. Available only when 3D data is reconstructed for the Take. Auto-label is required to export Markers labeled from Assets.

Reconstruct and Auto-label

Combines 2D data from each camera in the system to create a usable 3D take. It also incorporates assets in the Take to auto-label and create rigid bodies, skeletons, and trained markersets in the Take. Reconstruction is required to export Marker data and Auto-label is required when exporting Markers labeled from Assets.

Solve All Assets

Solves 6 DoF tracking data of skeletons, rigid bodies, and trained markersets and bakes them into the Take. When the assets are solved, Motive reads from the recorded Solve instead of processing the tracking data in real-time. Solving is required prior to exporting Assets.

Reconstruct, Auto-label, and Solve

Performs all three reconstruct, auto-label, and solve pipelines in consecutive order. This recreates 3D data from recorded 2D camera data.

Export Tracking Data

Opens the Export dialog window to select and initiate file export. Valid formats for export are CSV, C3D, FBX, BVH.

Reconstruction is required to export Marker data, Auto-label is required when exporting Markers labeled from Assets, and Solving is required prior to exporting Assets.

Please note that if you have Assets that are unsolved and just wish to export reconstructed Marker data, you can toggle off Rigid Bodies and Bones (Skeletons) from the Export window (see image below). For more information please see our Data Export page.

A screenshot of the Data Export screen in Motive, with CSV export selected and the options to include Rigid Body Bones and Skeleton and Markerset Bones are both disabled.
The Motive export window, with the options to export assets disabled.
Export Video

Opens the export dialog window to initiate scene video export to AVI.

Export Audio

Exports an audio file when selected Take contains audio data.

Delete 2D / Video / Audio Data

Opens the Delete 2D Data pop-up where you can select to delete the 2D data, Audio data, or reference video data. Read more in Deleting 2D data.

Delete 3D Data

Permanently deletes the 3D data from the Take. This option is useful if reconstruction or editing causes damage to the data.

Delete Marker Labels

Unlabels all existing marker labels in 3D data. If you wish to re-auto-label markers using modified asset definitions, first unlabel markers for the respective assets.

Delete All Solved Asset Data

Deletes 6 DoF tracking data that was solved for skeleton and rigid bodies.

When Solved data doesn't exist, Motive calculates tracking of the objects from recorded 3D data in real-time.

Archive Take

Archives the original take file and creates a duplicate version. We recommend archiving all Takes prior to completing any post-production work.

Delete Takes

Opens a dialog box to confirm permanent deletion of the take and all associated 2D, 3D, and Joint Angle Data from the computer. This option cannot be undone.

Delete All Assets from Take

Deletes all assets that were recorded in the Take.

Enable All Assets in Selected Take

Enables all assets within the selected Take.

Copy Assets to Take

Copies the assets from the current capture to the selected Takes.

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