I own an animation studio. Animation and motion are two different things—related, but definitely not the same. They don't rely on the same principles and they

I own an animation studio. Animation and motion are two different things—related, but definitely not the same. They don't rely on the same principles and they don't capture the same data. Most people use the terms interchangeably, probably because the tools to process key frames are USUALLY the same. Animation frames aren't regular the way mo-cap is. Instead, they are designed to furnish the eye (persistence of vision) with images that, in sequence, produce a sense of crisp motion to the viewer. It's a subtle distinction, but the result is wildly different. In animation, the ACTUAL POSES matter a great deal. In mo-cap, they don't matter at all, it's all about regular sampling and then you just render (in 3D) what you want. Video game cut scenes are what more-or-less raw "mo-cap" looks like if you're curious.