Runway’s Act-Two represents a breakthrough in AI-powered motion capture, making it easier than ever for creators to bring any character to life. Building on the original Act-One, Act-Two adds full hand, head, and body tracking in a streamlined, web-based workflow.
What Is Runway Act-Two?
To understand what makes Act-Two special, let’s break down its core components and how they interact:
AI Motion-Capture Model: Uses deep learning to transfer real human performances to illustrated or CG characters.
Key Inputs:
Driving Performance Video: A clip of an actor’s movements and expressions.
Reference Character: A still image or video of your character design.
Supported Platforms: Web-based in the Runway dashboard—no specialized hardware required.
What You Can Do with Act-Two
Act Two allows you to imagine your performance with any character your little heart desires.
Act-Two isn’t just about capturing motion—it’s about giving you the freedom to iterate fast and apply performances across styles. Here’s how you can leverage its capabilities:
Character Rigging in Minutes
Automatically map facial expressions, hand gestures, and body motion.
Output a ready-to-edit animated clip at up to 30 seconds.
Multistyle Flexibility
Apply the same performance to a cartoon, comic-style, or hyper-realistic 3D model.
Swap character inputs without re-recording performances.
Iterate Quickly
Infinite generations in “Explore” mode—test different gestures or camera angles at will.
Adjust gesture-control settings to dial in precise hand or body movement.
Cost-Effective Mocap
Bypass expensive marker-based suits or studio rig-ups.
Pay per second of output, with transparent credit-based pricing.
Why It Matters to Creatives
Bringing believable movement to your characters can be a major production hurdle—Act-Two slashes that barrier so you can focus on storytelling. It matters because:
Democratizes Animation: No longer reserved for VFX studios—indie filmmakers, game devs, and illustrators can all access pro-level mocap.
Speeds Up Production: Cut weeks off character-animation pipelines; focus on story and style, not technical setup.
Enhances Storytelling: Nuanced facial cues and hand gestures add emotional depth to animated narratives.
Scales Across Projects: From a single social media spot to full episodic content, Act-Two grows with your ambitions.
Getting Started
You don’t need to be a mocap expert to jump in—here’s your quick-start guide:
Sign into your Runway account and select the Gen-4 Video model.
Click the Act-Two icon and upload your performance video + character image.
Toggle “Gesture Control” on or off to experiment with body tracking.
Hit Generate and review your animated clip—export to your favorite NLE or animation suite.
