Virtual Animal Embodiment for Actor Training

In this work-in-progress paper, we discuss the development of a real-time system allowing actors to drive the motion of an animal avatar, our test case being a photorealistic eagle. The aim of the work is to enhance actor training for studies related to the connection between the mind and body, imagination and action. In our proposed perceptual experiments, we plan to assess the quality of experience for the actors and also if there is a performance improvement due to the embodiment.