Oxford, UK (May 03, 2004) Vicon Motion Systems, the leading developer of optical motion capture solutions, announced today its acquisition of motion capture studio House of Moves. Los Angeles, CA-based House of Moves (HOM) is the longest-standing independent motion capture service bureau in the world, with an extensive slate of productions including major feature films, television programs, game titles, commercials and music videos. Today's acquisition formally establishes HOM as a new technology test-bed for Vicon, positioning the company with an unparalleled offering to systems customers worldwide, and service customers in the greater Los Angeles area.

"Becoming a part of Vicon is a win-win for all parties involved" said Tom Tolles, CEO and Founder, House of Moves. "With the Vicon resources now available to us, we are the best-equipped motion capture studio in the world. HOM will provide Vicon with direct production experience for the product development team and Vicon will provide direct factory resources so that we can continue to push the boundaries of motion capture for our clients."

"We have enjoyed a synergistic relationship with House of Moves since 1996 and we viewed this as a natural progression of both our relationship with HOM and a move which fits well with our corporate expansion goals," commented Julian Morris, Chief Executive, Vicon and OMG. "The market opportunity for motion capture studio services is growing at a rapid pace. There is a rising demand for heightened realism in game character animation, and the use of motion capture for digital characters, virtual stuntmen, and populating crowd sequences has become de rigueur in feature film development."

"We have always focused on customer input to draw our road map for product development. Now with HOM operating as a Vicon company, we will be able to perform rigorous testing and refinement of the latest products, and deliver field-proven technology more quickly than ever before," commented Brian Nilles, CEO, Vicon USA. "Having House of Moves involved much earlier in the design process will provide a shorter, more streamlined development and QA pipeline."

The acquisition comes just as HOM prepares to launch its third expansion into a brand-new production facility. HOM's facility will afford Vicon a real-world production showcase stage, equipped with Vicon's next generation MX system. The 12,000-square foot facility boasts the largest dedicated motion capture stage in Los Angeles, spanning 60' X 120' with a 24-foot height free span clearance. The new studio will feature a full-body performance stage outfitted with a 30-camera Vicon system, a 24 camera rehearsal insert stage and an audio-scan-facial capture stage.

HOM, Inc. will continue to service its regular clients, which include Microsoft, Electronic Arts, Sony 989, Sony Imageworks, Digital Domain and other film and game development leaders. HOM will also continue to develop its motion capture workflow animation software DIVA, which is compatible with existing Vicon pipelines. Code from DIVA was recently licensed by Alias for adding character retargeting and motion data workflow efficiencies into Maya 6.0.