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Runway introduced Act-One on October 22, 2024, as a Gen-3 Alpha feature that used a filmed actor performance to generate an expressive character performance. Runway said it could carry details such as eye-lines, micro-expressions, pacing, and delivery into the result without dedicated motion-capture equipment or character rigging. Act-One is no longer available because its host models were retired; Act-Two is Runway’s current performance-capture workflow.
What Act-One did
Act-One was a generative video feature inside Runway’s Gen-3 Alpha model family. Its announced workflow used an actor’s filmed performance as the driving video and a generated character as the visual target. Runway said the system could carry aspects of the actor’s visible and vocal performance into the generated character.
Runway described the transferred details as including:
- eye direction and eye-lines;
- micro-expressions;
- facial expression and mouth movement;
- pacing and delivery.
Runway presented Act-One as usable across different character designs and styles. In a December 2024 product update, Runway also said a character input could be an existing video as well as an image. These are descriptions from Runway’s product materials, not independent benchmark results or a technical account of the model’s internal workings.
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- FULL BODY MOTION CAPTURE SUIT WITH 60 MARKERS Designed for optical motion capture workflows, animation, virtual production, and character performance recording. Each set includes a full body suit with 60 X-base hook-and-loop reflective marker balls for convenient marker placement and tracking setup.
- COMPLETE CAPTURE SET Includes bodysuit, head cover, fingerless gloves, and shoe covers to support full body tracking requirements. The hook-and-loop marker system allows markers to be attached and adjusted easily according to different capture needs.
- STRETCH AND BREATHABLE FABRIC Made from 85% nylon and 15% spandex fabric, providing flexibility, comfort, and freedom of movement during motion capture sessions.
- BREATHABLE UNDERARM MESH DESIGN Features breathable mesh panels under the arms to improve airflow and help maintain comfort during extended capture sessions.
- VERSATILE MOTION CAPTURE APPLICATIONS Suitable for optical motion capture, animation, virtual production, character performance, biomechanics, and other professional tracking applications.
Why creators paid attention
Facial animation can involve capture equipment, character preparation, rigging, and manual animation or cleanup. Runway presented Act-One as a simpler alternative: a creator could film a performance with a camera, including a phone camera, and use it to drive a generated character without dedicated motion-capture equipment or character rigging.
That did not make professional animation pipelines obsolete or provide full-body motion capture. Act-One’s announced use case centered on expressive character performance. Its practical appeal was lowering the setup barrier for creators who wanted to try a performance-driven character scene.
How the Act-One workflow worked
1. Film a driving performance
The actor recorded the performance that would drive the generated result. Runway described a simple camera setup; the recording supplied the performance, including expression, timing, and delivery.
Rank #2
- FULL BODY MOTION CAPTURE SUIT WITH 60 MARKERS Designed for optical motion capture workflows, animation, virtual production, and character performance recording. Each set includes a full body suit with 60 X-base hook-and-loop reflective marker balls for convenient marker placement and tracking setup.
- COMPLETE CAPTURE SET Includes bodysuit, head cover, fingerless gloves, and shoe covers to support full body tracking requirements. The hook-and-loop marker system allows markers to be attached and adjusted easily according to different capture needs.
- STRETCH AND BREATHABLE FABRIC Made from 85% nylon and 15% spandex fabric, providing flexibility, comfort, and freedom of movement during motion capture sessions.
- BREATHABLE UNDERARM MESH DESIGN Features breathable mesh panels under the arms to improve airflow and help maintain comfort during extended capture sessions.
- VERSATILE MOTION CAPTURE APPLICATIONS Suitable for optical motion capture, animation, virtual production, character performance, biomechanics, and other professional tracking applications.
2. Provide a character reference
The creator supplied a generated character image or, according to Runway’s December 2024 product update, an existing character video. Runway described the output as translating the actor’s performance into the character.
3. Generate the character performance
Runway’s launch materials said Act-One could represent details such as eye-lines, micro-expressions, pacing, and delivery. These were product claims, not proof of perfect or consistent transfer. The available documentation does not establish detailed controls, internal model architecture, or universal results.
What happened to Act-One?
Runway’s Help Center page, “Creating with Act-One on Gen-3 Alpha and Turbo,” says Act-One is no longer available. It gives the retirement dates for its host models: Gen-3 Alpha was retired on July 8, 2026, and Gen-3 Alpha Turbo on July 30, 2026. The page does not give a separate Act-One shutdown date or a product-specific reason for its unavailability.
Rank #3
- FULL BODY MOTION CAPTURE SUIT WITH 60 MARKERS Designed for optical motion capture workflows, animation, virtual production, and character performance recording. Each set includes a full body suit with 60 X-base hook-and-loop reflective marker balls for convenient marker placement and tracking setup.
- COMPLETE CAPTURE SET Includes bodysuit, head cover, fingerless gloves, and shoe covers to support full body tracking requirements. The hook-and-loop marker system allows markers to be attached and adjusted easily according to different capture needs.
- STRETCH AND BREATHABLE FABRIC Made from 85% nylon and 15% spandex fabric, providing flexibility, comfort, and freedom of movement during motion capture sessions.
- BREATHABLE UNDERARM MESH DESIGN Features breathable mesh panels under the arms to improve airflow and help maintain comfort during extended capture sessions.
- VERSATILE MOTION CAPTURE APPLICATIONS Suitable for optical motion capture, animation, virtual production, character performance, biomechanics, and other professional tracking applications.
Runway’s general deprecated-tools guidance says the company periodically deprecates models and tools to focus development on more capable, integrated solutions. That is general context, not a stated reason specifically for Act-One’s retirement.
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Runway’s current performance-capture workflow is Act-Two. Its Help Center guide describes using a driving-performance video and a character reference, which can be an image or a video. The reference type affects what the workflow transfers and preserves.
| Character reference | What Runway documents for Act-Two |
|---|---|
| Image | Users can enable transfer of gestures and body movement; Runway says environmental motion is added automatically. |
| Video | The output retains the source character, environment, and camera movement while Act-Two controls facial movement and expressions. Gesture control is unavailable for this input type. |
Runway’s Help Center guide lists Act-Two as available on the web, with a maximum duration of 30 seconds, output at 24 fps, a rate of five credits per second, a three-second minimum, and access on a Standard plan or higher. These are product specifications from the Runway Help Center, accessed October 7, 2026; plan access and pricing can change.
Rank #4
- FULL BODY MOTION CAPTURE SUIT WITH 60 MARKERS Designed for optical motion capture workflows, animation, virtual production, and character performance recording. Each set includes a full body suit with 60 X-base hook-and-loop reflective marker balls for convenient marker placement and tracking setup.
- COMPLETE CAPTURE SET Includes bodysuit, head cover, fingerless gloves, and shoe covers to support full body tracking requirements. The hook-and-loop marker system allows markers to be attached and adjusted easily according to different capture needs.
- STRETCH AND BREATHABLE FABRIC Made from 85% nylon and 15% spandex fabric, providing flexibility, comfort, and freedom of movement during motion capture sessions.
- BREATHABLE UNDERARM MESH DESIGN Features breathable mesh panels under the arms to improve airflow and help maintain comfort during extended capture sessions.
- VERSATILE MOTION CAPTURE APPLICATIONS Suitable for optical motion capture, animation, virtual production, character performance, biomechanics, and other professional tracking applications.
When choosing a workflow, consider whether your character reference is a still image or a video, whether you need body gestures as well as facial performance, what scene or camera motion should remain, and the clip duration and credit cost. Check Runway’s current interface and guide before committing to a project.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What Act-One did not solve
It was not full-body motion capture
Runway’s Act-One materials focused on expressive character performance, not a complete full-body motion-capture pipeline. Act-Two’s current guide documents gesture and body-movement transfer when using a character image, but the available sources do not establish that Act-One offered the same controls.
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Act-One avoided dedicated motion-capture equipment, according to Runway, but it still depended on a filmed driving performance and a character reference. It was a generative workflow, not a guarantee that every detail of a performance would transfer exactly.
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- 60fps High-Speed Global Shutter: Adopts genuine global shutter with OG05B10 1/2.5” sensor, full resolution 2592×1944 runs at smooth 60fps under USB3.0. Eliminates rolling-shutter skew & motion blur to capture fast-moving targets perfectly for motion capture.
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- UVC Plug & Play & Wide Application: Driver-free UVC design compatible with Windows, Linux, Mac, Android. Wide operating temp -10℃~70℃, ideal for machine vision, golf swing analysis, 3D printing monitoring and factory inspection.
Its capability claims came from Runway
Runway described Act-One as carrying performance details into generated characters. The reviewed sources provide no independent statistic measuring its accuracy, adoption, or impact. Treat descriptions such as faithful transfer as vendor claims, not independent validation.
Frequently Asked Questions
How did Runway Act-One work?
Runway described a workflow in which an actor filmed a performance and the system used that driving video to generate an expressive character performance from a character reference.
Can you still use Runway Act-One?
No. Runway’s Help Center says Act-One is no longer available. It lists Gen-3 Alpha’s retirement as July 8, 2026, and Gen-3 Alpha Turbo’s as July 30, 2026; it does not give a separate Act-One shutdown date.
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Act-Two is Runway’s current performance-capture workflow. Its documented input options and transfer behavior differ depending on whether the character reference is an image or a video.
Was Act-One full-body motion capture?
No. Runway’s Act-One materials emphasized expressive character performance. Do not treat it as a complete full-body motion-capture system.
How much does Act-Two cost?
Runway’s Help Center guide, accessed October 7, 2026, lists five credits per second with a three-second minimum and Standard plan access or higher. Check Runway’s current guide for changes.
Quick Recap
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