Motion Energy Analysis (MEA) is a procedure that allows to automatically assess the amount of persons' movement from video recordings. It can be used to investigate individual activation or occurrences of simultaneous movement, often in the context of verbal or nonverbal interpersonal synchrony.
Two major methodologies are used for the video-based tracking. Frame-differencing methods (such as MEA/rMEA) capture human motion in a plane or a region, while computer vision methods such as OpenPose captures motion using points, automatically detecting the 2D coordinates of the face and the joint parts of the human body.
In this half-day workshop, we will cover the background, installation and usage of these programs, along with overview on their research use cases. In second part, we will demonstrate analysis process from start to finish using these tools.
Workshop is targeted for UH Centre Campus researchers, but everyone is welcome. To use these programs yourself, you need a computer with admin installation rights. No previous technical knowledge is required. Please sign up at: https://elomake.helsinki.fi/lomakkeet/133843/lomakkeet.html
Location and programme:
5.3.2025 10:15-15:00 Seminar room 524, Fabianinkatu 24 A (access via door, not courtyard), 5th floor.
Online participation at Zoom: https://helsinki.zoom.us/j/68461562690?pwd=1l99jEYLrN6ShJDIKuHTzw0Z50ozOD.1 Passcode665578
10:15-12:00 Introduction and use or (r)MEA and OpenPose
13:15-15:00 Example case study using interaction data
See you this spring with good (e)motion energy levels!
Pentti Henttonen
Helsinki Institute for Social Sciences and Humanities (HSSH)
+358504491284
Software:
https://github.com/kleinbub/rMEA
https://github.com/CMU-Perceptual-Computing-Lab/openpose
Suggested reading:
Ramseyer, F. T. (2020). Motion energy analysis (MEA): A primer on the assessment of motion from video. Journal of counseling psychology, 67(4), 536-549.
Kleinbub, J. R., & Ramseyer, F. T. (2021). rMEA: An R package to assess nonverbal synchronization in motion energy analysis time-series. Psychotherapy research, 31(6), 817-830.
Fujiwara, K., & Yokomitsu, K. (2021). Video-based tracking approach for nonverbal synchrony: a comparison of Motion Energy Analysis and OpenPose. Behavior Research Methods, 53, 2700-2711.