Brekel Face / v1
Brekel Face v1
Markerless face motion capture with the original Kinect v1 sensor
Brekel Face v1 is a Windows application for real-time markerless face motion capture with the original Microsoft Kinect sensor (Kinect for Xbox 360 or Kinect for Windows v1). It tracks head motion and facial features of one person, no markers, makeup or calibration needed, and records the result as animation data or streams it live into other applications.
Own a Kinect v1? This is the cheapest way to capture faces with it. The sensor is from 2010 and long out of production, but it still works, and so does this app on Windows 10/11. No new features are planned.
You need the sensor including its power supply, plus a 64-bit Windows PC with an Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU and 4 GB of RAM. One sensor at a time. Near mode, which tracks from 40 cm instead of 80 and is the useful one for faces, needs a Kinect for Windows unit: the Xbox 360 sensor most people own does not have it.
Have a Kinect v2? Get Brekel Face v2 instead. Starting fresh with current hardware? Brekel Body v3 includes face tracking.
Installs like any other app. No subscription, no cloud processing, no login. All data stays on your machine.
Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit) · from $49 (excl tax)
Tracking
The app uses the official Microsoft Kinect drivers/SDK (the installer downloads and installs these for you). Tracking runs in real time, is robust without pre-training to a specific actor, and captures:
- 3D head position and rotation
- 11 animation units for driving blend/morph shapes
- 3D marker points of a template face mesh, for driving position controllers
- 11 shape units describing the structure of the face (mouth width, eye separation, and so on)
- User adjustable filtering/smoothing, applied on the fly
An example rig in FBX format with matching blendshapes / morph targets is included.
Recording and streaming
Recordings go straight to disk in FBX, BVH, Poser/DAZ compatible PZ2, CryEngine FSQ, TXT and CSV formats, with audio and video exported as standard WAV and AVI. A Maya MEL example script for importing the TXT format is included, and there are example files so you can check whether the data suits your project before buying. For Blender users there is a third-party workflow write-up by Marwin Portugal.
For live streaming the app comes with plugins for Autodesk MotionBuilder (up to 2026), an example C# script for Unity (adjust it for your own rig) and an example scene for Unreal Engine 4.x and 5.x. Shape and point data can also be streamed over OSC (Open Sound Control) to other apps.
Licensing
The free trial is the full application with two limits: recordings stop at 10 seconds, and live streaming into other apps (MotionBuilder or Unity for example) is disabled. Tracking and every export format work, so you can see what the data looks like on your own face before buying.
A license is perpetual: it never expires and you can always run and install the application. All updates within the v1 branch are free, there are no maintenance plans for this app. The download link arrives by email right after purchase; the license itself is delivered manually by email, usually within 24 hours or less. How trials, evaluations and licenses work in general: see licensing.
Supported sensors
- Kinect for Xbox 360 / Kinect for Windows v1 (one sensor at a time, and it needs its power supply; near mode, which tracks from 40 cm instead of 80, needs a Kinect for Windows unit)
Full specs for these, and 91 sensors in all: depth sensor comparison.
Exports
- Recording: FBX, BVH, PZ2, FSQ, TXT, CSV, WAV, AVI
Requirements
- Windows 10 / 11 (64-bit)
- Kinect for Xbox 360 or Kinect for Windows v1 sensor, including its power supply
- Intel Core i5 or equivalent CPU
- 4 GB RAM
- Dedicated USB 2.0 bus for the sensor
- Graphics card with OpenGL support
Compare versions
| Face v2 latest | Face v1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Supported sensors | Kinect v2 (Xbox One / Kinect for Windows v2) | Kinect v1 (Xbox 360 / Kinect for Windows) |
| People tracked simultaneously | Up to 6 | 1 |
| Tracked face shapes (animation units) | 20 | 11 |
| Left/right asymmetric shapes + eye blinks | yes | no |
| Tracking distance | 0.5 to 4.5 m | 0.8 to 4 m (0.4 to 3 m in near mode) |
| Live streaming | MotionBuilder, Unity, Unreal Live Link, TCP/UDP, OSC | MotionBuilder, Unity, Unreal, OSC |
| Recording formats | FBX, BVH, PZ2, FSQ, TXT, CSV, WAV, AVI | FBX, BVH, PZ2, FSQ, TXT, CSV, WAV, AVI |
| Price (excl tax) | $99 | $49 |
scroll sideways for every version, the labels stay put
Trial / Buy
Free trial
Trial restrictions Limited to 10 seconds of recording, no live streaming into other apps (MotionBuilder/Unity for example).
The documentation PDF ships inside the installer, and is also a separate download (zip).
Buy a license
- License $49 Shop
prices excl tax · perpetual license · free v1 updates
How licensing works (trials, evaluation licenses, delivery).