Die große MPI Gesichtsausdruckdatenbank

This database consists of 55 expressions (for a list, see Table S2 from Kaulard et al., 2012) from 19 actors (10 female, 9 male) using a method acting protocol. The database is validated and described in more detail in Kaulard et al. (2012).

Use: The images and other information in this database are only available for scientific use. Any commercial use or other re-distribution is strictly forbidden. If you use part or all of the database, please include the sentence "Facial expression stimuli taken from the large MPI Facial Expression Database (Kaulard et al., 2012).

Recording Details: The videos were recorded on the Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics's  VideoLab, which is thoroughly described in Kleiner et al. (2004). The VideoLab setup has six recording units, each of which consists of a digital video camera, a frame grabber, and a computer. Each unit can record up to 60 frames/s of fully synchronized, noninterlaced, uncompressed video in PAL resolution (768 × 576 pixels).
The recordings in this database were made at 25 frames/s using thee of the cameras (one central and two lateral, offset by +/- 23 degrees). The exposure time of each camera was set to 3 ms in order to reduce motion blur.

Funding: The recordings were made in Prof. Heinrich H. Bülthoff's department, with his support. Funding was also provided by the German Research Council (DFG) project "The recognition and simulation of conversational facial expressions at various levels of photorealism" (under the supervision of Wolfgang Straßer).

Acknowledgements: The database was conceived of by D.W. Cunningham and C. Wallraven. The contents, structure, and design of the database are based largely on the small MPI Facial Expression Database, with additions by D.W. Cunningham, C. Wallraven, Manfred Nusseck, and Michael Schultze. The recordings were made by D.W. Cunningham and Michael Schultze. The hardware setup and lab layout for these recordings was worked on by M. Breidt, M. Kleiner, D.W. Cunningham, C. Wallraven. Initial post-processing of part of the database was done by K. Kaulard and Bianca Arsene. Subsequent post-processing was done by K. Kaulard, D.W. Cunningham, Rabia Choudhery, Martin Buschack, and Annelie Bergmann.

The Database: Each link below connects to a zipped archive contains the original recordings from the three cameras for one actor/actress. Due to the size of the recordings, multiple zip files are necessary to store all expressions for a given actress/actor.  The full sequence plus a bit of buffer around the image (from just before neutral to peak to just after neutral) for the best recording of each expression for that actor are provided.

PartExpression
1Agree_consideredAgree_continueAgree_pureAgree_reluctant
2Aha-light_bulb_momentAnnoyed_botheredAnnoyed_rolling-eyesArrogant
3BoredCompassionConfusedContempt
4I_did_not_hearI_do_not_careI_do_not_knowI_do_not_understand
5Disagree_consideredDisagree_pureDisagree_reluctantDisbelief
6DisgustEmbarrassmentFear_oopsFear_terror
7Happy_achievementHappy_laughingHappy_satiatedHappy_schadenfreude
8Imagine_negativeImagine_positivImpressedInsecurity
9Not_convincedPain_feltPain_seenSad
10Remember_negativeRemember_positivThinking_consideringThinking_problemsolving
11Smiling_encouragingSmiling_endearmentSmiling_flirtingSmiling_sad-nostalgia
12Smiling_triumphantSmiling_uncertainSmiling_winningSmiling_yeah-right
13Smiling_sardonicTiredTreudoof ("bambi-eyes")

High Intensity Recordings

Complete Set (4.3 GB)

Part 1 (224 MB)
Part 2 (248 MB)
Part 3 (311 MB)
Part 4 (242 MB)
Part 5 (276 MB)
Part 6 (263 MB)
Part 7 (447 MB)
Part 8 (398 MB)
Part 9 (347 MB)
Part 10 (418 MB)
Part 11 (492 MB)
Part 12 (481 MB)
Part 13 (238 MB)

Complete Set (2.6 GB)

Part 1 (232 MB)
Part 2 (197 MB)
Part 3 (208 MB)
Part 4 (143 MB)
Part 5 (243 MB)
Part 6 (173 MB)
Part 7 (178 MB)
Part 8 (245 MB)
Part 9 (198 MB)
Part 10 (262 MB)
Part 11 (171 MB)
Part 12 (203 MB)
Part 13 (138 MB)

Complete Set (2.6 GB)

Part 1 (219 MB)
Part 2 (154 MB)
Part 3 (242 MB)
Part 4 (134 MB)
Part 5 (183 MB)
Part 6 (200 MB)
Part 7 (214 MB)
Part 8 (213 MB)
Part 9 (199 MB)
Part 10 (295 MB)
Part 11 (196 MB)
Part 12 (171 MB)
Part 13 (173 MB)

Complete Set (2.4 GB)

Part 1 (209 MB)
Part 2 (179 MB)
Part 3 (187 MB)
Part 4 (151 MB)
Part 5 (134 MB)
Part 6 (131 MB)
Part 7 (224 MB)
Part 8 (192 MB)
Part 9 (163 MB)
Part 10 (208 MB)
Part 11 (228 MB)
Part 12 (194 MB)
Part 13 (215 MB)

Complete Set (2.8 GB)

Part 1 (263 MB)
Part 2 (230 MB)
Part 3 (211 MB)
Part 4 (160 MB)
Part 5 (270 MB)
Part 6 (201 MB)
Part 7 (215 MB)
Part 8 (216 MB)
Part 9 (211 MB)
Part 10 (280 MB)
Part 11 (203 MB)
Part 12 (219 MB)
Part 13 (256 MB)

Complete Set (1.9 GB)

Part 1 (171 MB)
Part 2 (129 MB)
Part 3 (153 MB)
Part 4 (121 MB)
Part 5 (187 MB)
Part 6 (147 MB)
Part 7 (153 MB)
Part 8 (160 MB)
Part 9 (115 MB)
Part 10 (147 MB)
Part 11 (168 MB)
Part 12 (130 MB)
Part 13 (122 MB)

Complete Set (3.4 GB)

Part 1 (305 MB)
Part 2 (223 MB)
Part 3 (280 MB)
Part 4 (227 MB)
Part 5 (290 MB)
Part 6 (220 MB)
Part 7 (283 MB)
Part 8 (296 MB)
Part 9 (247 MB)
Part 10 (326 MB)
Part 11 (266 MB)
Part 12 (276 MB)
Part 13 (232 MB)

Complete Set (2.8 GB)

Part 1 (214 MB)
Part 2 (213 MB)
Part 3 (222 MB)
Part 4 (181 MB)
Part 5 (246 MB)
Part 6 (222 MB)
Part 7 (204 MB)
Part 8 (213 MB)
Part 9 (230 MB)
Part 10 (251 MB)
Part 11 (250 MB)
Part 12 (212 MB)
Part 13 (170 MB)

Complete Set (2.9 GB)

Part 1 (265 MB)
Part 2 (148 MB)
Part 3 (226 MB)
Part 4 (192 MB)
Part 5 (223 MB)
Part 6 (188 MB)
Part 7 (266 MB)
Part 8 (235 MB)
Part 9 (216 MB)
Part 10 (291 MB)
Part 11 (253 MB)
Part 12 (234 MB)
Part 13 (240 MB)

Complete Set (2.7 GB)

Part 1 (200 MB)
Part 2 (214 MB)
Part 3 (193 MB)
Part 4 (146 MB)
Part 5 (190 MB)
Part 6 (187 MB)
Part 7 (268 MB)
Part 8 (230 MB)
Part 9 (202 MB)
Part 10 (242 MB)
Part 11 (227 MB)
Part 12 (254 MB)
Part 13 (176 MB)