We propose a framework to reconstruct the 3D pose of a human for animation from a sequence of single-view video frames. The framework for pose construction starts with background estimation and the performer's silhouette is extracted using image subtraction for each frame. Then the body silhouettes are automatically labeled using a model-based approach. Finally, the 3D pose is constructed from the labeled human silhouette by assuming orthographic projection. The proposed approach does not require camera calibration. It assumes that the input video has a static background, it has no significant perspective effects, and the performer is in an upright position. The proposed approach requires minimal user interaction. © 2013 Elsevier Inc.