questions about handling animation on runtime

Hi there... I have some question about handling the animation attached to an object.

1. Is there any way to make my animated sequences to play on background? I have multiple animated scenes each one is one frame. These scenes are different characters postures. I would like choosing a target to give me the best pose based on the sequences. Now I can get the desirable result but is necessary to play the animation. Is there any way to play the animation without render it to the scene???

2. Is there any way to iterate through an animation clip while is playing and get the specific X values and change on runtime the Y and Z values of curves???

Thanks!