Alter Ego - Awesome new facial animation software

[ExAm]

Feature: Incredible 3D Tech Demo Shows Realistic Facial Animations (http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/feature-incredible-3d-tech-demo-shows-realistic-facial-animations)



http://media.techeblog.com/images/human_1.jpg
From the same company that brought you Stuntman 2's in-game cinematics and Smallville's x-ray effects -- Pendulum Studios -- is this incredible facial animation tech demo. Continue reading to see more.


Overview


http://media.techeblog.com/images/human_2.jpg
Called Alter Ego, this software (http://www.techeblog.com/#) basically takes advantage of blend shapes to copy facial idiosyncrasies and produce emotive life-like 3D character animations. Its flexibility allows for the software to be used in real-time game cinematics, pre-rendered projects, and even game trailers.


Video on the original page (http://www.techeblog.com/index.php/tech-gadget/feature-incredible-3d-tech-demo-shows-realistic-facial-animations).


I think this is pretty awesome.

[Bastinka]

How do you find this stuff ExAm?

Also, very natural movements. Awesome.

[Botolf]

Whoa.

[Limited]

Voice syncing was really bad at the end, maybe because it was speed talking.

Pretty amazing, as long as it can handle dynamic animation rather than just mo-cap'd stuff.

[ExAm]

Voice syncing was really bad at the end, maybe because it was speed talking.Yeah, it's far too exaggerated. Needs much less actual jaw and lip movement.

[DaneO'Roo]

Uh, this hasn't done anything new. The eyes are still dead, just like all cg animation.

Looks mocap'd too. So whats the fucking deal.

[Hotrod]

That looks quite good, very realistic, though for some reason, there's something about it, that I can't put my finger on, that I don't like about it.

[Bad Waffle]

Dane, i believe this is without the regular mocap setup--it takes video and turns it into animation.

[ExAm]

Uh, this hasn't done anything new. The eyes are still dead, just like all cg animation.Why does everybody say the eyes are dead in CG? I just can't see this effect. I guess I'm not affected by the "uncanny valley" :/

[DaneO'Roo]

Because they are. Animators are always too busy animating fingers and eyebrows to fucking realize that the human eyes do hundreds of tiny movements every second, slight twitches and wobbles. Not to mention 90 percent of the time animators don't seem to realize at all that our pupils also change size. Sure you may or may not notice it if you look for it in real life, but once you take it away (cg) you will notice. Well I do at least.

[ExAm]

Great, now I'm gonna look for that in every CG piece I look at from here on out. gj, dane, gj. I guess I asked for it, though. Literally >_<

[LinkandKvel]

I'm expecting to see this in the next legend of zelda.....

[Bad Waffle]

we will never have the same emotion and dexterity of real faces in videogames, until we achieve almost movie like models to then base the hundreds of shaping muscles around.

[Heathen]

I dont see the eye deadness. Looks pretty damn real to me.