Conan Dialogue test.
polycounter lvl 7
So I haven't really animated in awhile, and I am trying to get back into it. My lipsyncing has never been that great so I figured I would do some practice. Also wanted to try some camera cuts. Just wondering your thoughts! thanks!
https://www.syncsketch.com/sketch/134739#154155
https://www.syncsketch.com/sketch/134739#154155
Replies
Cool character!
The first thing I notice with the lip sync is that it's a little late. When you scrub your animation with audio in Maya it can be deceiving. You'll see things before you hear them, since light moves faster than sound, so don't be afraid to move the keys a frame or two earlier than you might expect.
F55-70 Track the arc of the axe and pay attention to weight distribution.
F62-69 Try to get the entire body involved, right now it seems a little static while the arms do all the work.
F72-75 Watch the spacing on the axe- having extreme spacing can show weight and speed, but the axe slows down at f74 right before it hits the ground. Bring the pose of the axe higher so the largest spacing is right before it hits the ground.
F76-80 It's nice that you have some follow-through in the body from the weight of the swing, I think you can exaggerate it a bit more and have his hips move in the direction of the swing to show force.
F180 The pose that hits here and is held until the end of the shot is a little awkward. His feet don't move much throughout the shot so don't be afraid to move him and get an interesting line of action to finish on.
I think you have a good start, don't be afraid to push things a bit further!
General tip for lip sync- I also struggled with it when I first started learning and what helped me was a simple workflow. Start with the ups and downs of the jaw for the entire piece. It helps to put your hand underneath your jaw while you say the lines yourself.
Once you have that you can do the “ins and outs” meaning the corners of the mouth. Whether it makes a narrow shape “ooh” or wide shape “eee”. This workflow gets something convincing rather quickly once you've had enough practice. The next step is to pay attention to the details of the mouth as it moves from one shape to the next. A great resource is Stop Staring by Jason Osipa.