lipsync principles

Miscellaneous Tips & Tricks & Principles...
1) Don't go from wide open to closed in one frame and vice versa. Definitely don't go from open to closed to open in 3 frames.
2) Don't hold a mouth shape static. An "Ah" shape should shift into a slightly different "Ah" as it's being held.
3) Keep M's and F's for 2 frames. If it's tight, steal from the previous sound.
4) Keep and eye on your targets and make sure they're not too linear in going from one sound shape to the next.
5) Hit the sound shape at least 2 frames before the sound is heard. Even if you're right on the nose, it will feel late when played at full speed. Humans see things faster than they hear them, so we pick up our cues from the shape before the sound.
6) Break up the mouth angles. Shift the mouth up and down, tilt it left or right, get some snarls in there. Show emotion as the character speaks. We can speak and smile, speak and frown, speak and yawn at the same time. Built rigs that allow you to keep that kind of life in your lipsync animation.
7) Upper teeth do not move. They're nailed to your skull.
8) Jaws rotate, not slide, in chaarcters with clearly defined head/neck areas.
9) When building your sound shapes and facial controls, don't forget the cheeks and the nose! The cheeks move when we speak, as does our nose. The cheeks and nose are the great connectors in facial animation, crossing the bridge from mouth animation to eye and brow animation. By keeping your nose and cheeks in the action you tie together the entire face of the character, creating a far more believable character who can act.
10) Don't be afraid to go extreme. Avoid the Princess Fiona Final Fantasy Syndrome(tm). Keep the energy of the sound track in mind when you're doing the mouth shapes. Louder sounds with more energy should be shown with the mouth open wider, sound shapes more extreme. Watch TV announcers talk. Those faces are movin' baby!

lipsync principles