Version 4.0 of the Lipsync Tool is the most substantial update to date. This update focuses on the user experience with new tools and features that aid in the production of high quality lipsync data.
Key New Features
Advanced Phoneme editing – Tweaking phonemes for 3D lipsync just got a whole lot easier. A mixer approach that is easy to use and generates smooth lipsync curves without curve editing.
Improved Autodesk Maya integration –The Maya toolset has been rewritten from the ground up with production environments in mind.
Project System – New project system creates a centralized management point for all a projects lipsync needs.
New text based languages supported – Chinese, Japanese, and Korean.
Customizable and improved UI – Toolbars can be customized and the entire “brightness” of the tool can be adjusted to taste.
Detailed New Features
Phoneme Editing
Phoneme editing has been rewritten from the ground up, creating a much more interactive experience. Designed to work similar to a video editing tool, each phoneme works as a “piece” of the timeline with its own value and duration. Users now have the ability to quickly and easily edit any phoneme value within the timeline using a familiar interface.
- Adjust length and value of phonemes interactively in the timeline.
- Fully interactive timeline elements allow for quick and easy editing of each phoneme from directly within the timeline.
- Real time feedback of phonetic adjustments.
- All adjustments provide real time feedback in the Character Viewport.
- Group adjust phonemes values quickly
- By selecting a group of phonemes, the user is able to adjust that range of values quickly and easily.
- Phonemes retain their relative spacing even when all are set to a value of 0, giving the user many options for editing.
Autodesk® Maya® Integration
The Autodesk® Maya® pipeline to and from the Lipsync Tool has been completely rewritten, and now supports any deformation function from within Autodesk® Maya® (including bones). Character setup and integration has been designed with production pipelines in mind, and can be integrated into any workflow.
- Automatic Phoneme Mapping
- The new Autodesk® Maya® tools contain functions that generate all the necessary viseme to phoneme mappings, making the setup process almost transparent.
- Create Character
- Creating a character is a simpler and less time intensive process. Simply create your scene as you normally would and run the character script. After selecting the base viseme set, the tool will create all the necessary mappings in the scene for importing and exporting of data. The Annosoft Controls can be mapped to ANY data in a Autodesk® Maya® scene using expressions, set driven keys, or whatever best suits your workflow!
- Import Data
- Gone are the days of mapping data from the Lipsync Tool to Autodesk® Maya®. Simply run Import Data from the Annosoft menu and select the .anno file you wish to load. Once loaded, your scene will be fully animated.
- Based on freeform workflow
- Built with both technical directors and novice riggers in mind, the Autodesk® Maya® tools offer a simple yet effective set of tools that can integrate into any workflow.
- Create point on curve controls
- New feature for using Autodesk® Maya’s® pointOnCurveInfo node to automatically create a curve/locator infrastructure that can be used to drive bones (see tutorials for more information).
Project System
The new Project System makes working in teams on large sets of files easier and more organized. Users now have a single point of reference for an entire project’s audio needs.
- Single point of reference for all the files for a given project.
- The project contains all the information about languages and associated files. Both directories and individual files are supported, including recursive directory searches. Project setup is easy. simply select the langauges and add the necessary files.
- Visual lipsync completion
- Each lipsync file shows whether or not is has a .anno file and a .txt file. Additionally each file can be “checked” off the list as done giving a total view of the project in its entirety.
- Easily manage all languages in one place
- The project list is filterable by language. The languages available to the project (selected a setup) will determine the list.
- Batch functionality
- With the Batch functionally, users can now directly connect to the command line tools for batch processing of the entire project. The Lipsync tool can now be used as a central hub or management tool for all the lipsync in a project from inception to delivery. Annosoft Lipsync SDK is required for batch functionality support within the tool.
UI
- Fully Modular UI
- All windows are dockable or removable, giving the user infinite options for creating a custom and comfortable workspace.
- Timeline scrubbing
- Users can now scrub the timeline and see the results in real time in the character viewport
- Added UI Skins and Tinting features
- Adjust the overall look and feel of the interface.
- Additional viewport manipulation controls
- Added Viewport panning Shift + Left Button or Middle Button
- Scrollwheel zooming of viewport
- Added ctrl NUM + and ctrl NUM – to zoom in and out on the timeline
Languages
Continued support for additional language continues as Annosoft had added double byte support! Newly added Asian languages allow easy and fast deployment of localized content to the Asian Market. For a complete list of all languages supported, please visit www.annosoft.com for more information.
- Japanese
- Korean
- Chinese