To ensure you have the best possible lip sync in your vub, take these four simple steps:
- Assess your vub: Is there anything you want to change?
- Interpolation pass: Only alter the frames that need changing.
- Scale pass: Tweak performance size and articulation.
- Mouth shape pass: Refine mouth shapes where needed.
Be sure to read the Best Practice guide before you start refining your vub.
Refinement Step 1: Assess the Vub
1. Look at the vub – the Vub (preview):
2. Know the dialogue that is meant to be spoken.
If there’s a transcript handy, check it first.
3. Play the vub.
- Did you believe that the character was saying the new dialogue?
- Were there any specific moments that stood out or did something simply not feel right?
- Trust your reaction from your first viewing – if something didn’t feel right then it is likely something that can be improved. It can be harder to assess the vub honestly in subsequent viewings.
- Note the moments you want to improve – you don’t have to work out what is wrong at this stage, just that there are areas to focus on.
Is something not feeling right, but you can’t quite identify the issue?
A useful technique is to start from the end of the shot and work backwards. Play the last word. If that feels OK, play the last two words. Keep working back into the vub until something doesn’t feel right. Then you’ve found the word that isn’t working.
Keep an eye on the jaw movement!
The jaw is the slowest-moving part of the mouth when talking, so sudden, sharp movements can feel unnatural. If these exist in your vub, you can use Jaw - Open in the Advanced lip sync controls to smooth them out.
Downloads:
More downloads are available here.
Read next: Refinement Step 2: Interpolation Pass