Creating Animated Dialogue

Below are the mouth movents that made up the animation:

"AAH"


"B" "M" "P"


"EEE"


"F" "V"



"L" "N"


"OOO" "R" "Q"


Mouth at Rest


ONCE YOU HAVE YOUR BASIC MOUTH SHAPES (and you may choose a slightly different set, though I consider these to be essentials), you would make copies of the mouth pix and downsize the copies.

Then create a new file (with transparency) that's big enough for your widest mouth still. Copy and paste each of the mouths onto into this new file so that each mouth has its own layer (see below)



In this multi-layered file, make sure that the mouths overlap as closely as possible. Basically, you want the mouth movements to look like they come from the same source (or point on the face) so that when you import them into Final Cut or After Effects, you don't have to worry about lining them up over and over (which would be a big headache). They'll just be anchored to the same invisable point.

Learn How to lip sync your animations correctly using time remapping. For more After Effects How-To Videos & Articles, visit WonderHowTo.