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Emily Lifelike Animation Sets New Standard
Emily is an animated character, created with a technique that captures the smallest details of facial expression. Each of the dozens of minor movements was given a "control system" by animators at Image Metrics; the system analyses facial movements at the level of individual pixels in a video.
"The subtlety of the timing of eye movements is a big one. People also have a natural asymmetry - for instance, in the muscles in the side of their face. Those types of imperfections aren't that significant but they are what makes people look real."
Take a look at this video of Emily; can you tell that this is not a short film of a real person?
"Ninety per cent of the work is convincing people that the eyes are real," Mike Starkenburg, chief operating officer of Image Metrics, said.
(Image Metrics: Emily sets lifelike animation standard video)
This technique is so realistic; are we close to being able to replace human actors in movies with animated characters? Animations briefly replace real people in movies like Spiderman; the characters are shown at a distance because this degree of lifelike animation has been unavailable.
If it works, this technique could give rise to the synthespian:
"Idoru," Yamazaki said... "'Idol-singer.' She is Rei Toei. She is a personality-construct, a congeries of software agents, the creation of information-designers. She is akin to what I believe they call a 'synthespian,' in Hollywood."
(Read more about Gibson's synthespian)
Via Times Online.
Scroll down for more stories in the same category. (Story submitted 8/19/2008)
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