Remember AlterEgo’s recent animated faces? Well, Image Metrics have come up with a computer generated facial animation system that blows them away. They have created Emily, a digital representation of actress Emily O’Brien which is so accurate, you’d swear she’s real (see video below).

Created in partnership with USC’s Institute for Creative Technologies (ICT), there are no markers or special cameras used to create the effect. Through an unencumbered video-capture process, an actor gives a performance which is recorded on standard or HD video. This video is then analyzed by Image Metrics’s proprietary software and recreated as realistic computer animation.

This method has numerous benefits which stem from the fact that an actor and director can work as freely as they would with film. The focus is on the actor’s performance rather than the conversion process, which is handled in post-production by the software. The technology allows multiple actors to interact simultaneously and at a low production cost, which is bound to be a boon for the film and video game industry.

Once the shooting is complete, Image Metrics takes the video and applies the software-captured facial parameters to animation. Depending on the requirements, this can be anything from a photo-realistic person to a cartoon character with realistic expressions and motions.

Check out Emily in the video below, plus a how-to video that walks you through the production process. Also, the Image Metrics projects page showcases their recent work, which includes GTAIV and a creepy anthropomorphic heart in a Gnarls Barkley video.

Sources:
Image Metrics and ICT and Emily O’Brien
Via: Technabob