Facial Animation of Synthetic Actors

Abstract

In animating the face of a synthetic actor, there are two things that have to be considered. First, the muscular structure of the face, which causes facial expressions, has to be understood and simulated on the computer. But also, at a higher level, there are the expressions themselves, which must represent speech and emotions. Speech syllables and emotional reactions like a smile, a wink, or tears have to be represented. If we do not want to film all expressions, as with Max Headroom, nor digitize them and enter them one by one, as in other films, we have to construct them. This is possible by combining different parameters in different ways, and an infinity of different facial expressions may be constructed. And it is also possible to construct facial expressions for one synthetic actor which are quite different from those of another.