Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

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Poptoogi
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Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by Poptoogi »

I posted this as a question in the ho do I section but I think it would be a rather easy thing to do the the AS programmers or the tech savy AS users here who make scripts. If this function doesn't already exist, it would be really nice to be able to add key frames from switch layers by using short cut keys while scrubbing through the time line with the arrow keys. It would also be nice if the blend morph window didn't close each time after applying a blend. If a person is using blend morphs they probably want to use it quite a bit so having it stay open to apply the next one would really be cool! Anyway, here i original post of what I was asking about in the ho to section.

"Does anyone know a better way to key-frame lip sync switch layers besides using a drop down menu? And before suggesting using auto lip syncing, that is something I don't like to do. I'd rather spend hours doing myself to have it look right you know what I mean? I've gotten pretty fast at lip syncing by scrubbing through the time line with the arrow keys and selecting the proper mouth in the switch layers but this just seems more time consuming than it needs to be. I thought cheat the system by making actions for mouths and using short cut keys but for some reason you can only use the short cut keys during live playback which is great for making character movements and gestures but way to fast for accurate lip sync keying. It would be ideal if I could scrub through the time line with the arrow keys with my right hand and use short cut keys for my switch layers bound to the keys 1,2,3,4, or ,q,w,e,r,t ect. Is there a way to do this or just a better way of using switch layers without having to use a drop down menu?"
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DK
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Post by DK »

How perfect do you want the lip sync? Are you doing an amazingly detailed animation that requires absolute perfect lip sync?

The fastest way I have found is to copy bunches of keyframes I have already done and paste them back onto the timeline and then adjust to fit.

A perfect lip sync script would be almost impossible to programme as it would require ultra complicated wav form analysis etc I've yet to see a good one. I remember Mimic for Poser was pretty good but never perfect.

Hmmmm....how about the video tracking feature in AS? Maybe you could video your mouth with stick on white points then match the points to bones on your characters mouth?

That's the quickest way I can think of.


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D.K
Poptoogi
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Hi D.K.

Post by Poptoogi »

Hi DK!

I don't want super precise lip syncing I just want to be able to key frame my lip syncing in the most efficient way. I don't want a script to do it for me, I just want a script or function where I can use shortcut keys to place them as quickly as possible. Kind of like typing out my key frames I guess you could say. Although the auto lip sync feature is an amazing feature, I want my animations to look a little cleaner. I can tell as I'm sure you can to, when someone uses auto lip syncs as opposed to key framing. When people use the auto lip sync it's like watching a badly dubbed kung fu movie. Here are some examples of how I lip sync stuff. I just like my lip syncing to match up at least this well. They are not super precise but good enough to look legit! Thanks for the suggestions though. I might have to try the video tracking thing though. That would be way cool if it worked!

http://www.youtube.com/user/ShoNuff93?f ... 3MJi708uuc

http://www.youtube.com/user/ShoNuff93?f ... Ivk1amxcLs

http://www.youtube.com/user/ShoNuff93?f ... zZKfbn6QSM
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Kedric
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by Kedric »

Wow, this is exactly what I am talking about!

It would be SOOO much easier to lip sync if all I had to do was scroll through the timeline and hit shortcut keys for each mouth layer. This seems like it would be extremely easy to program. I wonder why it is not already a feature anyhow.

Clicking through a dropdown menu gets VERY old and wastes a lot of time. I definitely do not like "copying" lip synching from previous areas or using scripts. I want more customization but it takes too long.

Does anybody know what I can do to make this happen?
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slowtiger
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by slowtiger »

It's a good idea, however, it collides with all other keyboard shortcuts already assigned to other actions or tools.
Kedric
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by Kedric »

slowtiger wrote:It's a good idea, however, it collides with all other keyboard shortcuts already assigned to other actions or tools.
Sure, I thought of that too. The actions menu, however, allows you to set your own shortcuts. When the animation is playing it deactivates the other shortcuts and allows you to use your action shortcuts. (I know you already know this but I am making a point) Perhaps there could be a similar way to do this for a switch layer. If the feature had its own window, perhaps while the window was open it could deactivate the other shortcuts. The main shortcuts would be deactivated until the menu was closed.

There has to be a way to do something like this. You don't think there are other animators with a similar workflow that would benefit from this?

Imagine one hand on the arrow keys to strum through the timeline and the other hand on the shortcuts. That could quadruple lip synching speed.
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slowtiger
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by slowtiger »

I'm definitely with you on this one, since I find the pulldown menu tedious and time-consuming - I had to work with characters which had >30 different mouth positions, all in one list! But in order to do this right a lot of aspects need to be discussed before even trying to implement.
Kedric
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by Kedric »

slowtiger,

You seem to have a lot of influence in the Anime Studio community. What is the best way for me to get something like this going? Would it be best for me to try to connect with Smith Micro and make this a feature in Anime Studio 9 or would it be better for me to try to find somebody who can write a script/plugin?

I would be willing to pay for this because of the amount of time it would save.
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slowtiger
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by slowtiger »

Please, I'm not some kind of wizard here. For any new feature you need to wait as long as everybody else, including me, for the next version.

As for scripting this, I can't, but others may be able to. Ask in the scripting forum.
CartoonZack
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by CartoonZack »

Once again, I'd like to share this Flash plugin that would be great if one was made for switch layers in Anime Studio. I think concept would help greatly in achieving a more efficient lip sync without having to resort to any scripts that automatically do it for you.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKIhJlWidbM[/youtube]
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heyvern
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Re: Faster easier way to keyframe switch layers??

Post by heyvern »

Best I could do in a very short time. Didn't do a ton of testing but it seems to work okay. It's just a revision of an old Action Commander script to key command actions before they were added to the application.

You select a switch layer, select the tool. It is just like the regular switch tool, but it has key commands in the dropdown menu. The keys are set for CMD+0-9 (mac) and CTRL+0-9 (win) at least I hope that's it for windows. Haven't tested it on that one yet. If it isn't CTRL than it's ALT.

Unfortunately, it only does shortcuts for 10 switch layers which is the basic set for phonemes. I suppose I could figure out some more keys with different modifiers. I chose those 10 because it was really easy to add them in a loop. The lua code needs "keycodes" and 0-9 are in "order"; 48-58.

Just the script. Haven't done icons for it yet.
hm_switch_commander.zip

p.s. Did someone mention "payment"? I really like donuts. :)
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