importing problem

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novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:46 pm
Location: London

importing problem

Post by novice »

Dear Team

Complete beginner trying to produce animation for work presentation.

I have successfully produced lip sync sentence in Papagayo using own mouth drawings. Thought I could just export the whole thing, but I see this won't work. Have exported mouths in correct order to switch file in Moho as jpgs. When I import the Pap created file data into switch the little dots (keyframes?) appear correctly, and I then import the .wav sound file (have tried both through switch and through 'select soundtrack'). It all looks correct but the mouth doesn't move. If I import the .wav file on its own into switch dots appear but too many of them in wrong sequence – I then import .wav through 'animation/select soundtrack' and the mouth finally moves but rapidly and, obviously, out of sync.

Sorry if this sounds waffly, but I hope it is comprehensible. I am sure there is some simple thing I am, or am not doing!

Any help gratefully received.

Thanks….

MAC OSX
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heyvern
Posts: 7035
Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:49 am

Post by heyvern »

Shot in the dark here...

Make sure both the Papagayo and the Moho files have the same FPS!

If they aren't the same they will be out of synch.
--------------------------------------

Hold it a second... are you loading the WAV file into a Moho switch layer???

You need to export the voices from Papagayo... there is that button export voice. This will produce a .DAT file.

That is the file that should be imported into Moho through the switch layer data import thingy.

-vern
novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:46 pm
Location: London

importing problem

Post by novice »

Thanks for getting back!

If I import the Papagayo .dat file through 'export voice' (saved into Moho) into the Moho switch layer, the keyframe dots appear but not the soundtrack. Importing the soundtrack (either through switch or 'select soundtrack' changes the sequence and number (about three times as many) of keyframes and the mouth movements are rapid fire and don't match.

The FPS are the same.

Of course, what I want to do is to reproduce the Papagayo sequence exactly as spent hours fine tuning this.

I would be so grateful to fix this as it is so frustrating to see all the ingredients there, but the recipe not working!

Very grateful for any more ideas.

C
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heyvern
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Post by heyvern »

Okay....

I think what you are doing is overriding the DAT file with the sound file.

There are two ways to do lip synch in moho...

Import a sound file into a switch layer...

or

Import a DAT file from Papagayo.

--------

When you import a sound file into the switch layer... the lip synch is only based on the changes in volume of the sound. It just changes switch layers based on the volume... no phonemes.

Papagayo has more "power" and uses custom mouth shapes, phonemes. You load the DAT file in the same place. When you load the sound file in the switch tab by clicking the "Source Data" button... it will eliminate a DAT file you may have loaded the same way.

The only way to "hear" the sound in Moho is to "Select Soundtrack..." under the Animation menu and choose the exact same sound file you used for the lip synch.

The lip synch functions will not load a sound file that you can actually "hear".

This is all covered in the tutorials.

-Vern
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Rhoel
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Post by Rhoel »

And make sure your switch layers are called A, O, rest, etc ... using the exact capitals and lower case as in Papagayo - named anything else and nothing works.

Hang in there - the Papagayo route and switch layers for mouths is good - I use it extensively on a series: It save hours of work.

If your lipsync starts halfway through your scene, you can "sync" your sound track by setting the start frame to wherever you lip-sync is (or usually a few frames before) - currently it's the only way of seeing your sound and lipsynce together.

A request for off-setting the sound has been made and one day .... :)
novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:46 pm
Location: London

importing problem

Post by novice »

Many thanks all.

I see – the Moho lip sync overrides Papagayo when I download the .wav file through the source data, but at least from this I know the mouth can move. I think I must be doing something wrong with the layers, as the mouth will not move when I import the Papagayo .dat file, even though the key frames appear – seemingly in the correct sequence.

I will just keep at it and try and solve by trial and error.

Just to check I am doing the right things:

I import the mouth shapes as images and put them in the switch file in the order they appear in the file. (The file names are correct, but even if I use the pre-existing shapes it still doesn't work).

I then save the Papagayo file in Moho through 'export voice' and import into the switch layer I have made for the mouths.

Is that correct, or am I missing something out?

I would love this to work!

Thanks for all help so far.

C
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heyvern
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Post by heyvern »

Yes...

Importing the DAT file WILL put keyframes on the switch layer... but if the layers are not named EXACTLY the same as the phonemes described in Papagayo...

... nothing will happen. You have key frames... but since the layers are named incorrectly... they don't refer to anything.

You need a switch layer with the layers INSIDE it named exactly as below in any order whatsoever that you feel like. Order is not important just the name of the layer.

Image layers will import with THE EXTENSION OF THE IMAGE FILE as part of the layer name.

THIS WONT WORK. You need to delete the extension from the layer name. I think this is the problem. Do the layers have a .jpg extension? if so you must delete the extension from the layer name.

Layer names in a switch layer for importing DAT files from Papagayo in no particular order...

AI
E
U
O
etc
FV
MBP
L
WQ
rest

If these names are EXACTLY the names of the layers in the switch layer... it WILL WORK. If the names are even slightly different... any misnamed layers will not get keyframed from the DAT file.

there is an example file in the tuturials that includes a switch layer with the phonemes set up. They are vector layers but it shouldn't matter. The key is the layer name... must be exactly the same as indicated.

-vern
novice
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:46 pm
Location: London

importing problem

Post by novice »

Eureka!

Thank you very much, Vern. I knew it would be something simple. I removed the .jpg extensions and now all works beautifully.

Onwards....

Thanks again
C
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heyvern
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Joined: Fri Sep 02, 2005 4:49 am

Post by heyvern »

Phew!

I refused to give up on you. I love Papagayo!

I am dissapointed it took me so long to figure out the image layer name import issue. I should have picked up on that in the first post!

-Vern
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