To enhance your TalkingShow™ performance, adding head motion or head movement to your character while they are speaking provides a chance for you to accentuate and highlight important concepts and ideas during speech similar to that of TV broadcasters.
What's different with inserting head motion as compared to other expressions and visemes is that the head motion is a continuous action that can't exist independently. The head's default starting position is perfectly centered, so if you wish to insert a head motion in the middle or at the end of the file, this area is actually where the head motion ceases (i.e. the final head position). Therefore, head motion that leads up to the final head position from the default starting position will automatically be created for the unselected area prior to the insertion point (selected area).
Remember, before adding head motion, your visemes should already be in place (the voice clip has been recognized).
Be sure you are in the Head Animation Pack mode.
To get a quick start, click the Generate Head Motion located on the right toolbar or go to HAP > Generate Head Motion. For editing, please refer to the next section.
Note: It is highly recommended that you begin at the beginning of the file or use the Generate Head Motion (right toolbar) command first. A head movement cannot exist independently, for it is a continuous action. Therefore, if you insert a head movement in the middle of the file or the end, the head movement will automatically and gradually start from the beginning of the file from its centered default head position up until the end of the selected area.
If you would like to inset on your own, select the beginning of the file or another area by clicking in the Head row, hold, and drag until where you would like the movement to end. The area will be highlighted.
Right click for the menu and choose Insert Motion Until End of Mark...
A dialog box appears. For Roll, drag it to the left or right for the head motion to stimulate rolling or a tilting action in a horizontal fashion.
For the Pitch & Yaw, the red dot signals the imaginary target for the eyes. If dragged horizontally, the head motion will resemble a "swiveling" action. If dragged vertically, the head motion will resemble a nodding or tilting back action.
Click OK when you are done.
Remember to test it out in the Preview window after you have adjusted the head motion for an immediate feedback.
Tip: The easiest way of matching expressions, head motion, background music and image, or action is by selecting viseme(s) first. That way, what is spoken will blend in with anything perfectly! Just click on a viseme or a group of them, and then right click in one of the rows below for selection!