I think another great addition of this application is if it could be built as a plugin for AfterEffects...  It'd certainly boost it's use, assuming it was designed well and worked well...

Hello! Any Reallusion staff; is there any word on CrazyTalk 8? At one of the webinars a couple of months ago, the presenter mentioned that version 8 might include facial motion capture! That would be a remarkable addition. Is there any word on either a release date or a feature list?

There is some preliminary info on CT8 but at the moment it only looks like it only adds the ability to make 3D heads:

http://www.reallusion.com/event/CrazyTalk8-Presale/

While this is of great importance to those of us who use iClone, I'm kind of surprised there aren't announced at least some new CT features for the rest of you.  While making a 3D head *could* be somewhat useful for facial animation, it really isn't necessary for CT per se.

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

As a long time user of CrazyTalk, I agree...  All the new features leave us long time users of CT in the cold, while iClone users get all the new whizzbang features and functions. Even though the 2D features haven't been removed as far as wek know, neither does it sound like they've been enhanced or added too.  I'm betting we'll still be limited to one avatar in a movie clip at a time, something CT users have been complaining about since it was removed from version 6. 

Hmmm  -- only one avatar is definitely limiting.  If they are truly positioning CT as the "facial animation component" of their product line they had better reconsider this, as having two folks (or whatever) talk to themselves is Really Important.

I get the feeling right now that RL is kind of stumbling through this transition.  While I do applaud the basic idea behind what they want to do, the execution (particularly when it comes to the existing customer base) certainly leaves a lot to be desired.

Hopefully at the end of this we'll all be happy (or happier?).

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Facial motion capture won't be part of CrazyTalk 8 (at least initially), but plenty of exciting new features have been added including a new 3D Head Creator.

Please take a look at the Work In Progress Part 1 video below to see the exciting changes coming in CT8.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IGxo4rHzM4


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Peter,

I'm no CT person (I bought CT1, and then a year ago CT6 but have never even booted it up.  Now I'll have CT8 (well, the Pipeline thingee) but it's still pretty unlikely I'd ever use it on my own), so I couldn't really judge how well (or not) the quality of the animation was using a 3D approach as opposed to...?  What, the old CT?.  Wizard is the expert here (at least WAY more advanced than I am) so perhaps you should speak to him in that regard (he seems disappointed in it but maybe he *didn't* see the video).

I have seen some videos DONE with CT and one of the things I always kind of hated about it was the way it sort of "kludged" 3D when, for example, moving the head forward, or turning it to one side or the other.  So if that's the kind of thing you are saying will be fixed by this then I'm sure CT users will be happy -- I certainly am in no way trying to speak for them.

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Alienware Aurora R16, Win 11, i9-149000KF, 3.20GHz CPU, 64GB RAM, RTX 4090 (24GB), Samsung 870 Pro 8TB, Gen3 MVNe M-2 SSD, 4TBx2, 39" Alienware Widescreen Monitor
Mike "ex-genius" Kelley

I watched them, and quite frankly as a long time user of CT, I was not impressed.  I don't want 3D heads, never did, if I did I'd use iClone for it. I didn't use CT to create avatars, I used CT to make talking photographs.  I rarely ever took a character out of photograph to make an avatar, I used it to make a talking photograph.  The 3D head doesn't make that useful at all.And now the 3D heads will be bald, which again isn't useful either.  I'm sure there'll be 3D hair, but if it's anything like the hair selection in iClone, it'll be dismal.  So no, I'm not excited about this at all, and to me it looks like nothing but an addon for iClone.  I know Peter, you say differently, but that's what it looks like for me, as someone who wants to continue making talking photographs with 2D characters.

Thanks for the reply and explaining your position. :) 

My point was that some of the comments being posted are giving the impression that CrazyTalk 8 is some kind of add-on tool or plugin for iClone 6 and this is very misleading. To be clear CrazyTalk 8 is very much a standalone product in the same tradition as all previous CT versions, only now it works in 3D and has a head export option for iClone 6 for those who use both programs.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com