Cost of faceware


https://forum.reallusion.com/Topic385491.aspx
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By LarryPlane - 6 Years Ago
Am I right in thinking this software costs 1500 dollars?
If so, any cheaper alternatives?

I do not own an iPhone nor am I likely ever to own one.

By Kelleytoons - 6 Years Ago
I like the Faceshift (with the iPhone) a ton better than Faceware (I have both and never use Faceware anymore).  There is a cheaper iPhone (around $900) and you don't need service with it.  And it's possible the new iPads will have the capability of doing it as well (so wait another month or so and see what's announced).
By animagic - 6 Years Ago
FaceWare is offered currently for $1190, but it's still a lot. I got it at the introductory price, which was more reasonable. 

Besides the price, the registration process of FaceWare (on the FW side) is extremely cumbersome and inefficient, especially if you want to move the software to another computer. Unfortunately, RL has not enough clout to do something about it.

Also, I believe that the FaceWare software can only be installed on one computer, so you can't have the desktop/laptop scenario as with RL software.

With Faceshift, the Mocap solution is in the phone, so it can be moved around, if the iClone part can be installed on more than one PC. Kelley could confirm that.

I'm not an Apple fan, but if you don't have FaceWare, Faceshift is an attractive alternative. 

One plus for FaceWare is that it works with prerecorded video (image sequences), so that may be useful for some situations.
By LarryPlane - 6 Years Ago
Thank you for confirming these prices to me, I was  a bit confused by this new motiona live thing, wasnt totally sure if I could just get that, but clearly I can't.

A shame these plugins are so unrealistic in price for the average home user.

I'll keep an eye out for the new ipad, but im not an apple fan, so probably will never happen,

By BCEmcke - 5 Years Ago
There is another alternative called Brekel Pro Face 2, which requires a Kinect v2. It yields some good results. But you need a certain usb 3 chipset (if I remember correctly it is supposed to be intel, but I could check on that).
By kungphu - 5 Years Ago
To echo the sentiments of everyone here.... Faceware is a nightmare if you want to change computers. I still have yet to make it work. Kinda a waste of money in that respect since I no longer have iclone on that computer. I understand if you hate apple and everything apple. But the software is crazy convenient and easy to use. Traveling for work across the world, no problem, while lounging in bed or at a workstation... the iPhone version works well. I liked Faceware, but the Faceware part of the equation is pretty awful. Like I mentioned, I never got it ported over to my new computer even after contacting their tech support. Maybe I should try again. It was about a year ago. I’d highly recommend going the iPhone route even if you hate iPhones.
By animagic - 5 Years Ago
I had a hard drive crash recently and had to reinstall Windows and all software, including Faceware. I contacted tech support and I did get a response fairly quickly.

One thing I did to improve Faceware performance is to place a LED light bar on top of my monitor to improve lighting of my face. That has worked pretty well.
By kungphu - 5 Years Ago
Hey Ani,

I received responses quickly. But we never got the software to authorize and transfer to a new computer ID. I guess with the new windows install it’s treated as a new computer ID? Not sure if the BIOS dictates that? If it was tested as if it’s a new computer, her lags there’s hope. And absolutely... more light helps tremendously with FW. I did have good results, kinda miss it. But since I always have my phone with me, it’s kinda nice being able to use my
Phone anywhere I go.
By argus1000 - 5 Years Ago
animagic (10/6/2018)
One plus for FaceWare is that it works with prerecorded video (image sequences), so that may be useful for some situations.


It's much easier to use Manycam (free)  (https://manycam.com)  than the image sequences, which have limitations. Then you can  record any actor who has an ordinary webcam anywhere in the world through the Internet. They send you their video files; you can decode them with Faceware and use their facial animation on your character. Only this feature is worth the extra bucks.

By animagic - 5 Years Ago
argus1000 (7/24/2019)
animagic (10/6/2018)
One plus for FaceWare is that it works with prerecorded video (image sequences), so that may be useful for some situations.


It's much easier to use Manycam (free)  (https://manycam.com)  than the image sequences, which have limitations. Then you can  record any actor who has an ordinary webcam anywhere in the world through the Internet. They send you their video files; you can decode them with Faceware and use their facial animation on your character. Only this feature is worth the extra bucks.

Thanks for bringing that up. Mike Kelly did a tutorial about this a while ago.
By argus1000 - 5 Years Ago
kungphu (7/23/2019)
I liked Faceware, but the Faceware part of the equation is pretty awful. Like I mentioned, I never got it ported over to my new computer even after contacting their tech support..


Funny. I didn't waste much time changing computers. I admit that the process is tricky and cumbersome, but I didn't spend more than one hour doing it. Maybe I was just lucky.
By Ryan Hayle - 5 Years Ago
I have never had a problem with reinstalling iClone Faceware. Yes there is no way to deactivate your Faceware license, but if your hard drive dies or you are installing your license to a new machine simply email them with your serial and they will send you a new license within a day or 2.
By kungphu - 5 Years Ago
It's been an ordeal for me so I finally just gave up.  Had a ticket open with them for a while and it never got resolved. Maybe I'll give it another whirl and see if things have changed/improved. Sounds like they have.