| 14 Steps To Successful Lip Sync Breakdown Once you have recorded your soundtrack you need to import it into an editing program such as Premier. Once it is placed onto the timeline and you are happy with it’s placement as far as lead time “head” and end time “tail” are concerned, you need to follow the steps outlined below. Use the time count that is shown on your time line. Also note that time is measured in 30 frames per second. 1) Listen to the track. 2) Find the start frame and end frame of the SCENE: i.e. 00:03:22 and 00:08: 15 3) Label the X-sheet: • Scene number. • Start frame (in the example in step 2, this would be - 03:22) • End frame (in the example in step 2, this would be - 08:15) • In the camera column, fill in frame count for entire scene. • Fill in sheet numbers: i.e. 1 of 5, 2 of 5, 3 of 5, etc. • Fill in exposure numbers on odd frames. • Staple the X-sheets together in order. 4) Listen to the track again. 5) Find the frame of the first sound in the first word. Scrub the timeline until you find it. 6) Mark the frame on your X-sheet in PENCIL. 7) Scrub the first word. Find the last frame. Mark the frame on the X-sheet. 8) Scrub the word and listen to major sound changes. Mark these on the X- sheet for the first word. 9) Continue through the track for all the words. • Listen for blended words that slur together • Mouth the words yourself as you scrub the track so you can pinpoint the major sounds. • Mark all these on the X-sheet • Write the words out AS THEY SOUND, not as they are spelled. (Silent letters don’t count in lip sync 10) Double check all numbering and breakdown!!! You can now take the X-sheet to your desk as the remaining steps do not require the computer. 11) Take the X-sheet and begin with the 1st word. • In the margin, draw a thumbnail of the characters mouth position for each phonetic sound as it • Assign the mouth position an number • Move on to the next word following the same process. • Each time you come across a sound and mouth position you’ve used before in this scene, write the • Complete the entire X-sheet. 12) On a separate piece of paper, draw out each of the mouth positions in numerical order to create a mouth chart for your character. 13) Look back over the X-sheet to see if there are any inbetween mouth positions required to make the lip sync less choppy. Draw these out on the X-sheet. 14) Begin your thumbnail animation of the character looking for the key accent positions. |