Well...   I hesitated to post this because I DON'T want it to seem like I'm kissing butt and gushing, but...  I just have to.
 
I've been "playing" with TAFA now for about five or six days straight, and I've got to say that I'm actually having fun AND enjoying lip-synching! Quite honestly, before I started this I was fearing that it was going to take immense amounts of time and I would endure lots of frustration - even using TAFA. I even broke down my scenes to see where I could cut the lip-sync since I wouldn't be focusing on that particular character in that particular scene. Well, I've completely ignored that shot breakdown and I've been lip-synching ALL of the characters dialogue. Why? It's just so darn easy! I can knock out the basic phonemes of a three second clip in about a minute or two. Then I puppet the eyebrows, eyelids and other things it just a couple more minutes. I would be the first to admit that I'm nowhere near as good as Timothy using TAFA, but since this is the FIRST time I have ever done ANY lip-synching...  I have to say I'm pretty good!  It's been an absolute charm to work with.  
 
I just started on my first of my three main characters and working just today I'll complete more than 1/3 of the dialogue. I anticipate that I'll have all of the dialogue lip-synched by the end of next weekend. And THAT...   is amazing. I know that this may sound like a "gushing" review, but when I quickly compose the phonemes in a clip and play it back and it looks good even without the final embellishments...   I end up laughing outloud and thinking that I wish I'd seriously worked with TAFA years ago! Of course years ago...   I didn't really have a need for it - I just bought it because I KNEW I would one day.
 
All I can say is...   thank you both Tim and Mac for creating this program. I hope that when my short is finished and you see the final product - it shows what TAFA can really do. I can't now even imagine trying to (or WANTING to try) mocap facial movements or using the other auto-capture tools out there. TAFA (IMO) is FAR better than anything I have tried before. I also don't want to think about how long it would have taken using conventional sliders in LW - and order of magnitude or two longer.
 
Again...   THANKS!
 

Hi, MAC. nice to read you again. I hope your next TAFA vers. (apple vesr) is going well...
 
To the point. The 3D app. that I use the most (EiAS) it´s implementing .mdd. and they are testing the engine. The programmers need some .mdd file and the correspondent morph modells... Where can I find something usefull?... i will convert it to the native Fact format next.
If TAFA goes to the MAC and EiAS can read the output would be awesome!
Thanks a lot.
 
FelixCat

Hi, MAC. I need no more the files. Another user of EiAS produced some animation in Softimage and the .mdd file and was imported great in EiAS. It works like a charm! now it´s time for TAFA on the Mac. I will save the money for the right time. Any possibility of some kind of TAFA 1 for Mac? waiting for TAFA 2 is hard  
Thanks a lot... your ideas for the next TAFA sound very cool.
 
FelixCat

Hi, MAC
The MDD import in EiAS3D works pretty well, when you have a Mac TAFA count me in!
Thinking aloud and messing with other people´s business... I think if TAFA and EiAS could have a more strong relationship could make a good business sense: Besides his strong hard surface rendering caracteristics, EiAS has many and severe weakness in the character animation side, the facial morphing is horrendous and there is my interest in TAFA, if TAFA have a strong interoperativity with EiAS (even the hability of reading Fact format) I think could be great for both. A number of new users for TAFA in Mac and PC and better posibilities for EiAS3D in the market expanding his field of action.
Both are little companies ruled by the people that makes posible the app, and that is a strong point...
Sorry for my bad english.
 
FelixCat
P.S. I will paste this post in the EiAS3D forum... maybe useful.

In general, the answer to "will there be a plugin for X" is no, because each plugin is a separate development effort and I seem to have difficulty even maintaining one effort.  So far, the external application model hasn't been too onerous, and if I can get support for some more advanced file formats, it should become even less of an issue.

Hi all,
 
I am happy to have TAFA. I've been using it on Windows XP with 32 bit LW. I was wondering if it is 64 Bit compatible? Now moving to Windows 7 and 64 Bit Lightwave.
 
Thanks!!!!
 
Bev

Hi, MAC
How is going your real job? you have your evenings and weekends back? are you back in track for a new TAFA and (maybe) a Mac TAFA?
 
Sorry for bothering you too much. BTW, i think the next week i will purchase TAFA for PC (hugh!!) i moust do an animation for a client soon and i need a good morph animation, and EiAS3D (my weapon of choice) it´s horrendoous in this aspect.
When TAFA4MAC see the light i will happily purchase it again. Working in Windows makes me not very happy at all.
Any news you want to share?
 
FelixCat