practical benefits. For starters, the capture is more true-to-life than it would be if the voice work and facial movements were recorded at separate times.
"There are huge advantages to getting that true lip-sync,” says Natale. “If you’re putting together asynchronous audio and facial capture, you could end up with one foot in the uncanny valley. With Faceware Headcams, since the video is recorded in combination with the audio in the VO booth, the output is an exact frame lock. That results in a more vivid recreation of reality that’s also true to the actor’s original performance."
This approach is possible because Faceware’s ProHD Headcams are lightweight,
comfortable, and unobtrusive, meaning actors can wear them without being drawn out of the performance they’re delivering.
"We use the exact same mics and headcams that are used on the mocap stage, so the actors are comfortable and familiar with them,” says Natale. “That means a more natural final performance: things are totally organic. It allows us to create those perfect moments that really sell a scene.”
In Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, for instance, Formosa was brought on board to capture audio and facial performances for picture-in-picture comms sequences. Here, the faces of non-player characters appear on screen, creating a focal point around
those elements and the dialogue being delivered. Thankfully, using its in-booth Faceware ProHD Headcam setup, the actors were fully comfortable in their performances, delivering audio and video that perfectly matched the subtle movements and inflections of their character’s faces.
In practical terms, considering the quick-and-easy setup of Faceware’s hardware, it’s not just the rhythm of the actor’s performance that remains uninterrupted, but that of the production itself. The wheels of the studio can continue to turn while clients receive great quality capture.
“The downtime between scenes recorded on stage is much longer compared to just recording VO in a booth with us,” says Natale. “Faceware doesn’t slow down how we work – logistically it’s much simpler. Our sessions tend to be more focused and fluid, allowing the team to run through the recording agenda at a much faster clip.”
Staying synchronised
There's another reason why Formosa chooses Faceware ProHD Headcams: "Faceware is by far the easiest to work with, because I don't have to run two recording rigs," explains Natale. "It's 100 times easier with Faceware than it is with the other tech, because, technically-speaking, it just runs and records video in the
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