Geoff Hecht on his film, Love Is A Championship, and how he used AccuFace for animation. Check out the article and podcast.Geoff Hecht is a seasoned 3D and VFX artist based in San Francisco, California. A graduate of the Academy of Art University with a degree in Animation and Visual Effects, Geoff directed a team of 78 on the animated short Metro6, which was featured in nearly 70 international film festivals and nearly ranked among FilmAffinitys Top 100 Best Animated Shorts of 2020. Building on this success, he is now directing his second animated film, Love is a Championship (LIAC).LIAC is a short-form animated romantic comedy that creatively parallels sports with dating. The project brings together over 30 artists from six countries and features a cast of 10 actors known from Netflix, Paramount Plus, Amazon Prime, and major films. Under Geoffs direction, the film humorously likens penalty calls in sports to the awkward missteps of relationships. By mid-2023, LIAC had made significant progress in storyboarding and production development.Surpassing Traditional Facial AnimationFacial animation has traditionally been a time-intensive hurdle in filmmaking, especially with the challenges of precise lip-syncing. For LIAC, Geoff Hecht turned to Reallusion AccuFACE to streamline the process. This decision proved transformative, as AccuFACE enabled pre-recorded video to drive virtual character performances with a flexible workflow. By separating body and facial animations, the LIAC team achieved significant time and cost savings in production.AccuFACE: Transforming Facial Animation WorkflowIn December 2023, Geoffs team completed a motion capture shoot for body animation, postponing facial animation to February 2024 due to onsite limitations. AccuFaces support for remote recordings proved invaluable, enabling actors to participate via Zoom when in-person sessions were not an option. By removing the need for restrictive equipment, AccuFace allowed actors to deliver natural performances, enhancing the quality of the final animation.Efficient Facial Animation Production with Unyielding QualityReallusions iClone and AccuFace enabled Geoff to mash up the best takes and minimize the need for reshoots for LIAC. Its compatibility with industry-standard tools like Maxon C4D, Maya, Unreal Engine, and Blender ensured seamless integration across the diverse production pipeline that Geoff was already used to. With Redshift rendering and a paint-over workflow, the film took full advantage of AccuFaces adaptability and efficiency to overcome various technical hurdles.Aria Song recording her performances for AccuFACE.Revolutionizing Facial Animation for Modern FilmmakingFor Geoff, AccuFace wasnt just a technical upgrade; it represented a creative breakthrough. By cutting production costs, speeding up workflows, and preserving high-quality standards, AccuFace became a vital tool. As Love is a Championship nears completion, its use of AccuFace underscores how innovative technology can empower creators and transform the way stories are told in animation.Jenna Louie Lohouse performing real-time capture in AccuFACE.Additional InformationLove is a Championship is a passion project directed by Geoff Hecht. With a team of 30 people, Geoff understands that a systemic approach is essential to manage both the team and production time with efficiency and precision. Since its announcement in November 2023, Geoff and the team have completed the script, the full animatic storyboard, body motion capture, and several animation scenes.Lead Animator Michael Grassi and the team are proud users of Reallusion Character Creator and iClone. Having released several tutorials online, they invite you to join them on their animated filmmaking journey.Editing viseme in iClone AccuLips.OutreachBy subscribing to their creative channel and Patreon, you can gain exclusive access to behind-the-scenes footage that walks you through the tools and methodologies used to bring Love is a Championship to life. For instance, Geoff has worked closely with Noitom and proudly used their Perception Neuron Body Mocap for entire body movements. They put these professional voice actors into mocap suits, having them perform real actions from the script, and it all paid off.Aubrey Trujillo waiting for body mocap.Unlike traditional releases, where the audience must wait until the films completion to see the final behind-the-scenes video, Geoffs team is sharing these insights progressively, leading up to the films ultimate release. Geoff refers to this approach as Before the Scenes.Its a wrap! All the motions from LIAC is captured by the team.Brought to you by Reallusion:This article is part of the befores & afters VFX Insight series. If youd like to promote your VFX/animation/CG tech or service, you can find out more about the VFX Insight series here.The post Pitch & Produce: AccuFace as the Solution for Rapid Film Production appeared first on befores & afters.