Adding Value – Talking Heads Animation

This animation is part of a series for a program on Adaptive Negotiation. It introduces characters and the issues they face while negotiating with clients, plus good and bad examples.

The challenge for this particular video was to create a character that would serve as the “900 lbs. Gorilla,” or a truly tough negotiator. The Instructional Designer wanted to show a Gorilla who becomes less of a threat, i.e. changes into a man, as the protagonist successfully negotiates with him. Rather than attempt live-action, I suggested using 3D models with vocal animation software to create the talking heads.

I designed the characters, worked with our voice actors and edited the voice overs, animated them (using Poser 7 and Mimic Pro), created a special custom morph for the Gorilla from the male character model, and rendered the final output.