Talking head

Talking head is a term referring to characters in Fallout and Fallout 2 with digitized speech and animated heads, rather than just text showing beneath a centered image of the character's sprite. These heads were typically first created as clay models, digitized using a Faro Space Arm and VertiSketch, touched up in the LightWave (early 3D modelling software), textured with Photoshop, animated, and finally stored as two-dimensional animation frames in .frm format. 
The final talking head is composited from these frames and static pre-rendered backgrounds, then overlaid on the screen. The animation is lip-synced to the spoken dialogue on the fly, using .lip files, which match animation frames to phonemes. 
Some of the voices for the talking heads were produced by well-known actors, such as Richard Dean Anderson from MacGyver and Stargate SG-1, and Michael Dorn who is known as Worf from Star Trek: The Next Generation.
This talking head system was abandoned after Fallout 2. In Fallout Tactics, interactions are limited to pre-determined responses accompanied by static portraits. From Fallout 3 onward, virtually every character is voiced and has a 3D model animated in real time. 
==Fallout==
==Fallout 2==
==Gallery==
===Fallout===
FO01 NPC Aradesh B.png|Aradesh
FO01 NPC Butch N.png|Butch Harris
FO01 NPC Gizmo G.png|Gizmo
FO01 NPC Decker N.png|Decker
HubHarold.png|Harold
FO01 NPC Harry G.png|Harry
FO01 NPC Overseer G.png|Vault 13 overseer
FO01 NPC Jain N.png|Jain
FO01 NPC Maxson G.png|John Maxson
FO01 NPC Killian G.png|Killian Darkwater
FO01 NPC Cabbot N.png|Cabbot
FO01 NPC Laura B.png|Laura
FO01 NPC Lieutenant G.png|Lieutenant
FO01 NPC Loxley G.png|Loxley
FO01 NPC Master G.png|Master
FO01 NPC Morpheus N.png|Morpheus
FO01 NPC Nicole G.png|Nicole
FO01 NPC Rhombus N.png|Rhombus
FO01 NPC Set G.png|Set
FO01 NPC Tandi N.png|Tandi
FO01 NPC Vree N.png|Vree
=== Fallout 2 ===
FO02 NPC Harold N.png|Harold
FO02 NPC Richardson G.png|Dick Richardson
FO02 NPC Lynette N.png|Joanne Lynette
FO02 NPC Myron G.png|Myron
FO02 NPC Marcus G.png|Marcus
FO02 NPC Enclave Com Officer G.png|Enclave communications officer
FO02 NPC Dornan G.png|Sergeant Arch Dornan
FO02 NPC Elder G.png|Arroyo elder
FO02 NPC Sulik G.png|Sulik
FO02 NPC Tandi G.png|Tandi
FO02 NPC Frank Horrigan.png|Frank Horrigan
FO02 NPC Hakunin N.png|Hakunin
FO02 NPC Dornan B.png|Enclave gate guard
===Talking head backdrops===
Fo1 Wasteland background.png
Fo1 Junktown Background.png
Fo1 Shady sands background.png
Fo1 Hub Background.png
Fo1 necropolis Background.png
Fo1 Followers background.png
Fo1 Brotherhood Interior.jpg
Fo1 Vault13background.png
Fo1 Mariposabasebackground.png
Fo1_Cathedral_background.png
F2_Enclave_backdrop.png
FO2_Adobe_background.png
F2_Horrigan_backdrop.png
F1_Master_backdrop.png
==Behind the scenes==
* In the NG GURPS preview article, the developers explained that, "after the team worked out exactly what it was after, a sculptor made a clay head that fit the bill. From there, the artists took the completed head and carefully studied it to see what parts of the face needed to be animated most in order to create a realistic final image. Using a Faro Space Arm and the VertiSketch software, the team digitized the head, and then used the LightWave modeling software to do necessary geometric corrections. Next, texture maps were created in Photoshop and laid onto the modeled head. Finally, the art team began working on the animation." The process can be seen in this GIF animation.
F1 Set clay head WIP 2.png |Scott Rodenhizer working on Set's head
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 01.png|Digitizing the model using the Faro Space Arm
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 03.png|Detail
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 02.png|Pedal for the Space Arm
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 04.png|Wireframe model after scanning and corrections
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 06.png|With the texture map applied
* Talking heads were proposed during the game's development by Leonard Boyarsky. Most of them were painstakingly copied into the digital format from clay models by Scott Rodenhizer. Originally, Fallout was supposed to have 40-50 talking heads, but the average time to do one head, 8 weeks, was too time-consuming and was reduced to just 21.Tim Cain's GDC presentation.
==Gallery==
===Sculpts===
GURPS_Preview_3.png|Various clay heads from Fallout 1 and 2
GURPS_Preview_2.png|Another angle of the heads
F2_Seth_clay_head_WIP_1.png|Clay model of Set from Fallout 1
F1_Set_clay_head_WIP_2.png|Clay model of Set in another stage of completion. Featuring Scott Rodenhizer at work
F1_Morpheus_clay_head_WIP.png|Process of creating the Morpheus' talking head model, all the way to the final render
===Animated Renders===
FO1Dev Talking Head Aradesh.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Butch Harris.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Gizmo.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Harry.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Harry Wireframe.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Laura.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Lieutenant.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Morpheus.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Rhombus.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Unnamed.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Vault 13 Overseer.gif
FO1Dev Talking Head Vree.gif
===Stills===
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 01.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 02.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 03.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 04.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 05.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 06.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 07.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 08.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 09.png
FO1 Digitization of Clay Heads 10.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 01.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 02.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 03.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 04.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 05.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 06.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 07.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 08.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 09.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 10.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 11.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 12.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 13.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 14.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 15.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 16.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 17.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 18.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 19.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 20.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 21.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 22.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 23.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 24.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 25.png
FO1 Raw Talking Head Models 26.png
==References==
 
 
es:Cabeza parlante
hu:Beszélő fej
pl:Gadające głowy
pt:Talking head
ru:Говорящие головы
uk:Балакучі голови
zh:面部特写