Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!agate!bionet!ames!sgi!thant@horus.sgi.com
From: thant@horus.sgi.com (Thant Tessman)
Newsgroups: comp.graphics
Subject: Re: Max Headroom
Summary: Mike the Talking Head
Message-ID: <33976@sgi.SGI.COM>
Date: 30 May 89 23:07:26 GMT
References: <688@corpane.UUCP> <5040009@hpfcdc.HP.COM> <33944@sgi.SGI.COM>
Sender: daemon@sgi.SGI.COM
Organization: Silicon Graphics, Inc., Mountain View, CA
Lines: 26

In article <33944@sgi.SGI.COM>, sfisher@abingdon.wpd.sgi.com (Scott Fisher) writes:
> In article <5040009@hpfcdc.HP.COM>, stroyan@hpfcdc.HP.COM (Mike Stroyan) writes:

> > 
> > It is possible to produce a similar computer generated effect.  There
> > was a real time "face puppet" demonstrated at the SIGGRAPH conference
> > film and video show last August.
> 
> That was very different.  "Mike" (the animated head) was a wireframe
> model that was animated in real time, with motion that closely
> simulated human facial movements.  At least one of the people involved
> with that was Michael Wahrman, now of DeGraf/Wahrman Inc.  
> 

Mike the Talking Head wasn't wireframe.  It was lit polygons manipulated in
realtime by a puppeteer (Tray Something (he was also head puppeteer for the
remake of 'The Blob')) on a Silicon Graphics 4D/80GT.  The face was built from
data obtained by scanning Mike Gribble's head with Cyberware Laboratory's
4020/PS Rapid 3D Digitizer.  (Mike Gribble was the filmshow announcer.)  I
think the 3D Digitizer was the same one they used to build those heads in Star
Trek IV.

Mike the Talking Head was created by DeGraf/Wahrman Inc. with a little help
from Tim Heidmann.

thant@sgi.com