Imagine living in a world where the sound of your voice can be transformed into a lifelike animation, with every subtle nuance of your facial expression and head pose captured with extraordinary accuracy. This isn't a concept from a futuristic sci-fi novel, but a reality brought to life by the groundbreaking work of Huawei Wei and his team of innovators. Welcome to the world of AniPortrait - where the fusion of audio and visuals takes digital expression to unprecedented heights.
AniPortrait does really good lip sync AND they released the code (unlike Emo)!
— Jer at EccentrismArt (@EccentrismArt) March 27, 2024
Maybe not as clean as Alibaba’s Emo but close. https://t.co/1inRtoKNDM pic.twitter.com/cn6EW7op88
AniPortrait represents a cutting-edge leap in the realm of animation technology. In an industry where innovation is the lifeblood, this revolutionary framework has set a new standard, pioneering in converting audio inputs into awe-inspiring animations with a level of realism and dynamism that is genuinely mind-boggling.
At the heart of AniPortrait's success is its revolutionary two-stage process that transforms audio into high-quality, realistic animations. But that's not all. The framework's superior performance in achieving facial naturalness, pose diversity, and high visual quality truly sets it apart, surpassing existing animation methods and creating an enhanced perceptual experience for viewers.
What truly gives AniPortrait its edge is its flexibility and controllability. This remarkable technology is more than just a tool for creating animations. It offers the potential for intricate facial motion editing and reproduction, opening up a whole new world of possibilities in the realm of digital expression.
Introducing Aniportrait: Audio-Driven Synthesis of Photorealistic Portrait Animation pic.twitter.com/2iZbGROloz
— Halim Alrasihi (@HalimAlrasihi) March 29, 2024
AniPortrait's unique framework is segmented into two core modules: the Audio2Lmk and the Lmk2Video. These modules work together in harmony, seamlessly transforming audio inputs into stunning visual animations. Let's delve into the technical intricacies of both modules and their interplay.
GitHub Link to AniPortrait:
Zejun-YangThe first stage of the AniPortrait process is all about transforming audio into a sequence of 2D facial keypoints. This is where the Audio2Lmk module comes into play.
Imagine a spoken word, a laugh, or even a sigh. The Audio2Lmk module takes these sounds and translates them into a sequence of facial keypoints that capture the intricate facial expressions and lip movements associated with each sound.
Once the Audio2Lmk module has worked its magic, the Lmk2Video part of the framework takes over. This module transforms the sequences of facial keypoints into realistic, temporally coherent animations. The result is akin to a beautiful symphony, where each note is perfectly in sync, creating a masterpiece that is greater than the sum of its individual parts.
Now, you might be wondering, what does 'temporally coherent' mean? In simple terms, it refers to the consistency of motion over time. In the world of animation, temporal coherence is vital. It ensures that the animation looks smooth and seamless, without any abrupt changes that could disrupt the viewing experience.
So, how does the Lmk2Video module achieve this? It leverages a powerful diffusion model and a unique motion module that aligns the motion with the keypoints sequence and maintains an appearance consistent with the reference image. But that's not all. The Lmk2Video module also ensures that the animation replicates the subtle details of the facial expressions and lip movements captured by the Audio2Lmk module.
It's worth noting that the incredible feat achieved by AniPortrait wouldn't have been possible without several key elements. First, the use of a pre-trained wav2vec model for audio feature extraction. Second, the adoption of transformer-based models for decoding the keypoints and poses. And finally, the application of diffusion models for generating high-quality video frames. Each of these elements plays a crucial role in the overall success of the AniPortrait framework.
The final outcome? Stunning animations that are as real as they can get. The visual quality is exemplary, the facial naturalness is astounding, and the pose diversity is unmatched. But don't just take our word for it. The results of several experiments showcase the impressive animation quality and realism achieved by AniPortrait, placing it firmly at the forefront of the animation industry.
Stay tuned to learn more about these exciting experiments and how AniPortrait is set to revolutionize the world of animation.
Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence, right? And AniPortrait has stood up to this test with flying colors, reinforcing its revolutionary status as a game-changer in the realm of animation.
腾讯也搞了一个让照片能唱歌说话的项目
— 小互 (@imxiaohu) March 27, 2024
比阿里EMO先开源
AniPortrait：根据音频和图像输入 生成会说话、唱歌的动态视频
它可以根据音频（比如说话声）和一张静态的人脸图片，自动生成逼真的人脸动画，并保持口型一致。
支持多种语言，同时支持进行面部重绘和头部姿势控制。
主要功能：… pic.twitter.com/5YU2aAYXAa
At the core of this validation process lies a comparative analysis, where AniPortrait's performance is stacked against existing animation systems like Audio2Pix and Deep Audio2Face. The criteria for the comparison? Facial naturalness, pose diversity, and high visual quality.
While these other systems have their strong suits, they fall short in terms of overall performance when compared to AniPortrait. Here's how:
Some tests I made with AniPortrait #AI pic.twitter.com/4QpT886oVv
— Alex (@alexfredo87) March 28, 2024
User studies deserve special mention. They affirmed AniPortrait's superiority by comparing the likeness and motion likeness of speech-driven photorealistic portrait videos generated by Aniportrait and other systems. Real human users preferred AniPortrait's animations for their refined quality, fluidity of movement, and temporal cohesiveness.
Let's just say the numbers speak for themselves, and they're saying, 'AniPortrait is revolutionizing the animation game.'
Looking at the revolutionary potential, one might wonder what the future holds for AniPortrait. Researchers are optimistic - and excited. They envision AniPortrait breaking new grounds, not just in animation but also in speech-related applications such as telecommunication, digital marketing, entertainment, and beyond.
Moreover, the team behind AniPortrait is actively working on refining and expanding the technology, eyeing even greater possibilities of facial motion editing and reproduction. They're challenging conventions in pursuit of creating unparalleled, immersive digital expressions.
AniPortrait - a framework that translates sound into dazzling animations - has truly revolutionized the world of animation by introducing unprecedented flexibility, control, and realism. Listening to a piece of audio will never be the same again; you'll see it as much as you'll hear it!
In a world where we're witnessing a visual revolution, this only scratches the surface of the potential that lies ahead, with AniPortrait leading the way. In the ever-evolving landscape of digital expression, watch this space for AniPortrait, a name that is changing the game and redefining the future. May the journey of audio to animation be as exciting as the animations themselves!
