Syncro-Vox
Encyclopedia
Syncro-Vox is a filming method which combines static images with moving images, the most common use of which is to superimpose talking lips on a photograph of a celebrity or a cartoon drawing. It is one of the most extreme examples of the cost-cutting strategy of limited animation
. The method was developed by cameraman Edwin "Ted" Gillette
in the 1950s in order to simulate talking animals in television commercials. Gillette filed the technique on February 4, 1952, and obtained patent #2,739,505 on March 27, 1956.
Because animating a mouth in synchronization with sound was difficult, Syncro-Vox was soon used as a cheap animation technique, most famously in the cartoons produced by Cambria Studios
: Clutch Cargo
, Space Angel
, and Captain Fathom
, in which actors' lips voicing the scripted dialogue were laid over the animated figures.
Although Syncro-Vox has long since fallen into disuse as a serious animation method, it survives in comedic form on late-night talk shows, such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien
. A spoof of Cambria Studios' Syncro-Vox cartoons called Mr. Incredible and Pals
was also included as a special feature on the 2005 DVD release of The Incredibles
(2004). The technique was also used in the Barenaked Ladies
music video
"Thanks, That Was Fun", which combined clips from previous videos with new mouth movements. The talking pirate painting that asks "Are you ready, kids?" in the introduction to SpongeBob SquarePants
cartoons imitates the Syncro-Vox technique with modern animation technology. Other uses of Syncro-Vox were in a pair of episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog
which featured a talking tree and a talking "spirit of the harvest moon
". Syncro-Vox was again used in the December 20, 2010 episode of WWE Monday Night RAW. during a promo in which The Miz spoofed Charles Dickens
' A Christmas Carol
. It was also used in the Looney Tunes
short "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
" when a Daffy Duck
doppelgänger
tells Bugs Bunny
he accepted duck season.
Limited animation
Limited animation is a process of making animated cartoons that does not redraw entire frames but variably reuses common parts between frames. One of its major trademarks is the stylized design in all forms and shapes, which in the early days was referred to as modern design...
. The method was developed by cameraman Edwin "Ted" Gillette
Edwin Gillette
Edwin "Ted" Gillette was a cameraman and inventor notable for the development of the Syncro-Vox technique of limited animation, which was used in the series Clutch Cargo.-Early life:...
in the 1950s in order to simulate talking animals in television commercials. Gillette filed the technique on February 4, 1952, and obtained patent #2,739,505 on March 27, 1956.
Because animating a mouth in synchronization with sound was difficult, Syncro-Vox was soon used as a cheap animation technique, most famously in the cartoons produced by Cambria Studios
Cambria Productions
Cambria Productions was the West Hollywood, California animation production studio most famous for its wide usage of the Syncro-Vox technique of animation developed by Edwin Gillette, who was a co-partner in the studio.Owned by Clark S. Haas, Jr...
: Clutch Cargo
Clutch Cargo
Clutch Cargo is an animated television series produced by Cambria Productions and syndicated beginning on March 9, 1959. Notable for its very limited animation, yet imaginative stories, the series was a surprise hit at the time, and could be seen on 65 stations nationwide in 1960.- Plot :The...
, Space Angel
Space Angel
Space Angel was an animated science fiction television series produced in the United States from early 1962 through 1964. It used the same Synchro-Vox lip technique as Clutch Cargo, the first cartoon produced by the same studio, Cambria Productions....
, and Captain Fathom
Captain Fathom
Captain Fathom was an animated television series produced in 1965 by Cambria Studios. Like Cambria's other productions, Clutch Cargo and Space Angel, it was produced in Synchro-Vox. 18 30-minute episodes, all in color, were filmed. The episodes could be broken down into 5 6-minute segments in...
, in which actors' lips voicing the scripted dialogue were laid over the animated figures.
Although Syncro-Vox has long since fallen into disuse as a serious animation method, it survives in comedic form on late-night talk shows, such as Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Late Night with Conan O'Brien is an American late-night talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien that aired 2,725 episodes on NBC between 1993 and 2009. The show featured varied comedic material, celebrity interviews, and musical and comedy performances. Late Night aired weeknights at 12:37 am...
. A spoof of Cambria Studios' Syncro-Vox cartoons called Mr. Incredible and Pals
Mr. Incredible and Pals
Mr. Incredible and Pals is an animated short film produced by Pixar, and included as a bonus on the DVD edition of its 2004 feature film The Incredibles....
was also included as a special feature on the 2005 DVD release of The Incredibles
The Incredibles
The Incredibles is a 2004 American computer-animated action-comedy superhero film about a family of superheroes who are forced to hide their powers. It was written and directed by Brad Bird, a former director and executive consultant of The Simpsons, and was produced by Pixar and distributed by...
(2004). The technique was also used in the Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies
Barenaked Ladies is a Canadian alternative rock band. The band is currently composed of Jim Creeggan, Kevin Hearn, Ed Robertson, and Tyler Stewart. Barenaked Ladies formed in 1988 in Scarborough, Ontario, then a suburban municipality outside the City of Toronto...
music video
Music video
A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings...
"Thanks, That Was Fun", which combined clips from previous videos with new mouth movements. The talking pirate painting that asks "Are you ready, kids?" in the introduction to SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants
SpongeBob SquarePants is an American animated television series, created by marine biologist and animator Stephen Hillenburg. Much of the series centers on the exploits and adventures of the title character and his various friends in the underwater city of "Bikini Bottom"...
cartoons imitates the Syncro-Vox technique with modern animation technology. Other uses of Syncro-Vox were in a pair of episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog
Courage the Cowardly Dog
Courage the Cowardly Dog is an American animated television series created by John R. Dilworth for Cartoon Network. Its central plot revolves around a somewhat anthropomorphic dog named Courage who lives with his owners, Muriel and Eustace Bagge, an elderly, married farming couple in the "Middle of...
which featured a talking tree and a talking "spirit of the harvest moon
Harvest moon
The Full Harvest Moon is the full moon that occurs closest to the autumnal equinox.-Appearance:All full moons rise around the time of sunset. In general the moon rises about 3 minutes later each day...
". Syncro-Vox was again used in the December 20, 2010 episode of WWE Monday Night RAW. during a promo in which The Miz spoofed Charles Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
' A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol is a novella by English author Charles Dickens first published by Chapman & Hall on 17 December 1843. The story tells of sour and stingy Ebenezer Scrooge's ideological, ethical, and emotional transformation after the supernatural visits of Jacob Marley and the Ghosts of...
. It was also used in the Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes
Looney Tunes is a Warner Bros. animated cartoon series. It preceded the Merrie Melodies series and was Warner Bros.'s first animated theatrical series. Since its first official release, 1930's Sinkin' in the Bathtub, the series has become a worldwide media franchise, spawning several television...
short "Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers
Invasion of the Bunny Snatchers is a Bugs Bunny short cartoon directed by Greg Ford and Terry Lennon and released in 1992. The cartoon was intended for a release in theaters, but was left out of production and was instead later seen on TV on Nickelodeon, and later, Cartoon Network.-Plot:In a parody...
" when a Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck
Daffy Duck is an animated cartoon character in the Warner Bros. Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series of cartoons, often running the gamut between being the best friend and sometimes arch-rival of Bugs Bunny...
doppelgänger
Doppelgänger
In fiction and folklore, a doppelgänger is a paranormal double of a living person, typically representing evil or misfortune...
tells Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny
Bugs Bunny is a animated character created in 1938 at Leon Schlesinger Productions, later Warner Bros. Cartoons. Bugs is an anthropomorphic gray rabbit and is famous for his flippant, insouciant personality and his portrayal as a trickster. He has primarily appeared in animated cartoons, most...
he accepted duck season.
See also
- ChuckimationChuckimationChuckimation is a type of animation created by the makers of the cartoon Action League Now! in which characters/props are thrown, or chucked from off camera or wiggled around to simulate talking by unseen hands, combined with traditional stop motion animation....
, another notoriously low-budget animation shortcut - Motion captureMotion captureMotion capture, motion tracking, or mocap are terms used to describe the process of recording movement and translating that movement on to a digital model. It is used in military, entertainment, sports, and medical applications, and for validation of computer vision and robotics...