PuppetTime has released a beta of PuppetTime Producer, a prosumer level animation tool for Mac and Windows, according to “Senior Puppeteer” Steve Cooley.
PuppetTime Producer lets you import sounds for music and effects, record your own voiceovers, import images as backdrops, plug-in characters and props, print storyboards, and render to video. And it offers built-in phonemes-to-visemes for lipsyncing. You can choose your characters, type your dialog, record your voice, and select your actions to make your own 3D animation.
Targeted to educators, advertisers, and storytellers, PuppetTime Producer gives users a chance to learn basic television-style storytelling and film making techniques. The folks at PuppetTime say you can use it to re-visualize scenes during pre-production to cut costs and communicate needs or enhance your PowerPoint presentations with corporate mascots.
To use PuppetTime Producer with Mac, you’ll need QuickTime 4, a microphone, speakers, an audio card, and a screen resolution set to 1024 x 768 or higher. It’s available for download immediately (a 6.7 MB file) at the company Web site.