Lip Synching

Lip synchronisation is a technical term for matching a speaking or singing person's lip movements with speech or a prerecorded song. Lip-synching is used in the following media productions:

• Music videos to retain the original track
• Film productions, specifically in dubbing foreign-language films and making animated characters appear to speak
• Video games to make characters appear to speak and create an immersive environment
• Live performances by singers

Through researching existing music videos, it is evident that the overall quality of the music video is higher when the lip-synching is more accurate. Therefore, we will ensure the 'artist' of our music video lip syncs as accurately as possible. This can be done by the artist learning the lyrics to our chosen song and practise matching their lip movements to the song. Below is a diagram which shows how your mouth should look when pronouncing certain letters. Vowels require a larger change in lip movements and facial expression as they have a stronger pronunciation. These specific lip movements will be taught to our actress before the production of the music video to ensure the lip-synching will result accurately.

Music Videos

Lip-synching is used in music videos to retain the original track as the raw sound from the video recording will be lower quality. The music videos are often made with the song of the music video playing on set for the singer to physically sing along, however, this raw sound isn't used in the final production. It is during post-production when the original track is added as the audio of the music video.

Live Performances

Lip-synching is also used during live performances by singers. A common occasion for this is during complex performances when the lung capacity is needed for physical activity. You would require highly trained lungs to do both at the same time otherwise. Michael Jackson is an example of this; he performed complex dance routine whilst lip-synching during a live performance. Another reason is that some artists may have stage fright or perceptions of inadequacy. With only one chance to sing each song correctly unlike studio recordings, an artist may fear of singing inaccurately or insufficiently.

There is a controversy caused by singers lip-synching by fans attending concert performances who expect to see a live performance. However, the majority of artists want to deliver the best performance they can and opt to lip-synching for the reasons mentioned above.