How would you like to be able to collect images from the web, from magazines, from CDs and DVD collections, and then add your voice to them? 

Check out Crazy Talk Home Edition and CrazyTalk Web Edition from Real Illusion. 

These are very cool, affordable and easy to use programs that enables you to take almost any jpg or bmp digital image and animate it. You can make a dog talk, sing or tell jokes. You can use the digital images that come with the program or you can import your own. 

There are two versions, CrazyTalk for Home ($49.95) and CrazyTalk for Web ($79.95). The web version is designed for those who want to create talking and singing icons for web pages. However, you can use Crazy Talk for Home to do that - click here - but you get the Crazy Talk frame and advertisement.

You can download free seven day trial versions of these programs to try out to see if you want to buy them. These programs require Windows 98, 2000, NT, Me or XP.

CrazyTalk - FREE Trial Download

When you first install and open up the CrazyTalk program, you get a few choices. It is  a bit confusing. You could start right away to create and send talking icons, or you could take a few moments and go through the demo to learn how the program works. 

You can create and send Crazy Card or a CrazyTalk Messenger using the pre-built images and voice messages. 

However, its much more fun to create your own unique message. 

Start at the HOME page of the program.

The first step is to pick a photo and import it into the program.  The "Create a Talking Image" menu enables you to import jpg or bmp  images from anywhere on your hard drive, CDs, etc., or even work with your scanner to copy an image from a magazine or newspaper.

Once you have the photo you need to tell the program where the mouth is, where the eyes are, where the smile lines are - all the facial components that are important to make a face move "naturally" while singing and talking. 

The CrazyTalk Fitting Image makes this usually complex process quite simple. . By using the various icons,  you activate the pre-created face wireframe and align it with the digital image you have selected.

It can take some time to tweak it just right - but the program provides easy to use controls for adjusting the size of the wire frame, as well as for turning and angling it. Once you have it more or less in the right position over the face, you can fine adjust the individual points, as well as make adjustments to the eye color and inside of the mouth. 

Save the image and then go back to Home and enter the Create a Talking Message application to create  the voice message or song. You can use prepared sound file (wav format) or you can create your own using a microphone, your digital camcorder, or even by typing in the text.

If you opt to create your own message, a recording window pops open. With your mike or camcorder attached, hit record and start talking or singing. When you are done, save it

Now the fun really begins. Starting at the home page, you can opt to "Send a Crazy Card" or "Send a Crazy Card Messenger"   These applications will walk you through preparing your Crazy Talk message, combining the image and voice, along with background music and images. You could also go to the Crazy Talk file manager, and pick the image and sound there and combine them.

Once you have created and previewed your CrazyTalk movie, you can output it in a variety of ways. You can save it as an AVI video file, or by using the messenger application, you can save it as a standalone player application, a HTML application for web use, or even as an email attachment. Pretty cool

If you have some web conversion programs, you could simply convert the avi file to a streaming video file, and then post it on your web site. 

However, for just $30 more, you should download and use the more advanced Crazy Talk for Web version. This enables you to create and export your finished talking movies and icons in a variety of formats including avi, html, complete web pages as well as streaming video (both WMV and RM). When outputting as streaming video, you have the option of saving the file in a variety of compression formats ranging from 28.8 for dial-up all the way up to cable and dsl rates.

By the way, when you buy and register your CrazyTalk product, you get a free download of various extra pictures and voices. These include a nice assortment of animal, object, cartoon, and face images, as well as famous paintings, all pre-wireframed and ready for you to just add a voice to them message to them. You also get an assortment of pre-recorded messages. Lots of fun and good way to get started.

click here to see Britt in HTML  (you'll be prompted to  download and install the Free CrazyTalk player) 

If this sounds interesting, I'd recommend visiting the Crazy Talk web site and check out their gallery of talking icons to get an idea of what you can do.

CrazyTalk - FREE Trial Download