Advancements in Talking Head Generation: A Comprehensive Review of Techniques, Metrics, and Challenges

Advancements in Talking Head Generation: A Comprehensive Review of Techniques, Metrics, and Challenges | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Systematic Review Advancements in Talking Head Generation: A Comprehensive Review of Techniques, Metrics, and Challenges Vineet Kumar Rakesh, Soumya Mazumdar, Research Pratim Maity, Sarbajit Pal, and 2 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6917039/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 04 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in The Visual Computer → Version 1 posted 9 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Talking Head Generation (THG) has emerged as a transformative technology in computer vision, synthesizing realistic human faces synchronized with audio, image, text, or video inputs. This paper systematically reviews THG methodologies and frameworks, categorizing approaches into 2D-based, 3D-based, Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF)-based, diffusion-based, parameter-driven, and other techniques. We explore the most effective approaches in THG, emphasizing training techniques that improve realism, identity preservation, and motion accuracy. THG has vast potential applications, including creating digital avatars, dubbing videos, enhancing virtual assistants, and improving video calls. However, challenges include needing large models, handling extreme head movements, maintaining language synchronicity, and ensuring smooth visuals persist. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current progress, identifies ongoing challenges, and suggests future research directions, including developing simpler and more adaptable models, enabling real-time processing on smaller devices, and creating ethical guidelines. By summarizing existing research and highlighting ongoing challenges, this overview offers valuable insights for anyone interested in the future of talking head technology. For the complete survey, code, and curated resource list, visit our GitHub repository: https://github.com/VineetKumarRakesh/thg . Talking Head Generation Deep Learning Systematic Review Evaluation Metric Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 04 Dec, 2025 Read the published version in The Visual Computer → Version 1 posted Editorial decision: Revision requested 26 Aug, 2025 Reviews received at journal 18 Aug, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 13 Jul, 2025 Reviews received at journal 11 Jul, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Jul, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 10 Jul, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 18 Jun, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 18 Jun, 2025 First submitted to journal 17 Jun, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6917039","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Systematic Review","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":506044211,"identity":"e71462bb-732a-4f8e-97e0-ff4e6359ed29","order_by":0,"name":"Vineet Kumar Rakesh","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAAAyUlEQVRIiWNgGAWjYDACZjBpgxBgI05LQhopWsAg4TDxzmIwOM578MHHH+cT+9kPP2D8UnGYgU+6gYCWw3zJhjMSbifO7EkzYJY5c5iBTeYAfi2SzTxm0jwJt40NbvAwMEu2pTGwSSQQ1GL++0/COWN7orXwM/OYMTMkHJAzkOBhYPzYZkOUFmPJnrRkOYkzaQaHGc7Y8BDUwsZ/xvDDDxs7Hv72ww8f/qiQkJOfQUALCjjMw8DAQ4J6IGD8QZr6UTAKRsEoGCEAAG+iNfzfe3syAAAAAElFTkSuQmCC","orcid":"","institution":"Homi Bhabha National Institute","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Vineet","middleName":"Kumar","lastName":"Rakesh","suffix":""},{"id":506044212,"identity":"5cbf1408-6612-4752-8436-ac97133a7e6e","order_by":1,"name":"Soumya Mazumdar","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Gargi Memorial Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Soumya","middleName":"","lastName":"Mazumdar","suffix":""},{"id":506044213,"identity":"4675818a-659d-4462-8131-6197c935488c","order_by":2,"name":"Research Pratim Maity","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Gargi Memorial Institute of Technology","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Research","middleName":"Pratim","lastName":"Maity","suffix":""},{"id":506044215,"identity":"bfa65f4b-618a-4d1f-88a2-fc685d1ce90c","order_by":3,"name":"Sarbajit Pal","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Homi Bhabha National Institute","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Sarbajit","middleName":"","lastName":"Pal","suffix":""},{"id":506044219,"identity":"41dd03d0-f444-4928-be62-863e79c5a0ee","order_by":4,"name":"Amitabha Das","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Jadavpur University","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Amitabha","middleName":"","lastName":"Das","suffix":""},{"id":506044222,"identity":"bfa6e9ac-c4b5-42f3-9be9-924ad569b54e","order_by":5,"name":"Tapas Samanta","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Variable Energy Cyclotron Centre","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tapas","middleName":"","lastName":"Samanta","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-17 19:23:06","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6917039/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6917039/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-025-04232-w","type":"published","date":"2025-12-04T15:58:16+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":97723957,"identity":"f2f8608a-eb4e-4f0f-8d7b-c290e7a91b49","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-12-08 16:10:10","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":1125669,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"snarticle.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6917039/v1_covered_7f9b6d5b-a3db-4171-90c9-ab69fb62752f.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Advancements in Talking Head Generation: A Comprehensive Review of Techniques, Metrics, and Challenges","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":false,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"the-visual-computer","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"tvcj","sideBox":"Learn more about [The Visual Computer](http://link.springer.com/journal/371)","snPcode":"371","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/371/3","title":"The Visual Computer","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false},"keywords":"Talking Head Generation, Deep Learning, Systematic Review, Evaluation Metric","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6917039/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6917039/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"Talking Head Generation (THG) has emerged as a transformative technology in computer vision, synthesizing realistic human faces synchronized with audio, image, text, or video inputs. This paper systematically reviews THG methodologies and frameworks, categorizing approaches into 2D-based, 3D-based, Neural Radiance Fields (NeRF)-based, diffusion-based, parameter-driven, and other techniques. We explore the most effective approaches in THG, emphasizing training techniques that improve realism, identity preservation, and motion accuracy. THG has vast potential applications, including creating digital avatars, dubbing videos, enhancing virtual assistants, and improving video calls. However, challenges include needing large models, handling extreme head movements, maintaining language synchronicity, and ensuring smooth visuals persist. This review provides a comprehensive overview of current progress, identifies ongoing challenges, and suggests future research directions, including developing simpler and more adaptable models, enabling real-time processing on smaller devices, and creating ethical guidelines. By summarizing existing research and highlighting ongoing challenges, this overview offers valuable insights for anyone interested in the future of talking head technology. For the complete survey, code, and curated resource list, visit our GitHub repository: https://github.com/VineetKumarRakesh/thg.","manuscriptTitle":"Advancements in Talking Head Generation: A Comprehensive Review of Techniques, Metrics, and Challenges","msid":"","msnumber":"","nonDraftVersions":[{"code":1,"date":"2025-09-04 07:35:45","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6917039/v1","editorialEvents":[{"type":"communityComments","content":0},{"type":"decision","content":"Revision requested","date":"2025-08-26T21:39:40+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-08-18T18:17:55+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"140709603024751117239506340870653065019","date":"2025-07-13T07:05:42+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorInvitedReview","content":"","date":"2025-07-11T04:31:59+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewerAgreed","content":"253668095624805136359241068622522576221","date":"2025-07-10T05:06:16+00:00","index":"hide","fulltext":""},{"type":"reviewersInvited","content":"","date":"2025-07-10T05:03:01+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"editorAssigned","content":"","date":"2025-06-19T03:13:11+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"checksComplete","content":"","date":"2025-06-18T05:51:34+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""},{"type":"submitted","content":"The Visual Computer","date":"2025-06-17T19:08:42+00:00","index":"","fulltext":""}],"status":"published","journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"the-visual-computer","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":false,"externalIdentity":"tvcj","sideBox":"Learn more about [The Visual Computer](http://link.springer.com/journal/371)","snPcode":"371","submissionUrl":"https://submission.nature.com/new-submission/371/3","title":"The Visual Computer","twitterHandle":"","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":true,"editorialSystem":"stoa","reportingPortfolio":"Springer Hybrid","inReviewEnabled":true,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":false}}],"origin":"","ownerIdentity":"5f443730-f119-4409-905c-050fcb2c1d10","owner":[],"postedDate":"September 4th, 2025","published":true,"recentEditorialEvents":[],"rejectedJournal":[],"revision":"","amendment":"","status":"published-in-journal","subjectAreas":[],"tags":[],"updatedAt":"2025-12-08T16:03:48+00:00","versionOfRecord":{"articleIdentity":"rs-6917039","link":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-025-04232-w","journal":{"identity":"the-visual-computer","isVorOnly":false,"title":"The Visual Computer"},"publishedOn":"2025-12-04 15:58:16","publishedOnDateReadable":"December 4th, 2025"},"versionCreatedAt":"2025-09-04 07:35:45","video":"","vorDoi":"10.1007/s00371-025-04232-w","vorDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s00371-025-04232-w","workflowStages":[]},"version":"v1","identity":"rs-6917039","journalConfig":"researchsquare"},"__N_SSP":true},"page":"/article/[identity]/[[...version]]","query":{"redirect":"/article/rs-6917039","identity":"rs-6917039","version":["v1"]},"buildId":"8U1c8b4HqxoKbykW_rLl7","isFallback":false,"isExperimentalCompile":false,"dynamicIds":[84888],"gssp":true,"scriptLoader":[]}