In this paper, input from an active camera is used for MPEG4 model based coding. First, the background is compensated considering a moving camera (tilt or pan). Second, the talking face is segmented from the compensated background using frame dierences fusion. A morphological ®lter is then applied to make the system less sensitive to noise. Third, Hough Transform and deformable template coupled with color information are exploited to detect the facial features, e.g., eyes, mouth. Fourth, a wireframe model is adapted to the extracted face. The feasibility of the proposed system is demonstrated using a real active video sequence.