The AI-powered visual effects studio built neural network models to portray actors Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Paul Bettany and Kelly Riley through time at different ages.
Miramax’s recently released feature, , directed by Robert Zemeckis and based on the graphic novel by Richard McGuire, portrays multiple families over time, in the special place they inhabit.To help convey the characters at various ages throughout their lives, VFX Supervisor Kevin Baillie enlisted creative studio Metaphysic to digitally augment performances via its proprietary generative AI technology.
The process involved a talented team of digital characters artists led by Metaphysic’s VFX Supervisor, Jo Plaete.“Working with forward-thinking filmmakers like Bob Zemeckis and Kevin Baillie was a privilege,” said Plaete.“Their faith in this novel technology pushed us to new heights and allowed us to deliver on their ambitious vision.” Metaphysic’s proprietary process involves training a neural network model on a reference input with artist refinement of the results until the model is ready for production.
Multiple models were trained for each actor to meet the diverse needs of the film; Tom Hanks is portrayed at five different ages, Robin Wright at four ages, and Paul Bettany and Kelly Riley at two ages each.Plaete and his team were able to run the workflow in real-time during the filming, providing a visual reference of what the performers would look like.This allowed Zemeckis to view both the raw camera feed and the digitally augmented feed with the actors’ younger faces while on-set, with only about a six-frame delay, and provide direction accordingly. Metaphysic also set up a camera and monitor system during the shoot that allowed the actors to rehearse while seeing themselves as their younger selves in real-time.
The “youth mirror” system only had a two-frame delay and provided the actors with feedback that helped them fine-tune their performances to better match their younger selves.While the neural network models used for the real-time outputs generated photoreal results, Metaphysic artists then further enhanced them to hold up to cinematic 4K standards.
Journalist, antique shop owner, aspiring gemologist—L'Wren brings a diverse perspective to animation, where every frame reflects her varied passions.
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