Mumbai3 hours agoAuthor: Virendra Mishra/Abhinav Tripathi
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In the latest episode of Reel to Real, we talk about the growing impact, importance and misuse of AI in film making.
Can a dead actor appear on screen again? Generally the answer is – no, but it is possible in the era of AI i.e. Artificial Intelligence. A virtual model can be created with the help of AI by collecting visuals of the actor's old films, videos, photos and public appearances. Then it can be used in films.
In the absence of the actor, body doubles shoot his parts, with the help of AI this will not be required. With its help, a digital double will be developed in place of the body double, which will easily shoot dangerous action sequences.
In the latest episode of Reel to Real, we talk about the growing impact, importance and misuse of AI in film making. For this, Dainik Bhaskar discussed with director Sam Bhattacharjee, who runs a VFX company.
Will digital double replace body double?
You must be aware of the work of body double in filmy terms. Body double is the one who shoots the parts of the actors in their absence. According to Sam, the day is not far when things like digital double will be heard instead of body double. Digital Double is a technology developed through AI, which is being used in films. It has already started in Hollywood. In the coming times, this technology will also be used in Indian cinema.
Now understand, what is digital double?
The actor's face and body are first scanned with the help of AI. AI understands the actor's face and his expressions. Through a machine called photogeometry, the actor's body is scanned 360 degrees, then a virtual lookalike of the actor is created. It will look exactly like a human being, although it cannot be touched or felt.
Sam Bhattacharjee said that AI technology is used a lot in Hollywood films. This concept is most used in filming action sequences. This technique has been used extensively in the films Ex Machina, The Matrix and Robot and Frank.
This is a scene from the movie Ex Machina.
Actors do not need makeup to look young or old.
This is such a technology that can make a person look like a 100 year old man or a 10 year old child. Sam told that earlier it was done manually, meaning make-up was used to make the actor look younger. Now with the advent of AI, there is no need to do makeup etc.
The director will sit on his chair, AI will do all the work
Sam said- The companies managing AI claim that a time will come when the director will simply sit on a chair. All the work from camera work to scripting will be done through AI. There will be no need for actors either, because it will already have been created virtually.
Take the example of Chat GPT. You can write whatever you want through Chat GPT. However, it is not that humans will not be required in this. People will be required to manage AI also. Manpower will also be required to check the quality of the technology that AI is developing and giving us. Sam says that with the advent of AI, the work of VFX will be reduced.
Will be able to see old actors back on screen
According to Sam, old actors who are unable to walk or who are no longer in this world can also be shown in the film with the help of AI and machine learning. Sam said- Suppose there is an actor named X, he is 90 years old and he no longer works in films. Once upon a time, X was a big superstar.
Some filmmaker wants to show X in his film for some time. In such a situation, his old photographs and videos will be scrutinized. Through those videos, AI will capture his facial expressions and tone of conversation and will create exactly the same character. It will look real and will be used in the film.
Here, pictures of Gandhiji and Swami Vivekananda have been used just to explain. With the help of AI, these two years old photos have been made moving.
Sam said that this has been happening in Hollywood for many years, but some actors have now started raising objections to it. He says that his voice or face cannot be used without permission.
Preparation to cast the late actor in the film
Sam told that he is going to work on a project in the coming time. In that project he will cast an actor who is no more in this world. Sam did not reveal the name of that actor, but said that he would first take permission from the family of the late artist. After getting the legal license, we will use the voice and face of that actor.
Sam said that his role in the film will be of 5 to 6 minutes. This is possible only and only because of AI technology. The advantage of this is that the family members of that actor will also get some money from this. Sam said that anyone's face and voice should not be used without permission. This is a crime in itself.
Sam said that in Hollywood, old actors and singers get royalty, but this is not the case in the Indian film industry. For example, if the film Titanic, released in 1997, does any business today i.e. in 2024, then all the artists working in it will get some part of the earnings as royalty.
The story of the film Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan is also based on AI.
The story of Akshay Kumar-Tiger Shroff starrer film Bade Miyan Chhote Miyan released today is also based on AI. Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran, who played the villain in the film, creates a robot with the help of AI. These robots are clones of army officers i.e. their look-alikes. With its help, Prithviraj Sukumaran's character wants to attack India through his own people. The storyline of the film tells how dangerous misuse of AI can be.
The film has been released in theaters today itself.
Hollywood artists took to the streets against AI
Sam told that there is a huge use of AI technology in film making. However, it also has some disadvantages, which we are seeing every day. He cited the example of the Hollywood writers' strike that took place in Los Angeles last year. In fact, last year (2023) 1.71 lakh writers and actors protested outside the Netflix office in Los Angeles.
He said that with the help of Artificial Intelligence, work like new ideas, story lines, dialogues and script writing is being done in Hollywood. Because of this, writers are not getting work and are also being dismissed.
Many big personalities of Hollywood had given their support to this protest. It included big actors like George Clooney, Mark Ruffalo, Jennifer Lawrence, Charlize Theron, Olivia Wilde.
The Screen Actors Guild (SAG) demanded that faces and voices generated through artificial intelligence should not be used as replacements for actors.
Deepfake videos are also a matter of concern
Another disadvantage of AI is what we are seeing in the form of deepfake videos. Celebrities' faces are being lifted and pasted on someone else's body. Recently, one such deepfake video of Rashmika Mandanna went viral.
Actually, that video body was of British-origin model Zara Patel, but due to misuse of AI, Rashmika Mandanna's face was superimposed on her body. This was quite objectionable to look at. Many big actors including Amitabh Bachchan had also opposed it.
Zara Patel (left) herself had confirmed that the woman seen in the video is not Rashmika.
India's first film to be made on AI technology
Sam Bhattacharjee has made a film, whose title is – IRAH. This is India's first film, which has been made only with the help of AI technology. The subject of the film is also related to AI. Sam also gave us a tour of his office Pickle VFX, where VFX work for many films was being done.
Graphics- Vipul Sharma
