Film makers behind Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga used AI to make a child actor look like lead actress Anya Taylor-Joy and match their faces.
Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga is the fifth entry in George Miller's post-apocalyptic series. Mad Max. The film tells the origin story of Imperator Furiosa, played by Charlize Theron in the 2015 film. Mad Max: Fury Road.
I Furiosa: A Mad Max Sagachild actor Ella Brown plays a younger version of the titular character, while Anya Taylor-Joy portrays an older Furiosa after the time jump in the film.
'They put our faces together'
But in a recent interview The Kelly Clarkson ShowTaylor-Joy revealed that Miller used AI technology to create a seamless transition between the two actresses playing Furiosa.
Taylor-Joy says the director used AI to match Taylor-Joy's face to Brown's in the film, which opened in the US on Friday.
“George Miller had the idea very early,” says Taylor-Joy.
Audiences were already getting used to a new Furiosa. [after Theron in Mad Max: Fury Road]. He wanted a change from both actors. [Browne and Taylor-Joy] Playing it to be smooth.
“And so I spent two days doing the strangest things you could possibly imagine. And they put our faces together.
In the beginning, says Taylor Joy Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, that's about 35% of its appearance on Brown. Then to the point where Taylor Joy is going to play Furiosa, about 80 percent of her face is on the child actor.
“We actually don't look that much alike. It's the AI, which is really crazy,” Taylor-Joy added.
According to Variety, there are no details yet on how Miller achieved that seamless transition between the two actors. However, the publication reports that DNEG and Framestore are the primary visual effects providers for the film.
Meanwhile, startup Metaphysics AI – which is developing AI tools for uses like actor aging and de-aging – is listed in the film's end credits and is, presumably, the technology that was involved in the making. . Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga.
'It's something that's scary'
The use of AI in filmmaking is controversial. In March, the horror film Late Night with the Devil Criticized for using AI-generated images.
The use of AI in film and television was also a major issue among studios and artists during the Writers Guild of America (WGA) and Screen Actors Guild (SGA) strikes last year.
The new WGA contract that emerged as a result of the strikes includes wording that “AI-generated content may not be used to undermine the credit or separate rights of an author,” while the SAG deal's terms of consent and compensation Guidelines need to be used. AI to mimic actors' likenesses.
In his interview with The Kelly Clarkson ShowTaylor-Joy acknowledges the complex ethical issues and concerns surrounding AI technology in Hollywood.
“It's something that's scary, and I think if you're going to use it, you have to be honest about it and always agree,” says Taylor Joy.
“It is the lack of consent in anything in life that is a terrible thing.”