Hello Hollywood AI Reader!

It’s been an exciting week in the world of AI technology, so let’s jump right into it. Here’s what’s on tap:

• 🎥 Flawless AI and its impact on Hollywood

• 🍿 Cuebric brings generative AI to virtual productions

• ✍🏼 ‘Mrs. Davis’ writers used AI in the writer’s room

Flawless AI And Its Impact On Hollywood

Artificial intelligence has been making waves in the film industry for several years now, and its impact is only going to grow as the technology continues to advance. One area where AI has particular promising implications is in the areas of dubbing and subtitling.

Dubbing is the process of replacing the original audio of a film or television show with a new audio track in a different language, a crucial step in bringing films to international audiences. However, for unexpected circumstances where an actor is required to re-record dialogue, the process can become time-consuming and expensive. One company has developed a promising AI tool that offers high-quality dubbing in a fraction of the time and without any unnecessary expenses.

Flawless AI was founded by director and producer Scott Mann after he watched a particularly awful dubbed version of his 2019 movie Heist. Mann began researching ways to dub a film without jeopardizing its message. He ended up hiring some of the best CGI artists and created a software called TrueSync. This software is able to analyze the original audio track of a film and generate a new one with natural-sounding dialogue in the target language. It also tracks facial movements in order to seamlessly create the appearance of an actor speaking a foreign language. Mann was able to use this software in his 2022 film Fall, where he replaced thirty plus profanities, altering the films rating from R to PG-13.

TrueSync is able to alter filmed dialog by harnessing the power of generative AI. The company believes their technology opens up a new world of possibilities, from efficient, cost-saving re-shoots to immersive visual translations, for any language. It appears that that TrueSync is currently only available as a bespoke service.

The company has the potential to transform the film industry by bringing films to wider international audiences. As Flawless AI continues to advance their technology, it’ll be interesting to see how studios incorporate the technology and what new possibilities it could unlock for the industry.

Creative AI production company Seyhan Lee recently launched Cuebric (yes, named after Stanley), an all-in-one tool that allows filmmakers to produce and edit AI-generated images for film and TV volumes (video walls). With Cuebric, filmmakers can generate, segment, edit, inpaint and scale any landscape they want on set. The tool generates images from the Stable Diffusion model, using the standard prompt interface. You feed Cuebric a prompt the same way you would Chat GPT. The output, however, is a fully prepared 2.5-dimensional background.

In the pre-virtual days of production, if a director wanted to film characters in a far-fetched environment, they had to shoot in front of a green screen. The VFX team would then integrate the background environment once filming wrapped. In 2016, Industrial Light & Magic changed the game by pioneering the use of virtual backdrops—high definition LED video walls. Initially used in the filming of Rogue One, the same volumes have been used throughout the production of the Disney+ series The Mandelorian. Dune, Loki, and Black Adam are among some of the recent Hollywood releases to also use virtual productions.

With virtual productions, actors get the benefit of performing in the environment that will wind up on screen. Definitely an advantage over green screens, which force the actors to imagine the setting they’re in. It typically takes months for a team of CGI artists to create three dimensional, Hollywood caliber backdrops. With Cuebric, you get “two and a half dimensions,” but at the snap of your fingers.

A 2.5-D image is essentially a two-dimensional image with parallax effect. It offers less control over background movements than 3-D volumes. The benefit of Cuebric, however, is that these stunning 2.5-D images can be built on set in real time. It’s a quick, cost-effective alternative that integrates well with 3-D backdrops. The tool also offers additional capabilities after the image is created. It includes:

• AI Inpainting—automated fill-ins of gaps in segmented images

• Editing—allows users to removes artifacts and fill in gaps

• AI Upscaling—supports a resolution up to 16K

• Exporting—sends the final image to a media server or exports to Unreal Engine

Cuebric launched in partnership with XR Studios, a digital production company specializing in immersive technology for entertainment. Only a small number of creatives and production studios currently have the ability to use Cuebric. Since the tool uses a prompt-based input, Seyhan Lee has also trained operators to be prompt experts. Prompting services are offered by Seyhan Lee along with the tool. If you’re interested in testing the tool, reach out to the company directly via their website.

Mrs. Davis Writers Used AI In The Writer’s Room

At SXSW, artificial intelligence is a hot topic. Chat GPT is at the center of many discussions and execs like Buzzfeed’s Jonah Peretti have been unveiling their company’s planned integrations for the tech. So it’s only fitting that the festival debut Mrs. Davis, the new Peacock series about a Catholic nun (Betty Gilpin) who is devoted to taking down the world’s most powerful AI, “Mrs. Davis.”

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, the series creators, Tara Hernandez and Damon Lindelof, discussed AI’s potential application for Hollywood writers. The Mrs. Davis writers admitted to incorporating AI into their creative process by building an AI to title their episodes. “This is why episode seven is Great Gatsby: 2001: A Space Odyssey. It really latched onto the idea that a colon makes a title.”

The writers went on to explain that while the show is a comedy, it does attempt to tackle bigger moral and ethical dilemmas surrounding AI.

Mrs. Davis premieres April 20 on Peacock. Check out the trailer below!

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