This previous year we had the opportunity to work on some de-age work for feature film “Lifemark” an incredible true story that takes place over 20 years. The producers talked with our Visual Effects Supervisor here, Connor Thomas, on the best ways to accomplish this feat within the compositing world. Traditionally, deage work requires a photo scan of the talent’s face, 3D modeling it to appear the age required, match-move motion capture of an actor on set, and compositing the 3D model face back on top of the footage to realize the creative vision of the character’s younger face. This process could take many months and even over a year of work (and often does on Hollywood blockbuster films that do this).
The art of filmmaking has evolved significantly over the past few decades, and with the help of technology, it continues to advance even further. One of the most exciting and innovative developments in the industry is the use of AI to de-age actors in movie shots.
With the help of AI and advanced compositing techniques, filmmakers can now de-age actors and create a seamless visual experience for the audience. One such technique involves creating a virtual 3D model of the actor and using it to create a copy of the original footage. The copy can then be manipulated to de-age the actor, and the final result can be blended with the original footage using advanced compositing techniques.
We knew that the task was to take roughly 20 minutes of footage and take the actors (who were already wrapped from the film) and make them look 20 years younger. We took the footage and analyzed using advanced AI algorithms that identify the various features of the actor’s face, such as wrinkles, skin texture, and facial expressions. Our AI creates a virtual 3D model of the actor’s face that is identical to the original footage. This virtual model can be manipulated to de-age the actor by smoothing out wrinkles, adding a youthful glow to the skin, and adjusting other facial features. Once the virtual model is complete, the original footage is matched to the virtual model in our compositing software. The result is a de-aged version of the actor’s performance that can be seamlessly blended with the original footage.
Once we trained the AI on the keyframes from a shot we were able to plug that AI model directly overtop our original shot. The AI would then process the additional frames that we didn’t train the model on the same way it would process the frames that we trained it on. This saved us the work of doing all 1000+ frames in a sequence and only focusing on 4 or 5 keyframes that would define the AI model and teach it how to treat different wrinkles and age spots.
We even were able to use the AI model to change hair color, hairlines, wrinkles, and much more beauty work while maintaining and preserving the performances of the original actors. Being a DI finishing facility, it was also really important to us that the quality of the image was not damaged during this process. We wanted to ensure that the VFX could be used in a proper HDR workflow and maintain the linear raw quality that came into the pipeline. This workflow ended up being a tremendous success and we were able to complete the film in just 7 weeks of work.
The use of AI and Nuke Compositing techniques has made it possible to de-age actors in a way that was once thought impossible. Filmmakers can now create visually stunning movies that are both timeless and cutting-edge.
Using this method for beauty workflow has opened the door in other areas of work where we were able to use the same tools. In another film we did this holiday season, we were able to take stock footage of two kids riding a bike and match the clothing color in the stock footage to match the wardrobe of the children on A Camera material. The possibilities of using this technology are endless and have made it much easier for filmmakers to tell their stories easier and to bring their creative vision to life.
Talk with us about what your project needs. Our helpful staff would love to chat with you and see how we can serve you.
