Special effects

As SAG-AFTRA enters its third week on strike alongside the WGA (which has been on strike since May 2), some performers are doing everything they can to make the Association of Motion Picture and Television Producers pay attention. One such actor, Mike Massa—who is also a prolific stunt double and stunt coordinator—literally set himself on fire in order to make a statement. Massa most recently performed in Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny as one of Harrison Ford’s stunt doubles.Samsung Galaxy Fold 5: Hands-on first…

Powerful software and talented visual effects artists are usually needed to convincingly pull off the effect where an actor filmed against a green screen is inserted into another shot. But researchers at Netflix say they have come up with a much easier, and potentially more accurate, green screen technique that takes advantage of how digital cameras work—with a dash of AI.Netflix Passwords, ChatGPT Can’t Detect AI, and No More CoTweets | Editor PicksReplacing the background of footage where actors have been filmed against…

Louisiana has become one of the first states to pass legislation explicitly criminalizing the creation of deepfaked child sexual abuse material. The legislation, called SB175, makes it a crime to knowingly create or possess an AI-generated image or video depicting a person under the age of 18 engaged in a sexual act. People convicted of violatingthe law could face between five and 20 years in jail, a $10,000 fine, or both. Selling or advertising deepfaked sexual material depicting minors, meanwhile, can carry an even…

In this latest video from Adam Savage’s Tested, the special-effects designer, former MythBusters host, and noted nerd-culture aficionado visits legendary animator Phil Tippett’s Tippett Studio in Berkeley, CA, where he talks with stop-motion master Tom “Gibby” Gibbons about a standout puppet from a standout episode of Rian Johnson’s Peacock series Poker Face.Spoilers of the Week April 11-15If you watched Poker Face, you’ll immediately recall Natasha Lyonne’s character befriending Arthur, an aging animator played by…

Further demonstrating the power of artificial intelligence when it comes to photorealistically altering footage, researchers from Disney have revealed a new aging/de-aging tool that can make an actor look convincingly older or younger, without the need for weeks of complex and expensive visual effects work.When watching a blockbuster movie like 2018's Ant-Man and the Wasp, most viewers can easily spot the work of the many visual effects studios that contribute to these films, what with their flashy moments when Ant-Man…

Photo: FABRICE COFFRINI/AFP (Getty Images)Companies hiring for an open IT position might need to do more than scrutinize how prospective employees react to the question “What is your worst quality?” If the prospective hire sneezes or coughs without moving their lips, their worst quality might be that they’re not actually real.The FBI wrote to its Internet Crime Complaint Center Tuesday that it has received multiple complaints of people using stolen information and deepfaked video and voice to apply to remote tech…

The Voicemod app now includes voices for rough approximations of Morgan Freeman, HAL-9000, and more.Screenshot: VoicemodI wanted to see how alike I could be to HAL-9000 in my own, ragged rendition of the song Daisy Bell. It turns out, I actually sound better as the vague approximation of the demented artificial intelligence from 2001: A Space Odyssey than either HAL’s actor Douglas Rain or my normal, human voice.The Spain-based company Voicemod revealed its new beta AI Voices product Wednesday that promotes it uses AI to…

European Commissioner for Internal Market Thierry Breton told Reuters that upcoming regulations on the tech industry would be a “backbone” for enforcing disinformation moderation.Photo: STEPHANE MAHE / POOL / AFP (Getty Images)Big tech companies are getting a kick in the keister to start sorting out the mess of disinformation on their online platforms or else face a financial spanking with a pretty massive paddle.Reuters reported that the European Commission plans to release new rules on Thursday that will require big…