News/Animation
ChatGPT Super Bowl ad made by humans eases AI fears (of ads not made by humans)
The Super Bowl LVIII marked OpenAI's first venture into Super Bowl advertising with a commercial for ChatGPT, reaching an estimated 130 million US viewers. The 60-second spot, costing approximately $14 million, used artistic animation to trace humanity's technological evolution. Creative approach and execution: The commercial, titled "The Intelligence Age," employed black-and-white pointillism-style animation to chronicle human innovation throughout history. Beginning with a single pulsing dot, the narrative progresses through pivotal inventions like fire, space exploration, and the internet, before culminating with artificial intelligence The entire commercial was created by human artists and designers, deliberately avoiding the use of AI tools...
read Feb 7, 2025Simpson’s star Hank Azaria condemns AI voices replacing humans
Hank Azaria, veteran voice actor of "The Simpsons," has expressed concerns about artificial intelligence potentially replicating his numerous character voices from the show's 36-year run. Key concerns and context: Azaria, who has voiced iconic characters like Moe the bartender and Chief Wiggum since 1989, addressed the growing threat of AI voice replication in a New York Times piece. The actor has created over 100 distinct character voices during his tenure on "The Simpsons" With 36 years of recorded dialogue available, Azaria believes AI has substantial material to analyze and potentially replicate his performances His character Moe alone has expressed numerous...
read Feb 5, 2025Marvel rebukes AI concerns in Fantastic Four poster
Marvel's recent release of promotional posters for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" sparked controversy over suspected AI usage, leading to an official denial from the studio. The controversy explained: Social media users identified several irregularities in the promotional posters released alongside the film's teaser trailer. Fans spotted anatomical errors, including characters with four fingers Multiple instances of the same woman's face appeared across different posters The inconsistencies prompted immediate speculation about AI-generated artwork Official response: Marvel Studios took a firm stance against the AI speculation through an official statement to IndieWire. A studio spokesperson explicitly denied any AI involvement in...
read Feb 4, 2025Microsoft Paint receives an AI-powered makeover
Microsoft has integrated generative AI capabilities into its popular Paint program through its Cocreator feature, allowing users to combine traditional drawing with AI-generated images based on text descriptions. Key Innovation; Microsoft Paint's Cocreator represents a significant shift in how users can interact with familiar software tools by combining manual drawing with AI image generation. The feature enables users to sketch ideas and have AI transform them into detailed images based on text prompts Cocreator is integrated directly into Paint's existing interface, making advanced AI capabilities accessible through a familiar tool The system allows for iterative refinement, letting users adjust and...
read Jan 18, 2025Pulitzer-winning cartoonist arrested for AI-generated child abuse images
Sacramento police arrested Pulitzer-winning cartoonist Darrin Bell under California's new law prohibiting AI-generated child sex abuse material (CSAM), marking the first such arrest since the law took effect January 1, 2025. Key Details: California's groundbreaking legislation criminalizes possession and distribution of AI-generated CSAM, even in cases without real victims. Police executed a search warrant at Bell's home following an investigation into shared CSAM files Authorities claim to have found evidence of computer-generated/AI CSAM Bell is being held on $1 million bail Legal Framework: The new California law specifically addresses the unique harms of AI-generated CSAM within the broader context of...
read Jan 17, 2025The Australian Open is trying to woo viewers with Nintendo Wii-style AI animations
The Australian Open tennis tournament is leveraging AI technology to create Nintendo Wii-style animated broadcasts of matches, offering a unique solution to broadcast rights limitations. The innovation explained: The tournament has implemented a system called AO Animated that converts live tennis matches into animated recreations, streaming them on YouTube with a 2-minute delay. The system uses court sensors to digitally reproduce live action in a style reminiscent of Nintendo Wii Tennis Live commentary and crowd noise are included to enhance the viewing experience The broadcasts are freely available worldwide via YouTube Technical implementation: The technology represents a creative solution to...
read Jan 8, 2025Adobe’s new TransPixar system takes AI VFX to the next level
Adobe Research and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology have unveiled TransPixar, an AI system that generates transparent visual effects like smoke and reflections for videos, addressing a significant limitation in current AI video generation tools. The breakthrough technology: TransPixar enables the creation of transparent visual effects through AI by incorporating alpha channels, which control transparency in digital images and videos. The system can generate effects like swirling storm clouds, magical portals, and billowing smoke from simple text prompts The technology can also animate still images with transparency effects The code has been made publicly available on GitHub with...
read Dec 26, 2024Animation Guild approves new studio contract despite lingering concerns over AI protections
The Animation Guild has approved a new three-year contract with major studios with 76.1% membership support, despite concerns over artificial intelligence protections. Key terms of the agreement: The contract includes staggered wage increases and specific improvements for certain job categories over three years. Members will receive raises of 7%, 4%, and 3.5% across the board The agreement introduces "pay equity" measures for color designers, a traditionally female-dominated role A new staffing minimum requirement has been established for TV animation writers AI provisions and limitations: The final agreement falls short of the union's initial demands for comprehensive AI protections. The contract...
read Dec 12, 2024Animation Guild members reject studio deal over AI concerns
The Animation Guild faces internal disagreement over artificial intelligence provisions in its latest contract proposal with major studios, highlighting growing concerns about AI's impact on creative industries. Key developments: The Animation Guild has reached a tentative agreement with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers that includes new AI-related provisions, but faces opposition from several prominent committee members. Three high-profile negotiating committee members have publicly opposed the deal, including Michael Rianda (director of "The Mitchells vs. the Machines"), Kelly Lynne D'Angelo (television writer), and Joey Clift (writer on Netflix's "Spirit Rangers") The guild's executive board maintains strong support for...
read Dec 10, 2024Animation Guild leaders reject contract over AI concerns
The Animation Guild faces internal dissent over AI protections in its recently negotiated contract with major studios, highlighting growing concerns about artificial intelligence's impact on the entertainment industry workforce. Key dispute overview: The tentative agreement between the Animation Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers has sparked opposition from prominent members over perceived inadequate AI safeguards. Mike Rianda, director of "The Mitchells vs. the Machines," publicly opposed the deal on Instagram, citing insufficient protections against AI replacing workers The contract allows studios to implement "technological change" with provisions for retraining and severance pay for displaced workers The...
read Dec 4, 2024Animation artists challenge AI terms in new Guild contract
The Animation Guild's new contract with major studios has been met with mixed reactions, particularly around artificial intelligence protections and staffing minimums for its 5,000 members. Key contract terms: The tentative agreement, reached on November 23rd after three months of negotiations, includes modest AI protections while securing some traditional labor gains. The deal requires studios to provide written notice when AI will be used in projects Members cannot opt out of AI use if required for their job or prevent their work from training AI models The agreement establishes a minimum of three writers for animated TV shows, with some...
read Nov 26, 2024If you make 3D images, you need to try Nvidia’s Edify
Core technology overview: Nvidia Edify represents a significant advancement in 3D modeling technology, leveraging sophisticated algorithms to create detailed three-dimensional objects from simple inputs. The platform utilizes quad mesh models, which employ four-sided polygons to create natural edge flow and enable versatile subdivision modeling Physically based rendering materials simulate natural light interactions with 3D objects by considering attributes like base color and roughness The system synthesizes RGB values and surface contours through a diffusion model, creating realistic textures and surfaces [embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROqB8xhKZ6U[/embed] Technical infrastructure: Edify operates within Nvidia's broader AI enterprise ecosystem, integrated with several key technological components. The platform is...
read Nov 9, 2024How new AI models are compressing videos without reducing quality
Advancements in video compression technology: LivePortrait, a recent model in the field of 2D avatar/portrait animation, demonstrates significant potential for revolutionizing video compression, particularly for talking head videos. The model can animate still images, avoiding the need for rendering complex 3D models that struggle with small facial details. This technology has implications for social media, where it could become ubiquitous, but also raises concerns about trust in online content. The core concept of compression: By leveraging predictive algorithms, LivePortrait can compress frame information into a sparse set of cues for reconstruction, building upon Nvidia's facevid2vid paper. The compression method relies...
read Nov 5, 2024This new AI tool turns regular video into fully editable 3D scenes
AI-powered animation breakthrough: Wonder Dynamics, recently acquired by Autodesk, has launched Wonder Animation, a tool that transforms regular video footage into fully editable 3D scenes using artificial intelligence. The technology aims to make high-quality visual effects more accessible and flexible for filmmakers of all skill levels. Wonder Animation uses over 25 different AI models to analyze video, understanding body movements, lighting sources, and camera positioning to translate 2D video into 3D space. The tool can recognize various shot types and recreate them as 3D data, allowing artists to edit and experiment more easily. Democratizing filmmaking: Wonder Animation's technology has the...
read Nov 3, 2024How AI tools like Runway are changing the animation industry
AI-powered animation breakthrough: Runway's new Act-One feature represents a significant advancement in AI video generation technology, potentially revolutionizing the animation industry by simplifying the creation of nuanced facial expressions and maintaining character consistency. Act-One allows users to create animated characters with complex facial expressions without the need for sophisticated motion capture equipment or extensive technical expertise. The technology can transfer human facial expressions to a wide range of animated characters, from cartoons to realistic depictions, including fantastical creatures and even sculptures. Runway's approach differs from traditional animation pipelines by using a streamlined process driven solely by an actor's performance, eliminating the...
read Oct 30, 2024Animation Guild negotiates AI rules in extended contract talks
AI negotiations extend Animation Guild contract: The Animation Guild and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers have agreed to extend their contract negotiations through December 2, 2023, as discussions continue over artificial intelligence regulations in the industry. The contract, which was set to expire on November 1, 2023, has been extended to allow for further bargaining on AI guardrails. Negotiations began on August 12, 2023, and have been ongoing intermittently since then. While some progress has been made, the two sides have not yet reached a final agreement. Key players and industry context: The Animation Guild, representing approximately...
read Oct 30, 2024Award-winning director signs deal with AI content platform DreamFlare AI
Pioneering AI-powered storytelling: Jeff Gipson, an award-winning director known for his work on Disney Animation's VR shorts, has entered into a partnership with DreamFlare AI to create a series of shorts for their generative AI content platform. Gipson's background in VFX and immersive storytelling has earned him several accolades, including the AIXR VR Film of the Year award in 2020 for "Myth: A Frozen Tale" and an Advanced Imaging Society Lumiere Award for best animated VR film in 2019 for "Cycles." His work has also garnered four Visual Effects Society Award nominations, and he has contributed to the VFX on...
read Oct 28, 2024How to use AI to transform home videos into cinematic masterpieces
AI-powered animation breakthrough: Runway's new Act-One feature transforms home videos into Hollywood-style animated films, potentially revolutionizing the animation industry by making sophisticated techniques more accessible to a broader range of creators. Act-One streamlines the facial animation process, requiring only a video camera to capture an actor's face during performance. The AI technology reworks facial movements and expressions from the input video to fit an animated character, capturing even the most nuanced emotions. The tool can produce multi-character dialogue scenes by having a single actor perform multiple roles, which are then mapped onto different characters in one scene. Democratizing animation production:...
read Oct 23, 2024Runway’s ‘Act One’ AI tool transfers facial expressions from real videos into animated characters
Revolutionary facial animation technology: Runway, an AI startup backed by Google, has unveiled Act-One, a groundbreaking feature that allows users to transfer facial expressions from real video footage to AI-generated characters with remarkable accuracy. Act-One simplifies the traditionally complex process of facial animation, eliminating the need for extensive motion capture equipment and manual face rigging. The tool is being gradually rolled out to users with sufficient credits on Runway's Gen-3 Alpha video generation model. AI video creators are already praising Act-One as a "game changer" in the industry. Expanding creative possibilities: Act-One offers significant advantages for animators, game developers, and...
read Oct 18, 2024Adobe unveils AI-powered 3D rotation tool for 2D drawings
Breakthrough in 3D visualization: Adobe unveiled an innovative tool called "Project Turntable" at its MAX conference, showcasing the ability to transform 2D vector images into rotatable 3D models instantly. The technology, still in the demo phase, can generate a 3D model from a 2D vector image in just four seconds. Users can rotate the resulting 3D model 360 degrees horizontally and partially vertically, providing a comprehensive view of the subject. The tool maintains the original artist's style and "essence" of the 2D artwork when creating the 3D model. Technical underpinnings: Project Turntable leverages advanced machine learning algorithms to extrapolate unseen...
read Oct 17, 2024Pika Labs just released even more AI video effects
AI-powered video effects expand with Pika 1.5: Pika Labs, a Palo Alto-based startup, has introduced new AI-driven special effects to its video generation platform, enhancing creative possibilities for users. Pika 1.5, the company's latest AI video model, now includes effects such as crumble, dissolve, deflate, and "ta-da" (making subjects disappear behind a cloth). Users can access these effects, dubbed "Pikaffects," by uploading an image to the web-based platform and selecting the desired animation. The new effects join previously released options like explode, squish, melt, crush, inflate, and "cake-ify." Platform features and accessibility: Pika's approach to AI-driven video manipulation sets it...
read Oct 15, 2024Adobe teases AI tools for 3D scenes and animation
Adobe's AI innovation push: Adobe is previewing experimental AI tools aimed at simplifying complex tasks in animation, image generation, and video editing, potentially revolutionizing content creation for both professionals and novices. The new tools, showcased as "Sneaks" at Adobe's MAX conference, focus on automating time-consuming and complex creative processes while providing users with more control over the final output. These AI-powered features could potentially be integrated into Adobe's Creative Cloud suite, making advanced editing techniques more accessible to a broader range of users. Project Scenic: Enhanced image generation: This tool aims to give users greater control over AI-generated images by...
read Oct 2, 2024AI video startup Pika debuts new physics-defying special effects features
Pika 1.5: A leap forward in AI video generation: Pika Labs has launched an updated version of its text-to-video AI platform, introducing physics-defying special effects and significant improvements across the board. Key features and improvements: Pika 1.5 introduces "Pikaffects," a set of pre-set special effects that can transform subjects in bizarrely malleable ways The new effects include options to explode, melt, crush, inflate, and "cake-ify" subjects in videos The platform now offers more powerful video generation capabilities for both image-to-video and text-to-video workflows Users can create high-quality, five-second clips with lifelike movements such as running, skateboarding, and flying New motion...
read Oct 1, 2024AI video generator Pika 1.5 brings imagination to life
AI Video Generation Leaps Forward with Pika 1.5: Pika Labs has unveiled Pika 1.5, its most advanced AI video generation model to date, focusing on hyper-realism and sophisticated visual effects. Key features and advancements: The new release introduces "Pikaffects," a suite of lifelike human and creature movements, along with enhanced physics and advanced camera techniques. Pika 1.5 offers more dynamic physics and sophisticated camera techniques, including crash zoom, crane up, whip pan, bullet time, and "squish" effects. The platform aims to make high-quality video creation accessible to users of all ages and skill levels. The intuitive interface is designed to...
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