AI Discoveries Part 2

In large-scale film productions, elaborate special effects techniques have enabled filmmakers to depict impossibly spectacular locations and events to create visually stunning scenes at great expense.

AI offers the possibility of creating images that are difficult and costly to do in a production, specially if the ideas for the movie are ambitious, period films, for instance, AI can be used to create the type of locations that would cost enormous amounts of money to build and, in most cases, it would be impossible to set up.

Currently, artificial intelligence technology presents significant challenges when it comes to constructing film scenes or sequences with a comprehensive range of camera shots necessary for effective storytelling, it struggles to generate long shots, medium shots, and close-ups of the same action and with the same characters and even the same background, all of which are essential components in cinematic narrative.

For example, it is complicated for AI to create good shots for a convincing crucifixion scene—one that accurately portrays the nailing of an individual’s hands and feet— it requires multiple shot types and consistent action and AI finds it difficult to deliver such visual continuity and detail across various camera angles.

To Illustrate the point to himself, Jac used a couple of shots from Le Marquis De La Croix, where Mila, playing the gypsy woman Zinga, is crucified, after a lot of torture, by Le Marquis.

To get a shot for the nailing of a hand he used the following still picture from the film.

The description, or prompt was the following: Ancient Rome. A close shot of a hand pressed on a wooden log. The tip of a large nail is on the palm of the hand. A hammer comes crashing down on the head of the nail, the nail sinks into the palm of the hand, Blood blows out of the palm.

The result was not bad. AI did its work based on the simple description and using the still picture from the film.

He then tried with a still picture of Mila’s foot, from the same film and with the prompt: Ancient Rome. A close shot of a foot pressed on a wooden log. The tip of a large nail is on the top of the foot. A hammer comes crashing down on the head of the nail, the nail sinks into the foot, blood blows out of the foot as the nail sinks in.

He uploaded the still picture of the foot and pressed Generate.

After a few seconds, AI responded with the following message.

The prompt contains graphic violence and explicit injury depiction, which is not allowed. Try this instead: “Ancient Rome. A close shot of a foot on a wooden log, with a nail and hammer nearby, suggesting the process of construction or craftsmanship in Roman times. Please see our acceptable use policy for more information on what is and is not allowed.

He gets that kind of response a lot, but he always insists until he gets something. In this case Jac changed the prompt a bit and tried again.

Ancient Rome. A close shot of a foot on a wooden log. The tip of a large nail is on the center. A hammer comes crashing down on the head of the nail, the nail sinks into the foot. Blood flows out.

To his surprise AI decided to generate the video and the results were splendid, so much so that he might add the shot to the movie itself. He would need to crop the shot a bit to eliminate the text and the missing nail on the other foot.

Sometimes AI comes up with something good and this is the amazing result of that second try.

However, two shots don’t make a film, Jac would need to generate a good number of shots to build the scene as it is in the film itself, where there are close ups of the nailing, close ups of Mila’s face reacting in pain, long and medium shots of the nailing, side and high angle views of the action, and more. Mila’s crucifixion is a very elaborate scene and part of many extremely elaborate scenes in that film, something that AI would find it impossible to reproduce.

Le Marquis D e L a C r o i x is streaming now!

So… is AI good for anything?

The use of AI in combo with actual filming can fill holes quickly and cheaply. For instance, having a crowd watching the crucifixions and taunting the victim. That is an easy cut away and will add a lot to the film. Can also work for a view from the cross of the crowd.

Yes, but there’s a lot more that can be done. For example. There were some complaints, I know of at least one, that some of the dialogues “promised” in Seditiosa did not appear in the film. We do have the lines of those “missing” dialogues in the movie but in Voice Over, where you don’t see the character say those words in close up, I guess that did not satisfied the unsatisfied.

So, Jac played a little with a still picture from Seditiosa and prompted AI to make Simonne move her head to a side and speak some words. The result was good. It was a test, so, there’s no audio, but it is possible to use the picture, with the text and the voice of the character, in this case Simonne, and create a shot of her speaking the missing lines of dialogue.

Here is another novel idea – finish something and release it before you start working on yet another project. Still waiting on the release of the Simmone films that have been in post production all year. I swear you have the attention span of a 5 year old.

Fortunately my attention span, of a 5 year old, does not affect the team or the productions. I’m not in charge.

The CruXbound films with Simmone, as well as at least two movies with Dani and Ligia, are in the final stages of post production. As I mentioned before, Jac had to work on four older films, most recently Olalla, because he had to prepare them for a wider release deal Amy is making, the deals came with some specific specs that takes time to arrange and set up, a lot of time.

He is done with that work and he will be able to return to normal and finish those other films this coming week and get them ready to release them. Lots of releases.

Looks like Mila is still not available. Are you or are you not going to film the Crux 4 this year?
AI is rapidly evolving. Fidelity has gone from comic strip like to near photo quality. You folks keep messing around and AI films will be available to rival your stuff and without all the drama and delays.

Mila is pretty busy with her Tattoo biz, Simonne is busy with her university schedules, Ligia completed her contract with the Ministry of Tourism and is now completely free. There was a change of government the 8th of November and there are high hopes in the country. People expect the new president, who is right of center, will fix the huge problems that a 20 year populist governments created.

Ligia will be working, along with Geraldine and Dani on some Green Screen tests for Crucified Four next week. I heard that there are plans to shoot a couple of scenes in the location itself, with very few people, mostly close and medium shots that will open up to a large and crowded scene, like the shot below.

AI can generate the kind of backgrounds and images that would otherwise be impossible or prohibitively expensive to realize in the real world, with simply typing down a description of a scene. Something like Ancient Rome, market, vendors, buyers, Roman Soldiers. That’s it. AI does the whole thing.

Once the background has been created, Jac can work with the actors in front of a Green Screen doing something and then use the shot on top of the bakground image previously created. Like the shot below.

Jac is working on some tests with Green Screen. He didn’t have a large green screen at hand for a wide shot, he has a long green screen cloth that is not good enough for a wide long shot, it’s good only for close ups and it covers only a third of a wide shot. He worked with Dani first, and later with Ligia and Geraldine. He’ll be working with Mila, Simonne and all of the above again soon, with an entire wall turned into a green screen. He’s having the entire wall painted.

But to see how the screen test is working out, he made a clip with Dani. She’s posing in front of the green screen, the narrow Green Screen, Jac wanted a couple of shots of her to use with AI later, which he did.

The Green Screen technique has been used a lot in films and Television for many, many years at great expense, but it can be used now with the new AI technology for very little money but great effort.

For this particular exercise, Jac used a background he created before. A cave like dungeon, with chains, torches and a Roman soldier walking.

He placed the background under the Green Screen clip with Dani, where she talks, moves, follows instructions, the cat walks in, she turns to see and talks about it.

Jac had to crop the Green Screen image, to eliminate the walls, doors, and other annoying things on the sides of the long but narrow green screen cloth he used. He used a good part of the clip he made with Dani, without cutting it, leaving the sound with his instructions to Dani, her responses, all her movements, the background sound, that includes the music playing on his computer, and the many different set ups of the camera and movements, exactly the way it was shot.

The following clip is the result of the test.

bakerboy Check with electric city productions, they are getting close with 100% AI
I understand why Jac is “married” to live production, I was like that also until I run into casting issues: tattoos, Botox, plastic boobs and generally unattractive women expecting a lot of money. All the good looking models are on OF and would not get out of bed for less then 1000 Euros/day, and even then, many were ” no show”. With all those headaches we decided to go full AI. Unfortunately we have not yet found a competent supplier, but we are sure that the technology is not too far.
.. and as to expense of multiple takes? Once my crew bought me a tee shirt with the director viewfinder printed at the front and on the back was :” Take two? Fuck you !

Making movies is Jac’s way of life since he was very, very young. We live in the world, for now, and I mean the real world, with real people who have real problems. Jac doesn’t remember one production where there were no problems and there’s always one or two people in any production that will make things very difficult, that’s life and we accept it.

AI is nice and all, but it does not replace live production, it cannot generate the kind of acting you get in a movie, any movie, but more specifically, our movies. No matter what you do with AI, it cannot do what live production can do. Here is a gif image from the rehearsal of Dani for Monxa Mala. Look closely, look at the intensity of the acting, at the breasts, the body. AI cannot reproduce this. But most importantly, nothing can substitute for the fun of creating this kind of scene for a movie… and better yet, dozens of scenes, each more intense, for one 90 minute movie. That’s days, weeks of a lot of incredibly beautiful, exciting, demanding and extremely satisfying work.