Wondering how some stars seemingly never age? A Toronto VFX company says the answer is in a growing post-production trend in which cosmetic touch-ups are routinely made on actorsB次元官网网址� skin and hairlines using technology.
Matt Panousis, partner and chief operating officer of the visual effects and tech studio Monsters Aliens Robots Zombies (MARZ), says the industry has been shifting in the direction of subtle, virtualcosmetic alterations for some time.
B次元官网网址淲hat you discover as you go deeper is a lot of these celebrities are brands,B次元官网网址� says Panousis. B次元官网网址淟ike a brand that needs to remain consistent B次元官网网址� so does a celebrityB次元官网网址檚 face.B次元官网网址�
The studio, which began as a startup in 2019 and does various visual effects work including bringing a disembodied hand known as B次元官网网址淭he ThingB次元官网网址� to life in NetflixB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淲ednesday,B次元官网网址� says the cosmetic side of VFX, whether fixing imperfections or de-aging actors for flashback scenes,is a large part of their business.
About a year and a half ago, they began using software called Vanity AI B次元官网网址� a project that took the company three years to build and which they now plan to license to others B次元官网网址� for work such as removing acne, crowB次元官网网址檚 feet, and under-eye bags.
In one example, they helped smooth out laugh lines and fade forehead wrinkles on Vancouver-born actor Joshua Jackson for a flashback sequence in the Peacock series B次元官网网址淒r. Death,B次元官网网址� in which he portrays American neurosurgeon Christopher Duntsch. In the scene, the doctor is shown as a football hopeful during his university days,which takes place several years prior to his infamouscareer in medicine.
In another, an otherwise visible wig line is made invisible on actress Kathryn Newton, who dons a brunette hairpiece to portray Cassie Lang, the daughter of Avenger Scott Lang who goes on to become a superhero herself in this weekendB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址淎nt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淭here are storyline touch-ups and then thereB次元官网网址檚 the purely cosmetic, so when we say 80 to 85% of all productions use visual effects, a big chunk of that is just the cosmetic stuff,B次元官网网址� says Panousis. B次元官网网址淭hink about it, why do people like Snapchat filters? Celebrities are people too.B次元官网网址�
Removing shine, blemishes, and de-aging is among the cosmetic work that has grown in demand, says Panousis B次元官网网址� and the expectation is there even for TV productions, which typically work on tighter timelines and budgets.
B次元官网网址淭hese guys have a fraction of the budget and a fraction of the time that their film counterparts have,B次元官网网址� he says.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 only gotten worse and with the proliferation of streaming and the amount of content coming out. There are not enough VFX artists in the world to do the work.B次元官网网址�
What makes Vanity AI faster, Panousis says, is the way the tool can predict where the ideal placement of cosmetic fixes should be rather than continually modifying a face frame by frame.
Through a series of dials, users can make alternationsthat can be applied to multiple frames until itB次元官网网址檚 a moving, fully altered shot B次元官网网址� a process that would previously take days, compared to mere hours with their app,according to MARZ.
Panousis adds that as the demands for cosmetic changes and time-jumping storylines become more popular, the celebrity who fancies a more touched-up look is now an industry expectation theyB次元官网网址檝e also had to meet, albeit a soft-spoken one.
B次元官网网址淪ometimes itB次元官网网址檚 contracted, which is typically for your major A-lister celebrities who are the extreme cases,B次元官网网址� says Panousis who declined to name names due to contractual obligations.
B次元官网网址漈heyB次元官网网址檒l have it built into the contracts that say, unless thereB次元官网网址檚 a certain budget associated with some sort of cosmetic enhancement, they wonB次元官网网址檛 do the project.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淪o much of the industryB次元官网网址檚 work is entirely invisible and Vanity AI as an application, is meant to be entirely invisible B次元官网网址� youB次元官网网址檙e not really supposed to know if a person has done some work if theyB次元官网网址檝e done a good job,B次元官网网址� says Panousis.
B次元官网网址淚tB次元官网网址檚 great for an actor who had a breakout of acne, or another who experienced a bad hangover, whatever areas you select, you can clean it very simply.B次元官网网址�
Panousis acknowledges that in an era of synthetic media like deepfakes, there are other AI solutions to making cosmetic changes. Competitors exist in varying degrees, one of the more notable being DisneyB次元官网网址檚 FRAN by Disney Research Studios which allows users to re-age and de-age someone at little cost.
Still, he says Vanity AI meets HollywoodB次元官网网址檚 high-quality expectations given its use on multi-million dollar projects such as B次元官网网址淪pider-Man: No Way Home,B次元官网网址� and B次元官网网址淪tranger Things 4.B次元官网网址�
This year will mark the first time MARZ will make the capabilities of Vanity AI available to large and small production studios around the world to B次元官网网址渄emocratize the effects.B次元官网网址�
B次元官网网址淒emocratization means bringing down the barriers to entry and making the work accessible,B次元官网网址� says Panousis.
B次元官网网址淚f you think about it, quality VFX is something thatB次元官网网址檚 only ever been available to the biggest and best productions, but if we can price it properly for these different segments in a way that is digestible, we believe that the tool is absolutely going to be used in other segments of entertainment.B次元官网网址�
Panousis ultimately envisions Vanity AI eventually being affordable for the average indie creator as well.
The goal for MARZ is to license out the app, which Panousis acknowledges may mean giving others the ability to perform the same work they do.
B次元官网网址淲eB次元官网网址檝e got to get the tech into othersB次元官网网址� hands and that could very well be our competitors and that could be other VFX companies,B次元官网网址� he says.
B次元官网网址擭oel Ransome, The Canadian Press
