Released last Wednesday, Here – The Best Years of Our Lives reunites the team of Forrest Gump, directed by Robert Zemeckis, written by Eric Roth, and starring the tandem of Tom Hanks and Robin Wright.
No stranger to technological experimentation, Robert Zemeckis excels once again with this film’s use of generative artificial intelligence. In short, artificial intelligence allows images to be generated.
The film was shot in a London studio in 33 days with a budget of 50 million dollars. Frankly, Robert Zemeckis explains that this is the most difficult film he has ever had to make. Because the peculiarity of the film is that the entire film takes place in a fixed frame, the same frame within which the characters develop, at different times, thanks to an ingenious system of frames that appear, then disappear. The premise of the film is the same as the graphic novel it adapted from, Richard McGuire’s Here.
How was artificial intelligence used in the film?
Generative AI was used to rejuvenate or age the actors in the film. To portray actors of various ages, from teenagers to adults, the team collaborated with visual effects studio Metaphysic, which used thousands of archival images from both the films and interviews with Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and other actors to create the digital makeup.
in the columns of WiredClarified that the use of metaphysics makes it possible to generate facial movements, skin textures, and change lighting and camera angles.
The plus of this technology? No more manual post-production for months; Everything will appear on the screen in real time. Producer Derek Hogg explains: “This technology allows us to know what a person will be like at a given age. In some ways, this technology is more flexible and practical than traditional techniques, as it allows for micro-expressions of actors.
By traditional techniques, we can mean the use of sensors that can then be used to digitally act on the captured images, or wear a prosthesis, or a combination of the two. “That’s one of the things Robert always hated about prosthetics: It’s hard for an actor to move and emote like he naturally does.“, – specifies Derek Hogg.
Dual screen system to view real-time image generation
As we can read DiversityDirector Robert Zemeckis used two screens to simultaneously see what he was shooting and how the image changed using generative artificial intelligence. Robert Zemeckis emphasizes that this film could not exist 3 or 5 years ago.
According to The New York Times, the technology was seen in two other movies this year to bring back dead actors. These are Furiosa (to revive the character played by Richard Carter at the time) and Alien Romulus (and actor Ian Holm). The use of generative artificial intelligence has been criticized by some, such as this post on social network X.
(“#AlienRomulus caused some level of outrage over the use of CGI and AI to ‘bring back’ Ian Holm as Rook. The actor died in 2020. Same thing happened with Richard Carter who played Bullet Farmer in #Furiosa, Died in 2019.”)
Should we be worried about this use of AI for the entire film? The filmmaker answered our Canal + colleagues:We need to protect what AI can do. But what I do is create images for movies, it’s just very fast computer calculations, it’s nothing dangerous and cunning“.
He explained to Variety that no technical department of the film was excluded from the making of the film. There was always the HMC team (costume, makeup, hair) or special effects people, all collaborating together, says Zemeckis. Post-production work was also carried out to complete the shots.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
