Great idea, why don’t you do the same with Van Gogh paintings, or with Picasso… wait a minute, you can do it with Peppa Pig too! 😜 I love new technologies, don’t get me wrong, and I understand there is a blurry line that separates AI generative imagining and artwork… but quite frankly this is way off the art side of the line… and furthermore the intent here is plainly disrespectful. Remember this, the world was upset with George Lucas for “fixing” his very own creation, Star Wars, that he wanted to make better and he added more VFX in the late 90s… and everyone was outraged and it had nothing to do with the quality of the effects or the photorealism. Aesthetics are not meant to “corrected”, a true artist knows that. Don’t fix another artist’s work, you are just fooling yourself by thinking it needs to be “fixed”, instead use this great talent you regard you have to create something… even a short film, or a shot, or a single frame. I’ve seen more talent in a single stroke on a nursery school than in this so called “AI fix”. Thank you to all the true artists and technicians that wakeup early to go to work hard and make our industry great, the original Polar Express is an example of that. We work on the shoulders of giants. True (and Professional) Artist 101: respect other artists work, if you are not able to respect an artist, you won’t be able to respect our craft, and an artist that doesn’t respect their craft simply isn’t an artist. Please, next time fix yourself.
On sabbatical; helping to raise my beautiful 2 y.o. daughter; Talks about AI & The Future of Entertainment. Fmr Netflix, Sony Pictures Entertainment.
Can AI fix The Polar Express? The Polar Express was a pioneer of CGI being used for a feature animated film, but is largely held up as an example of the Uncanny Valley – so what happens if we bring it up-to-date with AI? #aifilmmaking #aivideo #genai
Cyril Conforti
1mo
Kai Turner: Why do you say: Fix? This isn't very kind to the hundreds of artists working on this movie. Will you replace them with one prompt/button software?
Alan Precourt
1mo
This isn't an improvement. It's just different, and how much energy was spent to redo something that didn't need another take? Let's colorize Psycho while we're at it. I mean, because we can, we should, right?
Andrew Li
1mo
Can we please please please stop posting these “AI fixes”? I agree with what Victor Perez posted. We must respect the work of the original artists. If someone wants to make another version of Polar Express or whatever, please do it. But please don’t make an exact copy but “enhanced” and call it fixed. And certainly don’t proclaim yet again the end of practical filmmaking with Gen AI. Each frame of a motion picture needs to be crafted from the writing of the script, creation of the sets, lighting to suit the scene, acting by human actors to connect with other humans, deliberate choice of camera angles, and a million other considerations that go way beyond what a prompt can do.
Michael Mumbauer
1mo
I’m not so sure that the people who actually worked on the film are as upset as the folks on this thread. :-). I don’t think he meant this in a harmful a way as this makes it look. The has always been a controversial film. If you google the uncanney valley, what other films come to the top of the list? We were pushing the technology to the limits and succeeded in many places and less so in others. To be honest, these tests may be showing an appreciation for a film that most of us who worked on it never got to experience as a result of the controversial and novel approaches used to make it, much like what Kai did in his own experiments.
David Ratajczak
1mo
Is it possible to stop re-re-re publishing things that are completely useless 😅 so at some point normal people could avoid to be spammed by posts and comments that are … criticizing « AI consultants » posts pretending to « fix » masterpieces ? Because except giving them more audience, this is completely useless… thanks 😅
Giuseppe Balacco
1mo
There is nothing to fix here. Every opera is the product of the age from which it comes… it would be like “fixing” a theater opera; you can either remake it (if anything) or give your own interpretation. Taking The Nutcracker, filming it, and placing a shinier background will not “fix it.” As you said, respect for others’ work is the first essential rule.
David M.
1mo
While my work on Polar Express was more focused on caribou and wolves, I will say I was lucky to work with an incredibly talented team on what would become a holiday classic. AI absolutely has its place, but not here.
Richard Servello
1mo
I guess the answer is no. This somehow looks worse. Like a Christmas version of LA Noir.
Hugo Guerra
1mo
100% agree! Well said!
Animation Director
1moMan I hate the term uncanny valley. It’s a lazy phrase co-opted from a roboticist. I was there on the Polar Express production. We didn’t talk about the uncanny valley while we were making it. I didn’t hear the phrase until after the movie was released. We were just doing the best we could. I don’t care for this reworking of the film. I’m not offended by it. It just doesn’t work for me. It ignores the art direction of the original. The soft pastel look was intentional as a nod to the source material. It’s also not particularly well animated. It’s an interesting exercise but not ready for prime time. I’ve worked on many many projects featuring realistic digital human characters. When people find out what I do for a living they always ask me what I’ve worked on. Polar Express is the one they react to. Always positively. For many it’s a Christmas tradition in their home. The ones who saw it when they were young are now sharing it with their children. I’ll take that any day and the uncanny valley be damned.