- Joined
- Apr 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,598
- Reaction score
- 335
Lol. I never said it was "my business", and I agree, it's not any more my business than it is yours. I'm still allowed to say something about it, just like you.
H&M: Computer-generated virtual chimeras make better clothing models
- Thread starter Alessandra Kelley
- Start date
Lol. I never said it was "my business", and I agree, it's not any more my business than it is yours. I'm still allowed to say something about it, just like you.
- Joined
- Apr 23, 2011
- Messages
- 1,598
- Reaction score
- 335
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 16,926
- Reaction score
- 5,297
- Location
- Near the gargoyles
- Website
- www.alessandrakelley.com
Ah, but computer libraries grow in sophistication every day. Moore's law is still in effect. And code never forgets its lines, or how to act. It never gets sick, or loses its looks, or dies. Once it's debugged, it never throws temper tantrums and storms off the set, leaving a whole production crew eating up money and time.
The handwriting is on the wall.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Jul 18, 2006
- Messages
- 8,745
- Reaction score
- 3,096
- Location
- Toronto, Canada
- Website
- www.adriennekress.com
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 16,926
- Reaction score
- 5,297
- Location
- Near the gargoyles
- Website
- www.alessandrakelley.com
Maybe. But ... the Uncanny Valley effect is pretty strong (I find Masahiro Mori's explanation of it a little weak, bordering on pseudoscience, but there's no doubt that there is human revulsion at the not-quite-human movements of these characters). I found that woman's face horrifying well before the "reveal."
Maybe programmers can get past that. And maybe they can animate virtual actors eventually with acceptable moves.
But ... then what? They'll have at best a library of approximations of the current fashions in how actors move and pause and act. And if you think that doesn't change, just go look at shows from 20 years ago, or 40 or 60. They won't have any leeway for human genius or creativity or inspiration, just the same moves over and over.
Also -- and this is disgraceful -- it's going to be a very long time before the tech is cheaper than human actors, given how little actors are paid.
But as toothpaste noted, those activities will still be going on. Perhaps stage will make a comeback of sorts for the reasons she pointed out. And there will be the source for new inspiration.
Realistically, it will be a long, long time before the price point hits for most actors, as you point out. But it won't be long before there'll be a Max Headroom for real. And that's when the mega-stars are going to have to start reconsidering their salary demands.
When you can electronically "stunt double" the entire movie, the real skills of the meatspace front man or woman become less important, and the prices will go down.
Remember The Monkees?
Realistically, it will be a long, long time before the price point hits for most actors, as you point out. But it won't be long before there'll be a Max Headroom for real. And that's when the mega-stars are going to have to start reconsidering their salary demands.
When you can electronically "stunt double" the entire movie, the real skills of the meatspace front man or woman become less important, and the prices will go down.
Remember The Monkees?
Man, sometimes I worry I spend too much time with Don and his insane ideas are rubbing off on me.
Now, I worry that Don is spending too much time with ME!
Now, I worry that Don is spending too much time with ME!
It's not such a wild idea. If they can electronically "stunt double" an actor on film, they could take a third-rate performer, shoot a few of the less-involved scenes to get a good image library, do the rest of the scenes in the animator, apply the "Julia Roberts" or "Johnny Depp" performance filter to the whole film, and that third-rate performer would become the next Julia Roberts or Johnny Depp.
Want to take it further? Why not make movies with modular performances, customizable based off the desires and tastes of the viewer? I'd prefer my side characters with 26% more Deppish qualities, and make the main romance gay. Set the violence filters to PG-13!
Sure, that's all doable as the technology improves. Three-dee immersive movies with the viewer in a title role aren't far away either.
I mentioned The Monkees earlier, but there's an even better example, much more recent. Avatar was spooky good technically, and that technology's only going to get better.
I mentioned The Monkees earlier, but there's an even better example, much more recent. Avatar was spooky good technically, and that technology's only going to get better.
Not me.
as an actor, I don't much like theatre, so I hope that live actors in film will be around for a long time!
Well, today, you can get music in MP3 format, but people love vinyl. So in the future, I bet indie types will be all over "real live" actors. There will always be a place for handcrafted goods, and that includes acting.
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 16,926
- Reaction score
- 5,297
- Location
- Near the gargoyles
- Website
- www.alessandrakelley.com
Perhaps computer-generated actors will be seen as a kind of puppetry.
I just realised -- How will they parse the Academy Awards?
It'd prolly be given to screen writers, animators, that sort of thing.
Me, I can't wait for text-to-voice replace voice actors, so that video games are no longer hamstrung in the number of responses virtual characters can give.
Me, I can't wait for text-to-voice replace voice actors, so that video games are no longer hamstrung in the number of responses virtual characters can give.
*shrug*
As an anime fan, the recent turns in conversation are kind of lost on me. While people are saying the tech won't be cheaper than actors for a while now, all I can think is "what's wrong with good ol' 2D animation"?
That's cheaper Right Now.
As an anime fan, the recent turns in conversation are kind of lost on me. While people are saying the tech won't be cheaper than actors for a while now, all I can think is "what's wrong with good ol' 2D animation"?
That's cheaper Right Now.
Last edited:
This Photoshop thing reminds me of what we say about writing, just get some crap written because "you can't edit a blank page."
You mean like this guy?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eZlLNVmaPbM
My impression is most actors make more money waiting tables than acting.
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2011
- Messages
- 16,926
- Reaction score
- 5,297
- Location
- Near the gargoyles
- Website
- www.alessandrakelley.com
Nothin' at all. Traditional animation works great. But this thread is looking at the desire and hunt to make virtual models of real people. For some reason a lot of people are pursuing this goal.
I consider 2D animation and virtual modeling to be completely separate arts, to be honest.
Last edited:
Good voice actors would probably still be better than that route for a long time to come.
Yeah. Maybe even years.
And there was the original Speed Racer cartoons that I thought were so cheap, because the character's mouth was the actual mouth of the person speaking the part.
Again, call me old-fashioned, but I'm quite a fan of the Zelda style, where characters don't even bother speaking, and I can just read the text.