In the hit movie "Legend", the 27-year-old AI Jackie Chan sparked heated discussions. Some people praise that they have seen the power of AI technology in the movie; others think that Jackie Chan after age reduction through AI is far less vivid than he is now when he is 70 years old.
How was 27-year-old AI Jackie Chan created? Recently, a Red Star News reporter had a conversation with film director Tang Jili.
ai technology has certain flaws
Jackie Chan's temperament and eyes were the most difficult when he was young
19 years ago, "The Myth" was released. As a screenwriter, Tang Jili wrote the scene in the Tiangong. Although the budget was not enough at the time and the special effects were not very satisfactory, there were many The audience thought the idea was fresh. Such affirmation gave Tang Jili confidence, so he boldly tried AI technology this time.
mentioned the original intention of using AI technology to recreate the image of 27-year-old Jackie Chan in the movie. Tang Jili said that this idea was first inspired by a TV show, which used AI technology to "resurrect" deceased relatives, and the scene was warm and touching. When Tang Jili used AI technology to create a young version of Jackie Chan and showed it to Jackie Chan, Jackie Chan was worried that he was too handsome. After Tang Jili explained that this character was the person in his dream and how he looked when he was young, Jackie Chan agreed and chose the age of 27.
Tang Jili bluntly said that in fact, AI technology also has certain flaws. For example, the 27-year-old AI Jackie Chan used deepfake technology, that is, based on face-changing technology, AI was given a lot of data about young Jackie Chan to let it learn. "At the same time, we also need to make a 3D head (image), but the problem with the 3D head (image) is that it has no eyes." Therefore, in the panoramic martial arts and the character's eyes, real people are still needed to perform.
The eyes part of the live performance is also a big difficulty for Tang Jili. In his opinion, Jackie Chan's appearance can be well created at the age of 27, but temperament and eyes are the most difficult for AI digital people to express. "When Jackie Chan was young, he was not very rich, and when he was not elegant, his appearance and temperament were different. But now I need him to have the temperament of a general at a young age, so it is difficult to do it."
In addition, Tang Jili also felt the limitations of AI production when filming the fight scenes in "Legend". In his opinion, if the fighting scenes are performed by real people, they can directly interact with each other, and the actors' expressions will be natural and rich. However, it is difficult for AI to produce a scene as natural and smooth as a live action scene. In order to overcome this difficulty, Tang Jili used deep forgery technology. "Real people act and then change their faces. Some dangerous actions may not be possible by real people and can be completed by AI digital people."
ai can only be used as a reference.
cannot replace humans. Thoughts
Today, the movie is released, and the audience has different opinions after seeing the 27-year-old AI Jackie Chan created by Tang Jili. However, before that, Yu Dong, founder, chairman and general manager of Bona Pictures, said during this year's Shanghai International Film Festival that "Legend" is the first live-action film to be truly digitally presented, and the digital man Jackie Chan Appeared in more than 70% of the movies. He commented that the performance of digital humans can be "fake and real."
Regarding the final effect of AI technology in the film, Tang Jili said on July 11 that he was mostly satisfied, but he still had regrets. For example, current AI technology cannot fully express those delicate micro-expressions of real people. He hopes that the audience will give more encouragement to the innovation of Chinese films. However, in any case, Tang Jili saw more possibilities from the 27-year-old Jackie Chan this time, "I served as Leslie Cheung's stand-in in "A Better Tomorrow", and now I can ask 'Leslie Cheung' to act, then 'Anita Mui'" You can also help me film "Red Zone 2". "
In order to show the grand scene, the crew used 12,000 horses for the real shooting this time. When asked why he did not use special effects and AI technology to present the scene of thousands of troops, Tang Jili said: "Because I hope to truly recreate the shocking scene of defending the homeland and the country... Why do many Hollywood blockbusters now have more and more audiences?" I don’t like to read it, because everyone knows it is fake.”
Perhaps, the exploration of AI technology is a complicated process.Tang Jili recalled that two years ago, when he decided to integrate AI production into movies, the relevant technology was not yet mature, so he could only make changes as he went, eventually forming the image of young Jackie Chan that he sees today. "As directors, we must keep pace with the times and embrace technology and the future, but in the process, we must bear certain risks." Tang Jili said, "AI is a good reference, but it cannot represent Ang Lee, Zhang Yimou, or Me. "In Tang Jili's view, every director has his own narrative style and artistic style, which cannot be replaced.
Red Star News reporter Zhang Shihao editor Zeng Qi
