Look Svelte in Videos with One Easy Click

[Greg Tito]

Look Svelte in Videos with One Easy Click

A German coder has produced a program that can easily remove unwanted pounds from anyone appearing in videos.

In the past, adding weight or changing a body's build in video needed intensive frame by frame alterations by a team of dedicated CG artists. But now, a new tool can do that task quickly and cheaply by automating some of the process. The team led by Christian Theobalt of the Max Planck Institute for Informatics in Saarbrücken, Germany, accomplished this by taking 3D scans of 120 different body types of both men and women. This gave them a library of shapes to impose over a moving image, which can quickly be altered after the actor's silhouette is traced with other consumer grade software.


The practical upshots of tech like this are numerous. First off, an actor wouldn't have to physically lose or gain weight like Christian Bale did in The Machinist or Robert de Niro famously did for Raging Bull.

"The actor wouldn't need to go to all that trouble," Theobalt said.

Also, ads wouldn't need to be shot differently to appeal to different cultures by using skinnier or fatter spokespeople. They could just shoot one and make the changes cheaply and easily with this software.

The program doesn't yet have a catchy Web 2.0 name yet but I'm sure it's just a matter of time. NoFats? Skinjob? No I got it: SlimFast!

What? That's taken? Sheesh, well, what's your bright idea then?

Source: New Scientist [http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn19550-you-too-can-have-a-dream-body--in-your-movies.html]

Permalink

 

[shadow946]

This upsets me greatly. Film making isn't about what a computer can do. How awesome was it when all the actors in 300 underwent vigorous training? If you want a fat actor, get a fat actor; if you want a buff actor, get a buff actor.

 

[Jaebird]

This just adds to the "Why do we need actors when you can use CGI?" argument.

 

[Therumancer]

I don't think it will catch on all that well to be honest. I remember back after "The Crow" came out how they were talking about actors being replaced witn "Synthespians" (purely computer generated actors) and there was some talk of the first Star Wars Prequel using a CGI created young Alec Guiness based on his body of other work, needless to say it didn't happen.

This is a program that makes "shopping" video rather easy, but it doesn't do anything that wasn't already possible, and if there was going to be a demand for this people would already have been doing it the expensive way, which we so far have not been seeing.

 

[Matt_LRR]

Sign me up. :\

-m

 

[SeanTheSheep]

"Christian bale" What happened to the capital 'B'?

OT: Looks interesting, but potentially another thing for anti-CGI people to complain about.

 

[sheic99]

Just another reason to not trust the "Before" and "After" shots in infomercials.

 

[SpaceSpork]

Now, I'm sure that this article is really interesting, but while reading it, all I could think about was how awesome the word svelte is. Ssssssvelte. Svvvvvvvelte. Suh-velt!

 

[The Youth Counselor]

"For fuck's sake you're amateur!"

 

[Altorin]

Christian Bales kidney's thank you Mr German Scientist man

 

[deth2munkies]

I was like LOLWUT because my name in games that don't allow numbers (including SC2) is often Svelte <_<

 

[thublihnk]

I'm insanely impressed by the tech demo in the video, but I'd have to get my hands on the actual software before I'm convinced. Boy, if this shit works... I can stop dieting.

 

[ArcanaJ]

"...ads wouldn't need to be shot differently to appeal to different cultures by using skinnier or fatter spokespeople. They could just shoot one and make the changes..."

Oh, I can't see THAT going horribly wrong.

 

[ddq5]

This is wrong on so many levels. I hate computers, in the context of film-making, that is. I want you to keep your goddamn computers out of my goddamn films! What's next? Audio software that automatically pitches dialog so that the actors don't have to give a good delivery? Taking the spirit out of film-making, I say.

 

[Wolfram23]

Pretty crazy!! Except now I really can't trust anything I see. Before it was (mostly) just photos...

 

[Adzma]

This is wrong on so many levels. I hate computers, in the context of film-making, that is. I want you to keep your goddamn computers out of my goddamn films! What's next? Audio software that automatically pitches dialog so that the actors don't have to give a good delivery? Taking the spirit out of film-making, I say.

Amen. Did a great man not once say that Special effects are merely tools? A means to tell a story?

Oh wait, that was George Lucas... >_>

 

[Brotherofwill]

This is wrong on so many levels. I hate computers, in the context of film-making, that is. I want you to keep your goddamn computers out of my goddamn films! What's next? Audio software that automatically pitches dialog so that the actors don't
have to give a good delivery? Taking the spirit out of film-making, I say.

Amen! I want my fat Robert De Niro, thank you very much CGI. Doing it the 'real' way (including puppetry) will always be better.

 

[Vault Citizen]

I'm not sure if its true but I think I remember reading that Christian Bale chose to lose as much weight as he did, that they were willing to use cgi to alter his appearence.

I'm not sure whether or not some method actors will go for this.

 

[Mechsoap]

this reminds me off that most people rather want to look good then looking real, rather have their noses replaced if its a bit curved, i think its stupid thing though