As Vladimir Putin “real” was not available, Polish director Patryk Vega Patryk Vega said he made it appear as a “deepfake” in a biopicbiographical film, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) in the feature film “Putin” presented at the Cannes Film Market.
“Inviting Putin to the studio for 20,000 shots was not an option,” says director Patryk Vega, also known as Besaleel, “and the archival materials available online did not allow for training a high-resolution model suitable for film use.
In the end, Putin dies. “It had to be a happy ending,” explains the filmmaker, on the sidelines of the Cannes Festival. “Did I call Putin and ask him if he wanted to participate? – Just kidding,” says the Polish director, author of gangster films until now, laughing.
Vega, with the help of AIO studios, first wanted to create his character with the help of real shots of the Russian president, but the quality was not good enough for the big screen. “The AI has to be fed. You need 20,000 high-resolution images for this to work,” he explains to AFP.
Instead, he developed a new technology that allows a real actor who measures the same size as the Russian president to have his same face with the help of AI.
“It is the first film that uses this technology,” he claims. The effect is surprising. In the film, of which AFP was able to see a fragment, Putin is seen exactly as he appears in his public appearances, but also in diapers or playing the piano.
“I wanted to get into Putin’s head”
“Putin is not a crazy guy. But with him, everything revolves around his ego,” estimates the director, who had the idea shortly after the start of the war in Ukraine in February 2022. When asked if he is worried about premiere, laughs and replies: “No, Putin should be afraid of me.”
The result is a mix of political thriller and psychological portrait over six decades.
Putin movie poster – Screenshot/YouTube/Patryk Vega
Screenshot/YouTube/Patryk Vega
Sold to 50 countries
In the future, Vega wants to propose the AI he has developed to other producers. “You can send me an empty street and I will create a crowd for you,” he says. “As the characters are completely artificial, there is no problem with image rights, and it is much cheaper than a shoot with many extras.”
This is precisely what the film industry fears. When there were massive strikes in Hollywood last year, one of the questions was what the consequences would be if scriptwriters, voice actors and, ultimately, actors were replaced by AI.
An agreement was reached in December that included the right to supervise the actors when their digital clones had to be used. Furthermore, the use of AI avatars must be paid.
For some time now, it has been possible to artificially rejuvenate performers, like Harrison Ford in the latest “Indiana Jones”, create sets or calculate the commercial success of a film based on casting.
“We see AI as a tool that stimulates creativity and creates new jobs,” Charles Rivkin, head of the Motion Picture Association, the association of large American production companies, told the trade magazine The Hollywood Reporter.
The film will hit the big screen in September. In detail, as reported by the statement official, the film seeks to tell the intimate life and deep psyche of the Russian leader, who a month ago once again declared himself the winner at the polls (in a democratic process that leaves much to be desired). Viewers will see perhaps never-before-seen moments of Putin’s journey before and after coming to power.
The film’s photography includes places such as the Russian Federation, Israel, Syria, Jordan, Poland, Israel and even Ukraine and the internal tensions of Russian politics that motivate the war.
September 26, 2024 as Putin’s release date. It will be made simultaneously in 35 countries, including major markets such as the United States and India, and will reach a potential audience of more than three billion, says the AIO Studios statement.
Source: AFP / Ar Editorial / Diario las Américas Editorial
