While much of internet is still buzzing about the wonders of ChatGPT, a Toronto-based technology and visual effects company is making its own splash in Hollywood using artificial intelligence.
The goal is to help content creators produce effects, such as making an actor look younger, 300 times faster than it currently takes.
鈥淲e鈥檙e on the bleeding edge of technology and I think it鈥檚 only getting started,鈥� says Jonathan Bronfman, co-founder of MARZ, which is short for Monsters, Aliens, Robots and Zombies.
The company started in a Queen Street basement four years ago and has grown to employ more than 270 workers.
They primarily make visual effects (VFX) for movies and TV series on streaming platforms, and the AI software they have developed has been used for scenes in hit shows including Netflix鈥檚 "Stranger Things" and the film "Spider-Man: No Way Home."
鈥淭he software is now so simple to use, and it's so fast and automated, that we don't see it being restricted to Hollywood,鈥� says MARZ COO Matt Panousis.
By making some simple adjustments to a still image of an actor鈥檚 face, the AI can age or de-age that face with convincing results.
It can also fix a wig or prosthetic that is out of place without an artist having to correct each individual frame.
Panousis says such changes to a scene can take a traditional visual effects artist up to five days to complete. But the system developed by MARZ, called Vanity AI, is designed to allow them to do it in minutes and cost much less.
鈥淲e think people are going to be thrilled with the results,鈥� says Bronfman.
There鈥檚 been a surge in demand for visual effects as the streaming wars continue to heat up and the number of productions expands.
鈥淚 read an industry report the other day that stated that there鈥檚 probably three times as much VFX needed in the world than there are artists to solve that problem,鈥� says Panousis.
Disney has already turned to artificial intelligence to help create a decades-younger looking Harrison Ford in the upcoming Indiana Jones sequel "Dial of Destiny."
The movie trailer has generated plenty of excitement because of how real it looks.
Panousis sees a future where independent films can include visual effects that they never could previously, thanks to the speed and affordability of the technology. He notes when it comes to AI its capacity to produce effects is nearly limitless.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just a means to telling better stories,鈥� says Panousis. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we鈥檙e really excited about.鈥�
