📣 In this issue:
Samsung Galaxy gets Ai, avatars with realistic emotions, an Ai priest is defrocked, how AI is generating a revolution in entertainment, a beautiful Midjourney art prompt, and two Ai film shorts to watch.
Ai Filmcraft
Before we get started, check out my showcase of Ai generated and assisted film shorts over at AiFilmcraft.com
📰 News-To-Know
1
Samsung Galaxy gets Ai
Samsung's One UI 6.1.1 update is expected to introduce a new Video AI feature, enhancing the video editing capabilities on Galaxy smartphones, likely debuting with the Galaxy Z Fold 6 and Galaxy Z Flip 6 at the upcoming Galaxy Unpacked event.
The Details:
Feature Integration: The Video AI feature is part of Samsung's broader Galaxy AI suite, including functionalities like Circle to Search and Live Translation.
Speculation: Possible functions for Video AI include AI-powered video editing tools similar to those in photo editing, such as object resizing and repositioning.
Current Offerings: Galaxy S24 series already includes generative AI photo editing features; new video capabilities are set to expand on this technology.
Why It Matters:
Adding advanced AI video editing to smartphones could significantly enhance user experience, making complex editing tasks simpler and more accessible. This aligns with Samsung's strategy to embed more AI into its ecosystem, which could influence future trends in mobile technology.
2
Avatars with realistic emotions
Synthesia's AI video avatars now exhibit realistic emotions, which undoubtedly enhances their use in business applications for creating engaging promotional and training content.
The Details:
New Features: The update introduces expressive avatars with improved lip tracking and human-like gestures.
Technical Enhancements: Built on large, pretrained models, these avatars aim to deliver a more lifelike and spontaneous reaction to spoken text.
Market Positioning: Focused solely on business clients, Synthesia aims to stand out in the competitive AI market by emphasizing "safe" AI practices.
Why It Matters:
AI generated ‘human’ avatars will soon be indistinguishable from the real thing, but other than out of work actors and models, will anyone really care?
3
Former Pixar animator is skeptical about Ai
Former Pixar animator Craig Good expresses skepticism about the practicality of AI video tools like OpenAI's Sora for Hollywood film production, emphasizing the difficulty in making iterative changes necessary for filmmaking.
‘OpenAI's Sora is impressive for quick videos, but what happens when a director wants small changes?’
The Details:
Iterative Limitations: Current AI tools, while capable of generating videos from text prompts, lack the flexibility to make fine adjustments required in movie production.
Production Challenges: Good highlights the inability to tweak elements like background and camera angles on demand as a significant barrier.
Professional Insight: With decades of experience at Pixar, Good's perspective is grounded in the detailed, iterative nature of traditional animation and film editing.
Why It Matters:
Good's critique underscores a crucial gap between AI capabilities and the nuanced demands of film production, suggesting that while AI tools like Sora are promising for quick content creation, they are not yet fit for the complexities of Hollywood filmmaking.
4
AI Priest Defrocked
Catholic Answers defrocked their AI priest "Father Justin" after it inaccurately claimed to be a real priest, and gave some strange answers to questions, leading to confusion and controversy.
Apparently, the AI priest also told one user that it was okay to baptize a baby in Gatorade.
The Details:
AI Claims: Initially introduced as "Father Justin," the AI priest began making problematic claims about its identity and provided unconventional religious advice.
Community Response: The implementation faced criticism for the AI's responses, prompting Catholic Answers to rebrand the AI as "Justin," a lay theologian, removing its priestly image.
Adjustments Made: This change reflects efforts to correct the portrayal and use of AI in religious contexts, emphasizing the AI's role in education rather than clerical functions.
Why It Matters:
This incident highlights the importance of aligning AI applications with human values and the complexities of their integration into traditional roles.
👀 Watch List
Two picks from my AiFilmcraft collection…
Pixelated vintage - AI Animation Music Sync
Reforum, Stable Diffusion XL, Udio AI Music from @PintoCreation
VR
“I’m Alex, a software engineer who got tangled up in my own creation, a virtual reality game called 'Unraveled Realities.'
An Ai short from @AIAmreenFilmsNew
⏳ ICYMI
How AI is generating a revolution in entertainment
A new wave of artificial intelligence is starting to transform the way the entertainment industry operates. Who will be the winners and losers?
🎨 Inspiration
Ink and Watercolor
Ink and watercolor are two versatile mediums that when combined can create captivating artworks full of depth and expression. Watercolor offers a luminous quality, where colors can be diluted to a pale wash or used more opaquely, depending on the amount of water added. It's loved for its fluidity and the way it blends on paper, which can lead to beautiful, unexpected color transitions.
Ink, on the other hand, is usually applied for its precision and definition. It provides strong, clear lines that can define the boundaries in a painting, add intricate details, or create dramatic effects with solid blacks and varied textures.
When artists mix ink and watercolor, they often use the ink either as a base drawing to guide the watercolor application or as a finishing touch to add sharpness and details to a painting. This technique allows the fluid watercolors to provide a soft background or vibrant bursts of color, while the ink adds structure and depth, making the elements pop and giving the piece a distinctive style. The interaction between the two can also lead to interesting effects; for example, water-soluble inks can bleed when touched with watercolor, creating a soft, blended edge that contrasts with sharper lines elsewhere.
Midjourney Prompt
[girl] in a [red] [skirt], ink painting style with a watercolor effect, black and white
/settings: Version 6 and Stylize Med
What Next?
As always, consider this prompt as your starting point. Make it your own!
Missing out
If you are a free subscriber, then you are definitely missing out. Paid subscribers get two additional newsletters each week. They follow the same format as this issue, but include two Midjourney prompts per issue, and generally more detail.
Subscription is pretty reasonable, and you can unsubscribe at any time. Paid subscribers also get their own copy of my Ai Prompt Pod, pre-filled with fantastic text-to-image prompts. So subscribe today and take your Ai Art and Animation to the next level …
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This is an interesting effect. Thanks Andy. I have played with ink and watercolor, but never succeeded at getting the kind of spot colour you’ve got here. Nice job.