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Digital Face-Swapping Getting Cheaper

Zothecula writes "If you've seen the film The Social Network, then you might have wondered about the identical Winklevoss twins — were a real-life pair of twins cast for the roles, or was it a bit of Hollywood magic? Well, it was magic. Although two different actors' bodies were used, their faces both belonged to actor Armie Hammer. After the movie was shot, the body double's face was digitally replaced with Armie's. While such computer-enabled face-swapping trickery has so far been available only to feature film-makers with deep pockets, that could be about to change, thanks to research being conducted at Harvard University (PDF)."

39 of 62 comments (clear)

  1. Excellent by masternerdguy · · Score: 5, Funny

    I invoke rule 34

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    1. Re:Excellent by Denihil · · Score: 3, Funny

      is the music video windowlicker from aphex twin close enough? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JAt6jpBmHHM

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    2. Re:Excellent by Aerorae · · Score: 1

      thank god I'm not the only one who thought that!

    3. Re:Excellent by betterunixthanunix · · Score: 4, Funny

      I find it interesting that you are thankful that you are included among the people who did think of that...

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    4. Re:Excellent by duguk · · Score: 2

      Try Charlie Brooker's new drama; Black Mirror.

      Even tries to feature this face-swapping technique. And it involves the Prime Minister and an animal. I'll say no more.

      Hopefully someone else has already seen it, think it'd be very appropriate for /.

    5. Re:Excellent by Nick+Fel · · Score: 1

      Hah. I saw this headline and immediately thought the same thing.

    6. Re:Excellent by rubycodez · · Score: 1

      I initially read the title as "digital face sitting', thought they had augmented cyberskin robotics with taste and odor transmission. ah well, some day we'll dine at the digital Y

    7. Re:Excellent by roc97007 · · Score: 2

      Obviously this is going to be used... for... Oh drat. Never mind.

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  2. Well, this is a game changer! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    It changes everything! Is that enough hyperbole yet? Why, we'll colonize the universe in no time now!

  3. Digital Plastic Surgery by toejam13 · · Score: 3, Funny

    I'm waiting for inexpensive applications for home PCs where you can easily change your appearance, sort of like digital plastic surgery. Want to see what you'd look like with a nose job? How about as the other sex? I would assume something like that would be a heck of a lot more complex than mapping somebody face onto somebody else's head.

    1. Re:Digital Plastic Surgery by geekmux · · Score: 1

      I'm waiting for inexpensive applications for home PCs where you can easily change your appearance, sort of like digital plastic surgery...

      Um, "digital plastic surgery"? That would be called "Photoshop". Just ask any supermodel.

    2. Re:Digital Plastic Surgery by toejam13 · · Score: 1

      Yeah, but that takes a human artist to manipulate the image. Imagine taking a face, entering a set of modifications, and then having the software do it for you.

    3. Re:Digital Plastic Surgery by geekmux · · Score: 2

      Yeah, but that takes a human artist to manipulate the image. Imagine taking a face, entering a set of modifications, and then having the software do it for you.

      Yeah, now that would be cool. Be one hell of an anti-drug ad to show people their simulated face of meth.

    4. Re:Digital Plastic Surgery by roc97007 · · Score: 1

      This is going to totally change online dating... Not in a good way.

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      Oliver's law of assumed responsibility: If you're seen fixing it, you will be blamed for breaking it.
  4. Head swap by kefler · · Score: 2
  5. Augmented reality by Dan+East · · Score: 1

    Well, I can see where this is headed. Once augmented reality becomes commonplace, and everyone is wearing glasses / contacts / implants that enhance and augment vision with information and metadata, people will be able to pay a (probably hefty) sum to the providers, and have their perceived appearance digitally enhanced. Removing wrinkles, coloring hair, shaving off a few pounds, etc.

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    1. Re:Augmented reality by masternerdguy · · Score: 1

      That is what I call the negative future, where we become self absorbed and rot planet side and die off without ever leaving the solar system.

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    2. Re:Augmented reality by kakyoin01 · · Score: 1

      Well, I can see where this is headed.

      >headed

      Har har, I see what you did there.

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    3. Re:Augmented reality by geekmux · · Score: 1

      Well, I can see where this is headed. Once augmented reality becomes commonplace, and everyone is wearing glasses / contacts / implants that enhance and augment vision with information and metadata, people will be able to pay a (probably hefty) sum to the providers, and have their perceived appearance digitally enhanced. Removing wrinkles, coloring hair, shaving off a few pounds, etc.

      Er, you can see where this is "headed"? How about where we are today?

      Oddly enough, you just described a haunting similarity to many online role-playing games, which players are already paying a "hefty sum to the providers" in order to play their "digitally enhanced" versions of themselves online each month.

      And if they're not online pretending, they're watching reality shows, which is yet another shining example of augmented reality...

  6. Re:Calling George Lucas... by oodaloop · · Score: 1

    FFS, don't give him any ideas!

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  7. Re:Calling George Lucas... by Desler · · Score: 1

    And any person can now have the head of jarjar binks!

  8. 1942's "Pride of the Yankees" did it better by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    That's not nearly as creative as 1942's classic "Pride of the Yankees." Gary Cooper, who played Lou Gehrig, was right handed. Gehrig, of course, was lefty. But to have Cooper bat from the left side as a righty would be clearly obvious because it would look unnatural. Instead, he batted righty with his uniform number 3 sewed backwards on his jersey. He then hit the ball and ran to third base instead of first. Then, the studio just flopped the film. Now that's CREATIVE! vs. today's digital magic.

  9. End of Time by uigrad_2000 · · Score: 1

    I just watched the Doctor Who 2009 Christmas special called The End of Time last night. There were probably at least 50 actors/actresses who all had their head replaced by that of The Master. Even Barack Obama (a semi-prominent character in this episode) had his head replaced by that of The Master.

    If only the BBC team had had this technology available, those characters could have actually turned their heads, instead of staring directly at the camera during these scenes. Oh well, it is this cheesieness that make Doctor Who what it is!

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    1. Re:End of Time by im_thatoneguy · · Score: 1

      Except that this technology doesn't help with head turning either.

  10. Real Twins? by bobcat7677 · · Score: 3, Funny

    Why not use real twins? Seems like it would be cheaper and easier to apply some SNL makeup magic to a set of real twins to make them look the part instead of doing a bunch of digital post processing.

    1. Re:Real Twins? by Telvin_3d · · Score: 1

      Why? Because the number of twins that are (both) also professional actors and are the right age/build/look is a frighteningly small set. A decade ago they would have just used camera trickery and filmed everything twice to double the one actor. Now, shooting everything once and swapping the face saves them lots of money, if only because filming time is crazy expensive.

    2. Re:Real Twins? by couchslug · · Score: 1

      Now try to find hot twins who will have sex with each other....

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    3. Re:Real Twins? by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Next up, swapping a high salary actor with a cheap body double and some software.

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  11. Can't wait for the App by milbournosphere · · Score: 1

    "Hey guys, guess who made out with Angelina Jolie last night!"

    1. Re:Can't wait for the App by korean.ian · · Score: 1

      Angelina Jolie?

  12. I didn't. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    then you might have wondered about the identical Winklevoss twins

    I did not.

  13. No more drugs for that man! by roman_mir · · Score: 1

    I'd like to take his face ........ off!

  14. What *I* Wanna Know by bratwiz · · Score: 1

    What *I* wanna know is how they managed to make Danny De-Vito and Arnold Schwarzenegger look so much alike in that movie "Twins" ??? The resemblance was so real it was spooky!

  15. Just think... by camperdave · · Score: 1

    With this technique we could get all new episodes of Gilligan's Island and Hogan's Heroes. And we could put the original Darrin into all the Dick Sargent episodes of Bewitched. Imagine the possibilities!

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    1. Re:Just think... by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Was there not a commercial or two made a few years back that had John Wayne in them?

      I am still waiting for Hollywood to pull a agent Smith on all the actors of a movie, or even to archive their digital likeness for future use...

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  16. Black Swan is a good example... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Low budget ($13 million) movie that included over 300 VFX shots. Portman and Kunis had real ballerinas as body doubles to dance most of the difficult stuff. Their faces were digitally transferred via VFX processes.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4n71sjmd-bM
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drS0XgRdlQc

  17. Parent Trappings by slashdotresearch_mj · · Score: 1

    This would have saved 11 year old Lindsay Lohan a lot of work. However current Lindsay Lohan would probably just use it to buy crack.

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  18. Yay! Laughing Man! by Deliveranc3 · · Score: 1

    Anonymous is gonna LOVE this!

    1. Re:Yay! Laughing Man! by hitmark · · Score: 1

      Digital Guy Fawkes?

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