We chat to Jo Plaete from Metaphysic about the use of its neural HMC performance injection tech, including for the character Rook in ‘Alien: Romulus’.
Welcome to the brand new ‘AI and machine learning in VFX’ season of episodes on the befores & afters podcast. This season is all about where AI and machine learning are being used right now in visual effects. Today I’m joined by Jo Plaete, chief innovation officer and visual effects supervisor from Metaphysic.
You’ll likely be familiar with Metaphysic’s work on three big projects from last year – Furiosa, where they worked on the Bullet Farmer, Alien: Romulus, where they helped craft Rook, and Here, where they de-aged (and aged) Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, among several other characters. For those projects, Metaphysic utilized its Neural Performance Toolset, including its Neural Editing and Animation tools.
For Rook in Alien: Romulus, in particular, Metaphysic also relied on something it coined Neural HMC performance injection, where the performance of an actor captured in an HMC was also part of the mix of delivering that character. That’s what we focus on today, as part of Metaphysic’s approach to AI-driven facial animation.
Listen in, above.
