some scenes were completed using CGI and his brothers as body doubles
Paul Walker was arguably one of the biggest faces of the Fast & Furious franchise. In 2013, the actor passed away doing what he loved dearly, as a fatal car accident resulted in his death on the sets of Fast 7.
His global fan base was devastated, and everyone knew that in order to preserve his legacy, the movie had to be completed.
The use of deep fake technology
Deepfake technology uses artificial intelligence techniques to create realistic images & videos of anyone.
These lifelike imitations can often be mistaken as real, and with advancements in technology, it has only gotten better. The technology was initially used to create specific movie scenes, but recently it has developed into a major identity theft issue, where cybercriminals threaten individuals with their deepfake videos in undesirable settings.
If you want to learn more about deepfakes, head over to our blog.
It was decided that deepfake technology would be used to superimpose Paul Walker’s face onto his brother, Cody Walker’s body.
Using Cody Walker as Paul’s Body Double
The super emotional scene of Dom (Vin Diesel) parting ways with Brian (Paul/Cody Walker) at the end of the movie features Paul’s brother Cody.
An advanced AI technique of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) was combined with deepfakes to create an ultra-realistic imitation of Paul Walker. Since the brothers had a similar body type, Cody was used as a body double.
The iconic scene left everyone in tears, and the depiction was so realistic that we all had goosebumps watching it.
Using archival footage
Copying and superimposing Paul’s face was not the only challenge, the team had to also use archival footage from previous movies. This was to ensure that Paul was imitated accurately.
The ethical debate
The audience received it very well, and everybody was pretty emotional with the overall setting. However, it did spark an ethical debate about using deepfakes and posthumous performances.
Questions began to arise such as who owns the right to cast the imagery of the actor? Who decides that the actor would want that post his/her death? However, the audience is still divided on the use of deepfakes in movies, but there is no divide on its potential to cause havoc in society.
What does this mean for the world of deepfakes?
The ultra-realistic imagery has caused a lot of problems in terms of identity theft around the world. The application of deepfakes in movies is incredible, and everyone loves it but the problem arises with its unethical use. We discussed a few cases and their impact in our previous edition of the newsletter which focuses on the impact of deepfake technology in everyday life.
What can you do about it?
The first thing you can do is to make yourself aware of the potential use cases of deepfake technology. Once you develop a basic understanding, read on how you can easily identify deepfakes. The problem of deepfakes cannot be eliminated instantly, but with greater awareness, they can be greatly minimised.
