Disney Has Developed a High-Resolution Face Swap VFX Technology Destined to Change Filmmaking

We have seen face swap technology come a long way over the past couple of years. Just in the past couple of years, we’ve seen Marvel use de-aging technology in Ant-Man and the Wasp, as well as that same tech in The Irishman. The technology has gotten better, and will continue to do so. Proof of that comes in from a recent report from Disney studios.

In a new paper being presented at the 2020 Eurographics Symposium on Rendering, that will, of course, be held virtually this year, titled High-Resolution Neural Face Swapping for Visual Effects, “researchers from ETH Zurich and Disney Research Studios detail several new innovations and approaches to automated face-swaps that produce megapixel results with enough quality and resolution to be used for actual film production.”

Gizmodo reports:

“The new algorithm created by the researchers starts by actually modifying the source (or target video) to make it easier for alternate faces to be swapped in. The motion in the source footage is subtly stabilized and smoothed to eliminate potential problems, such as a slightly quivering lip that could potentially throw off the automated swapping process in a later step. The researchers also improved several other steps along the way, including the blending of the new face onto the original through improved compositing techniques to better match the overall contrast. The algorithm even does a much better job at generating the in-between frames needed to create smooth results so that the new face doesn’t appear to jump around when the altered footage is played back.”

Check out the video below that shows you what they’re talking about. It’s pretty incredible to see, and it shows how far the tech has come, and where it is headed.