Examining the use of voice models from “Val” to “The Andy Warhol Diaries” — In the summer of 2021, mass audiences got an abrupt introduction to audio deepfaking thanks to the controversy over the documentary Roadrunner: A Film About Anthony Bourdain (2021). To provide narration for several lines from deceased subject Anthony Bourdain’s private writings, director Morgan Neville and his crew used AI software…

Finding inspiration in the corner of the internet where torrent trackers, MEGA uploads and other bootleg networks thrive — The circulation of nonfiction films online exists in both commercial and bootleg forms. Addressing the former, in February 2022, 16 independent filmmakers announced that they had formed Missing Movies, a working group dedicated to advancing the cause of preservation for films in danger of being left behind. They are specifically…

On Sundance’s social VR offerings and New Frontier projects “The Inside World,” “Cosmogony,” “Suga’,” and “Gondwana” —

The director of We Met in Virtual Reality discusses filming in VR and personal narratives of the metaverse — In various short films (as well as a collaboration with Immerse), UK-based filmmaker Joe Hunting observes and talks to users of the social game VRChat, exploring the possibilities virtual reality offers for interpersonal connection and individual expression. Hunting’s latest documentary and first feature, We Met in Virtual Reality, is impressively…

Is it possible to design a nonviolent metaverse based off open-world combat games? — It’s one thing to build a virtual world; it’s another to give a user a set of intuitive tools that will let them explore it in full. So far, many forays into metaverse interfaces follow the example set by video games. Fortnite demonstrates this quite literally, as it is attempting…