De-aging

As a part of my investigative study essay, I will also immerse myself in the digital de-aging technology.

De-aging is the practice of making an actor appear younger on-screen than they actually are.

Usually, de-aging is traditionally executed by tiny markers attached to the actor's face to synchronize the movements of the 3D subject with the movements of the actor's head. Then, an invisible 3D version of the head is built, which is synchronized with the movement of the actor's head. On top of this head, an artist will add digital cosmetic effects by putting "patches" - images of a younger body double's skin, on top as a filter, erasing any signs of wrinkles, age spots, jowl and blemishes.

The younger stunt double, would repeat the original actor's movement, passing the same scene in the same scenery and under the same lighting. Next, the VFX artist would perform a "digital facelift" - removing the chin, drawing the cheekbones more clearly, and reducing the ears and nose that have been growing for the actor's entire life.

Will Smith on set shooting "Gemini Man" (2019)

IILM's new de-aging technology being applied to Robert De Niro in "The Irishman" (2019), footage of young De Niro was used as reference.

Reference >

Behind the scenes of how ILM made the groundbreaking de-aging effects used in:

"The Irishman" (Netflix, 2019)

Examples of Digital De-aged Actors

Will Smith in "Gemini Man" (2019)

Will Smith gets into details of how director Ang Lee and WETA managed to create a fully digital version of a 23-year-old Will.

Kurt Russell in "Guardians of The Galaxy" (2017)

Robert Downey Jr. in "Captain America: Civil War" (2016)

Carrie Fisher in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016)

Jennifer Connelly in "American Pastoral" (2016)

Digital De-Aging Experiment

During the first several weeks of our study essay, conflicted, I considered doing a practical part in addition to my written essay. The de-aging technology fascinated me, and I wanted to explore the topic further. As a beta test, I did a run of the used equipment and software's shown in a YouTube tutorial about de-aging. The reason I did this was so I could get familiar with the process, and uncover any bugs or issues I could have along the way.

Mohamed Mehrez, a VFX enthusiast, breaks down the process of making a realistic video of a de-aged person in After Effects.

I have frequently use After effects before, and I am familiar with FaceApp, but have never used or heard of EbSynth.

EbSynth, the picture manipulation software, was surprisingly straight forward. All you had to do was to insert a keyframe image with the chosen effect added from FaceApp. Then, link the already manipulated image with the raw PNG- sequence. The software would analyze that one input keyframe into many small pieces which are then reassembled to form the output frames. Preferably, create an output folder where the output frames would go, to make it easier and more organized.

FaceApp manipulated keyframe photo

Output keyframes from EbSynth

Raw footage as a PNG-sequence

Stop: the last frame in the sequence

Keyframe: Altered keyframe's number

Stop: the first frame in the sequence

Keyframes: manipulated keyframe

Video: PNG- sequence

Out: Select the output folder created

EbSynth offers an advanced setting, as well as the regular one. In the advanced settings you can add several keyframe shots as reference. For instance; if you have a video where a subject's face is moving around a lot, you can animate multiple keyframes in different angles and let EbSynth analyze the sequence in smaller parts, rather than one continuously video.

Images above is an example of a video I did where the model made some big movements, and I decided to split the video in half and use the advanced setting.

Later on, after all the necessary details have been inserted in the different file directories, you continue by hitting the Synth button. EbSynth will then analyze the input key and duplicate the effect on the other frames in the sequence, these keys will be exported in its own folder: the output folder, as shown above.

Before and After

Breakdown

My first test did not turn out great, the woman I chose did not fit the digital de-aging criteria. She was young and had no signs of age, which made it difficult to see the good "youthification" results, she mostly looked airbrushed.

For my actual assignment, I came to the decision that an older person would do best. The thing about de-aging a person you don't know is that you only need to look at the quality of the clip, and the result of the technology; if it's lagging or blurry etc. You do not know the person or how they looked like when they were younger. That is why I wanted to de-age a person I know. Ideally, a person I have known my whole life, and know what he/she looked like when young. I could use this person as a reference and see how close the de-aging results came to be, and compare the technology with the photographs. I decided to de-age my father.

De-Aging my Father

My father is in his early fifties, with visible wrinkles and a receding hairline. In his youth he used to have dark curls and freckles, I would like to see if I could recreate. While working, I had old photographs of my father present as reference and my goal for the experiment. Below you can see my father around my age as a young adult, these photographs would be my aim for the de-aging.

I shot some footage of my father using my iPhone which I then imported into After Effects, AE.

For the de-aging to work, I had to render the video out as a PNG- sequence. After that, I went through the sequence looking for the shot where you could see most of his face; his eyes open and face pointed towards the camera.

The chosen shot would be my reference image. Next, I imported the photo into FaceApp and selected the preferred effect

I did not manage to bring back my father's curls, but some freckles did appear. The result was impressive, it wasn't perfect but the resemblance is not far off, just add longer hair and we're good!

In addition to the de-aging versions, I included an aging alternative and a child too. I wanted to see what my father would look like old, I was surprised to see that he is a copy of my granddad.

Breakdowns

The outcome of my experiment was impressive considering we could achieve this without the help of any advanced de-aging technology, and without using any complicated gadgets or software. I’m especially impressed by the quality of the manipulated images from FaceApp, the realism is uncanny but not perfect, furthermore, if you take into consideration that the app is free, the result is not bad. However, the app offers paid subscriptions for those who wants better effects and flawless photos without the watermark.