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Trading Faces: Video Changes in Real-Time

Trading Faces: Video Changes in Real Time

Wouldn’t it be cool if you could live out your impressionist dreams? This new technology allows you to do just that by altering your appearance in real-time.

CBS recently covered a story revealing a new video technology that is able to manipulate YouTube videos in real-time. Researchers at Stanford University were able to work with a webcam to take three-dimensional scans of a person’s facial expressions. From former President George W. Bush to Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, this computer software (along a camera) then animates it on to another person’s face and is able to recreate these expressions.

The idea of manipulating facial expressions isn’t a phenomenon we haven’t seen before. Even Yoplait did it in  their 2008 ‘Yop’ commercial:

What stands out about this technology is how closely it is able to manipulate our visual experience. Anchor Anthony Mason warns that in an increasingly rapid Internet era, not everything on the Internet is as real as it seems.

Another thing worth noting is that this video manipulation is done in real-time. While a lot of video augments occur after the fact (e.g. in post-production), this technology allows “face actors” to make the swap while we watch.

Trading Faces: Video Changes in Real Time

Now, with the rise of fast-growing social media apps and new tech features, we’re seeing trickles of “augmented reality” more than ever. Apple’s Photo-booth feature on MacBook Pro has allowed us to augment our facial expressions for some time now. Even Snapchat’s latest upgrade has introduced filters allowing us to alter our video snaps.

Here at Key West Video, we specialize in providing the best in video production services. While we’re not quite sure what this new software will mean for the state of augmented reality in real-time, rest assured we are equipped to accommodate videography changes in the industry.

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