It is difficult to feel connected to someone who has undergone a static photo. Then a company called My inheritance which provides automatic photo enhancements with AI technology now offers a new service that can animate people in old photos by creating a short video it looks like it was recorded while posing and preparing for the portrait.
Called Deep nostalgia, the resulting videos are reminiscent of the Live Photos feature on iOS and iPadOS, where several seconds of video are recorded and saved before and after the camera application shutter is pressed. But where Live Photos is meant to be used to find the perfect photo and frame that may have been lost the very second the shutter was pressed, Deep Nostalgia aims to bring photos to life, even those not captured on a smartphone. modern .
The conversion process is fully automated. Users simply need to upload a photo via the MyHeritage website where it is first sharpened and enhanced not only to improve the quality of the final animation, but also to make it easier for the deep learning algorithm (created by a company call DID) to do your job. The orientation of the person in the photo is analyzed to determine the direction of the head and eyes, and then a video of the corresponding driver – a modern recording of a face making movements as if it were posing for a photo – is selected to guide how the photo is lively.
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The results are frighteningly realistic and are able to preserve the aesthetics of the original photo to help sell the effect of this video being recorded when the actual photo was captured. However, Deep Nostalgia has some limitations. In a photo with multiple subjects, users are asked to select only one person they wish to see animated because the tool, at least in its current form, cannot bring the whole photo to life. Animations are also limited to the subject’s head and neck. If it’s a picture of them playing tennis, you won’t see them hitting the ball.
THE MyHeritage website requires users to sign up before using Deep Nostalgia. But once that is done, you can animate up to five different photos for free. After that, you will need to pay for a subscription to bring other friends and family back to life. Is it a little scary? Yes, but at the same time, it is another fascinating application of AI and deep learning that seems out of science fiction. And while the service is limited today, it won’t be long before AI is able to bring an entire photo to life, so a static moment at your grandparents’ wedding can easily become another family home video.