The multifaceted/multitalented Director Justin Wilson (full disclosure: old friend) reached out and asked for input on a music video for the group Megafauna of Austin, TX. The general idea was for the drummer to enter an algorithm type of world. We weren’t quite sure what that would look like but Justin set out to shoot the band and returned with green screen footage of the drummer. we worked that cleaned up footage through a process involving Ai (BKSL’s diffuseAE). Music videos offer the most creative freedom and we explored a few ideas. The end (red) section was by far the most fun. Using Ai to effect the footage and create elements to layer on, creating gritty textures of light and blended gradients. 35mm Directors without fear would pull the lens off the housing on the last few feet of film, guaranteeing sparks of light leaks to be discovered upon development. Ai offers new ways to do old tricks.

One i’d hoped to explore further was the h.r. giger style in some of the included rough clips. Using Ai to wholesale create something out of thin air is one thing, no matter what side of the discussion you find yourself on. imo, taking your own footage and manipulating it with Ai is not unlike any other tool i have in the bag. we use plugins, scripts, all types of tools that make After Effects or other software tools better.