Charlatan

The Digital Human Group has been studying digital puppetry since its groundbreaking work on “The Curious Case Case of Benjamin Button.” Today, all of this work has culminated in the studio’s proprietary new face-swapping technology called “Charlatan.”

Charlatan leverages machine learning’s ability to convert one image to another. It features an advanced suite of digital aging tools and can serve real-time and even mask removal applications. Recently, for Malaria No More’s “Malaria Must Die” campaign, the team added nearly 30 years to David Beckham to deliver a speech in the future. Combining footage of current-day Beckham and an older stand-in, Charlatan intelligently merged the performances to project how an older Beckham would look. In addition to digital aging, Charlatan can accomplish facial transfer seamlessly, as was the case for the late Teresa Teng’s real-time post-humus performance. Utilizing facial tracking technology, we can change a performer’s appearance in real-time!