Tom Hanks has delivered countless hits in the industry in a diverse range of movies, but his new project is extremely different. Here explores the life of a couple, portrayed by the legendary pairing of Hanks and Robin Wright, throughout generations.
Robert Zemeckis is known for his innovative lens when it comes to filming and this movie is a classic example of that. The director aspires to deliver the moving storyline which starts from dinosaurs to man, in a documentary-like style. However, to truly commit to the concept the Cast Away actor had to forgo one cardinal rule he always adhered to during filming, not to look back.
When Tom Hanks had to self-reflect
Ever since the growth of AI and advanced technology in Hollywood, audiences have been skeptical about its use to generate images and visual effects. Being too reliant on technology might hurt the final product, but some movie concepts require that extra assistance.
Robert Zemeckis wowed the audience with Forrest Gump and other movies like Cast Away and Back to the Future series. The filmmaker roped in the iconic pair from his 1994 directorial, Tom Hanks and Robin Wright, for another unconventional film.
Here showcased the couple reuniting onscreen for the first time ever since their first project, but in an entirely different setting. The film used digital de-aging to bring back the actors in their prime years, a concept that is not unheard of.
While talking to The New York Times, the Freaky Tales lead spoke about his interesting experience on the set. Hanks mentioned that he had to let go of one rule that he followed throughout his filmography, for this movie.
I will not watch playback on a standard movie because I am going to be the least objective about anything that I see.
But here, it was the most important tool we had to judge ourselves as 17-year-old or 37-year-old versions of ourselves.
The Elvis actor confessed that he made it a habit not to watch his dailies or playbacks but this would not work for the new movie. Since the film involved modified clips of the actors they had to watch it on repeat to make sure their actions were in sync with the age they had to portray.
The concept of de-aging in filming
The time-hopping drama film had to heavily rely on accurate VFX technology to perfectly de-age the lead pair. The movie is shot from the same piece of land, through a single camera lens, showcasing the couple from their beginning to the end.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, a new VFX technology called Metaphysic Live was used by the producers in order to de-age the actors. The tool has been known for not requiring any post-production because it directly uses AI to implement the changes in the shots as they’re filmed.
This real-time implementation of the effects not only makes filming easier for the makers but also for the actors. It did add some extra burden on the pair to perfect their imitation of a young couple, with respect to their physical actions.
We were acting physically, raising the octave in our voice, to be a 17-year-old. But A.I. gave us the innocence in the eyes and the youthful skin. And got rid of the saggy neck.
Wright mentioned the extra efforts they took to look lively onscreen while filming when she sat down with The New York Times. The AI tool may seem like a face-swapping technology, but it’s supposed to be incredibly accurate since it uses extensive real-time data.
Here is currently available to watch in theatres.
