Rory Flynn: Departed Scene

• Rory Flynn put Act II to the test with one of the hardest performances out there, capturing Nicholson’s wild expressions and gestures from The Departed.

• The results show major progress in facial tracking, eye movement, and hand mocap, even if the mouth movements still have room to grow.

will.i.am + Taboo, Secret Level: East LA

• Will.i.am and Taboo return with East LA, a song and video celebrating their roots in Boyle Heights and East Los Angeles, with poignant references to recent immigration challenges.

• According to Jason Zada, Secret Level provided slick AI-powered visual effects and seamless transitions that bring cultural pride and neighborhood energy to life.

Enter the Void: Cognitive Security

@enterthevoidstudio

Cognitive Security #midjourney #aliceinwonderland #luciddreams

• The dreamy short brings Alice, rabbits, and rabbit-people into a trippy, space-like realm filled with floating forms and surreal colors.

• Through dreamy transitions and otherworldly imagery, the video captures the enchanting yet unsettling feeling of exploring a Wonderland in orbit.

Martin Nebelong: Veo Hidden Ability

• Martin Nebelong’s powerful short shows off one of Veo 3 i2v’s coolest tricks; its ability to carry the same subject through totally different scenes using a simple prompt: “Instantly jump/cut on frame 1. [Describe the new context].”

• In the video, Martin uses his own sketch as the main character across all the scenes, and Veo keeps it perfectly each time. It’s easy to do, but the results feel like magic.

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HeyGen Avatar IV

• Upload just one photo and a script (or voice), and Avatar IV generates a lifelike, talking avatar complete with synchronized facial expressions and realistic hand gestures. 

• Powered by a diffusion-inspired audio-to-expression engine, it interprets tone, timing, and emotion to add head tilts, micro-expressions, and natural pauses, making avatars feel real, not robotic.

• Supports hyper-realistic humans, anime, and animal avatars—with flexible framing and full-body options, including from tilted or profile shots—available in HD quality. 

Ted Sarandos says AI makes movies better, not just cheaper

• Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos told analysts that generative AI is helping creators make movies and shows better, not just cheaper.

• He highlighted real use cases like pre-visualization, shot planning, and VFX— tools creators are already benefiting from.

• Sarandos pointed to El Eternauta as an example, where AI-powered VFX cut production time drastically while staying within a lower budget.