In the recent writer and actor strikes in Hollywood one of the biggest talking points was the threat of artificial intelligence and the potential impact it would have on the entertainment industry by replacing writers and/or performers. Large studios may seek to use the likenesses of individuals without direct consent in order to save both time and money (even from people who have passed away).
Earlier this year Disney released the romantic comedy Prom Pact on Disney. The film starred Peyton Elizabeth Lee and Milo Mandeim. Mandy (Played by: Lee) wants to attend Harvard while her and her friend Ben (Played by: Mandeim) receive multiple “prom-posals” for the upcoming prom dance. Just a simple romantic comedy, nothing to write home about.
However, the film has recently gotten some attention online, but not the way the filmmakers would have wanted. TikTok user @kelseykid_ posted a video that she recorded while watching the film and noticed that some of the extras in the audience of the basketball game weren’t human.
@kelseykid_ super excited to watch Prom Pact on Disney+ and then saw this 😵💫😵💫😵💫 still gonna watch it though.
♬ Oh my god what is that – Shoftyz
The image shows that some of the “extras” were made completely from CGI. While it most likely was made from 3D models via post-production, many in the comments of the video cried “A.I.”.
The idea of using computer-generated extras seems rather odd given the fact that in other crowd shots, it clearly shows plenty of live extras take up the gymnasium. Perhaps they were trying to cover something or tried to make the attendance look more “full.” While using CGI extras for far-away shots isn’t uncommon, seeing them this up close is rather jarring. 
Many are worried that such things will become more frequent in the future as companies try to come up with more and more cost-cutting measures to increase profitability. But perhaps they need to take a step back and realize that using characters that look like they came from the Polar Express isn’t the best idea for such a thing.
Source: New York Post
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