South Park Creators’ Deepfake Video Startup Deep Voodoo Raises $20M in New Funding • InNewCL
South Park Creators’ Deepfake Video Startup Deep Voodoo Raises $20M in New Funding • InNewCL
#South #Park #Creators #Deepfake #Video #Startup #Deep #Voodoo #Raises #20M #Funding #InNewCL Welcome to InNewCL, here is the new story we have for you today:
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Trey Parker and Matt Stone, creators of South Park and various other media, have raised $20 million over the years to continue work on their professional creator deepfake studio, Deep Voodoo.
The company began during the 2020 media shutdown when the pandemic prevented most on-set travel and production. Parker and Stone had already begun assembling an AI artist team for a film they were developing, and when COVID intervened, they focused on creating the tools for later use.
“We stumbled upon this amazing technology and ended up recruiting the best deepfake artists in the world,” Stone said in an announcement on Deep Voodoo’s website. I’ve been looking for more information and will update this post if I hear back.
The Parker/Stone seal of approval was evident as the company made its public debut alongside none other than Kendrick Lamar. The video for The Heart Part 5 seemingly has the musician deliver his lyrics in one take, but when he faces the camera directly, his face takes on the aspects of others: OJ Simpson, Nipsey Hussle, Kobe Bryant, and Kanye West:
Of course, it’s obvious that deepfake technology was used for this – just as it’s obvious that the dragons in Game of Thrones aren’t real. It still looks dramatic, even if the substitution is by no means perfect.
Since then, with the help of $20 million from Connect Ventures, Deep Voodoo has begun offering its technology to others in the industry.
Of course by no means the only one. Digital de-aging and “re-facing,” as it’s sometimes called, has become a staple of Disney media, though early attempts (a waxy Grand Moff Tarkin and the unconvincing young Luke Skywalker) were poorly received by audiences .
The technology is clearly here to stay, but how it will be used creatively — and ethically — is still an open question. Stone and Parker, despite their notoriety for offbeat humor and courting controversy, appear to be smart minds when it comes to fundamental issues of fairness and storytelling. That is a beginning.
