This is our first event producing photographs using Artificial Intelligence to remove the background and place guests in the scenes of their choice! When we created the AI event for the premiere of Sonic 2 in Leicester Square, London, our client initially wanted a blue screen to match the theme. We have been working with blue and green screens for many years, right back to the late 70’s and 80’s when we worked on movies. But it’s not easy to fit the screen into some venues. and it doesn’t look as visually appealing as a pre-printed backdrop or scene. We have been involved with the development of AI background removal and used early versions as far back as ten years ago!
Now technology has at last caught up with us, the power of the M1 processor lets us shoot, remove the background using AI and replace it with a themed backdrop. Quickly and accurately. Below is a video of our early testing showing us setting up this job.
So in the photos from the event you will see a blue screen. That’s because this was the first time we had used AI photography live at an event. When we work at movie premieres we have a very short time with all the guests and VIP’s before they go in to watch the movie. Usually we have an hour and around 100 guests and VIP’s. So to get everyone through with an AI generated photo printed and shared means a fast efficient workflow. We were worried that the AI wouldnt be as fast as using a Blue screen. And the client wanted something in the space for people to stand in front of. We like to have a backup of everything we do, so this is an ideal test! As you can see from the test results below, the quality was just as good as the blue screen, and we know how to use those properly with years of experience. And it was almost as quick as using a blue screen!
Guests could choose from Sonic, Tails and Knuckles. we printed 200 photographs and shot 130 scenes (some have more than person in!) And shared the images straight to the guests mobiles. AI photography is a very new technique, and it finally has the speed and quality we need to be viable at any event. So now you don’t need a green screen, blue screen or even a printed backdrop to create amazing memories, as long as you have a professional photographer, AI does it all!
We made photos for all of Idris Elba’s kids, who loved them, and managed to grab a shot with Sir Mo as seen below. Who would win 🙂
