Animated Ancestors

 In a recent post (herqe), I mentioned that I was not entirely convinced with the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to colourising monochrome photographs. My main reservation were that, despite being beguilingly real, the colours were completely artificial and probably did not bear any relationship to the way it was when the photograph was taken. But, then again, perhaps some of them do. Who knows. The pedantic purist would dismiss such embellishments as fripperies. Me? I take a more pragmatic view. For some photographs, colourisation just does not add anything. For others, it definitely adds something and quite often that something is 'life'. For these, the addition of colour lifts the subject matter and gives it more depth. 

Recently, the My Heritage website has added another gizmo to enrage the purists - the ability to take a photograph and add some animation to the features of those depicted. Again, it's artificial and, at best, can be described at 'augmented reality'. I've tried it on a few old photographs and, like colourisation, it adds something to some and not a lot to others. Here are a few examples for your entertainment. 

These are my great grandparents, George and Emma Parsons. I think this photograph was taken in the garden of their home in Hove, around 1920.

The same photograph after processing it with the My Heritage colourisation gizmo. I think this is a good example of where the addition of colour works - for me, at least. The above photograph acts as input into the animation process. This only animates the heads of the subjects, and with a limited range of movements and gestures, but does allow them to be saved and displayed separately. Below are the individual files for George and Emma.

My verdict? For George and Emma, the animation works and gives them another dimension. Not quite completely life like but good enough to make them human. I think it makes them look very pleasant and that's the way they were described to me by my father, who had very few memories of them. Just imagine what they would have made of all this.

The software raises all sort of issues with regards to privacy and its possible use to manipulate images for malacious purposes, particularly to produce the so-called 'deep fake' animations that can be used to deceive and misinform. In recognition of this, My Heritage does not allow any 'voice overs'. But, if you want, these can be added without too many problems.

Personally, I draw the line at animating anyone living, without their express permission, or anyone in my immediate family. But, I exclude myself..

The original untouched photograph of the 'Bryn Fedw Gang' taken in Bedwas around 1956. I was 8 or 9 at the time and I'm the one in the middle.

The same photograph after a little cleaning up in Photoshop followed by colourisation. I like it and it brings my old friends back to life, albeit a little pinker than we all were. I suspect the colours are probably not too far out as I don't remember our clothes as being highly coloured.

I've run the Bryn Fedw Gang through the animation programme and just saved what it's made out of my image. I wonder what my mother would have thought of the likeness? It looks reasonable to me.