This talk explores how AI video generation can be used to reimagine our existing reality in playful and human ways, transforming everyday photos into engaging videos. It highlights the blend of the real and unreal, and how AI can enhance storytelling by reflecting our imagination rather than replacing it.
Key Takeaways
AI video tools can be used to creatively reimagine existing reality, not just create new ones.
Blending real and unreal elements in videos can lead to engaging and human-centric content.
AI can enhance storytelling by reflecting our imagination and emotions.
The focus is on celebrating and honouring real moments, capturing them not just as seen by a lens, but as felt in our hearts.
From Exploration to AI Video Creation
It turns out that a childhood desire to explore and have fun can lead you to some pretty interesting places. For the speaker, this journey led to co-founding Pica, an AI video creation platform. Back when generative AI was just starting out, the excitement was all about building entirely new realities. But the team at Pica was more interested in taking the reality we already live in and giving it a fresh spin.
They started by applying AI to everyday photos around their office. The immediate feeling was that there was something quite magical about mixing the real with the unreal. One video, in particular, stood out. It featured Jesse from their office, and while it wasn't real, the sheer fun they had creating and watching it made them realise they were onto something. They figured if they enjoyed it that much, others would too.
The Fun of Inflating and Melting
When they released those early videos, the response was pretty wild. People everywhere started taking the concept and running with it, inflating, melting, and crushing things by the millions. It was incredibly fun to watch. However, even with all the enjoyment, there was a sense that something was still missing. A story, a narrative that people could really connect with.
This realisation pushed them to develop technology that allowed people to become the main character in their own stories. With just a single photo, the possibilities seemed endless – whatever you could imagine, you could create.
The UFO Pizza Incident
While they were deep in development, fuelled by late-night pizza and very little sunlight, the news was buzzing about a UFO sighting in New Jersey. This sparked an idea. The next video the speaker created used absolutely no video assets at all. It was made using just four photos: a picture of the speaker, a slice of pizza, a UFO, and a park bench in New Jersey.
What followed was a short, humorous video that played on the news report, with the pizza slice greeting the viewer and a dramatic crash sound effect. The speaker created this video, blending their love for pizza with the UFO sighting, simply because the technology made it so easy. Within a few hours, they could produce this wonderfully chaotic, strange, and fun mix of real and unreal.
Enhancing Reality, Not Replacing It
But what happens if we play with the proportions? What if we add a bit of AI to our real videos, instead of adding ourselves to real videos? This opened up a whole new visual style, one that feels real because it is real and grounded in reality. Suddenly, audiences started connecting with AI in ways that hadn't been seen before.
The reason for this connection, the speaker believes, is that these were real people in real life moments, and the AI was simply there to enhance those moments just a little bit. It wasn't about creating something entirely artificial, but about adding a touch of magic to the authentic.
The Future of Personalised Reality
Looking ahead, the speaker wonders where this could all go. What if we could reimagine our own reality, guided by our emotions? Not to replace the real thing, but to celebrate it, to honour it, and to remember it. The goal is to capture moments not just as a camera sees them, but as they are felt in our hearts. We hold onto those special moments because they mean something to us and make us feel a certain way. And in the speaker's opinion, truly feeling something is the most fun thing there is.