Uploaded May 2025 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
On this episode of the fxpodcast, we have an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects work for Amazon’s Étoile, featuring an in-depth discussion with David Gaddie from Afterparty VFX. The team undertook the challenging face replacement work for the show’s ballet dancers, employing cutting-edge AI technology to seamlessly blend lead actors' faces onto the performances of professional dance doubles.
0:00 Intro
0:54 Afterparty VFX
2:10 How Did Afterparty Got Involved?
4:41 Testing AI Tech and Traditional Method for Face Replacement
6:52 Combining Technologies
10:35 Maintaining the Performance
13:53 Capturing the Dataset
16:41 QC of the Inference
17:41 The Eyeline
19:22 Resolution and Bit Depth
23:12 Dealing with Obscured Faces and Motion Blur
25:44 Stabilisation of the Heads
28:29 The Thing about Machine Learning
33:51 The Unseen 3D Process
37:35 The Process
41:33 The AI Training Process
46:00 The Ethics Consideration
50:01 The Tools
51:52 The Importance of Curating Training Data
55:31 The Wide Shots
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Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/fxguide
Follow on X: https://x.com/fxguidenews
Follow on Instagram: instagram.com/fxguidevfx
Visit our web site: fxguide.com
Subscribe to the fxpodcast: fxguide.com/fxpodcasts
On this episode of the fxpodcast, we have an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the visual effects work for Amazon’s Étoile, featuring an in-depth discussion with David Gaddie from Afterparty VFX. The team undertook the challenging face replacement work for the show’s ballet dancers, employing cutting-edge AI technology to seamlessly blend lead actors' faces onto the performances of professional dance doubles.
0:00 Intro
0:54 Afterparty VFX
2:10 How Did Afterparty Got Involved?
4:41 Testing AI Tech and Traditional Method for Face Replacement
6:52 Combining Technologies
10:35 Maintaining the Performance
13:53 Capturing the Dataset
16:41 QC of the Inference
17:41 The Eyeline
19:22 Resolution and Bit Depth
23:12 Dealing with Obscured Faces and Motion Blur
25:44 Stabilisation of the Heads
28:29 The Thing about Machine Learning
33:51 The Unseen 3D Process
37:35 The Process
41:33 The AI Training Process
46:00 The Ethics Consideration
50:01 The Tools
51:52 The Importance of Curating Training Data
55:31 The Wide Shots
Facebook: facebook.com/fxguide
Follow on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/fxguide
Follow on X: https://x.com/fxguidenews
Follow on Instagram: instagram.com/fxguidevfx
Visit our web site: fxguide.com
Subscribe to the fxpodcast: fxguide.com/fxpodcasts
