Synthetic Media - Video Synthesis

Synthetic Videos are artificial videos generated using modern technologies. They can be entirely artificial or can be edited versions of real footage. Video synthesis is used in areas like film production, advertising, video gaming and research. This section will explain synthetic videos, their types, deepfake videos, AI-generated videos, and examples.

Types of Synthetic Videos

With technological advancement, various tools have been developed to create artificial videos. Below are the types of synthetic videos used in different decades:

• Edited Videos: In the 1990s, video editing software like Adobe Premiere allowed users to modify real video footage. This was the first step in synthetic video creation.
• Visual Effects (VFX): In the 2000s, computer-generated imagery (CGI) and other visual effects techniques were widely used in movies and games for creating entirely imaginary scenes.
• Deepfakes: In the 2010s, deep learning techniques were developed for creation of highly realistic fake videos. For example Swapping faces in videos and Lip syncing etc
• AI-Generated Videos: These days AI technology has advanced to create a new hyper-realistic videos out of scratch just using human prompt within few seconds.

Deepfake Videos

Deepfake videos are fake videos made using deep learning techniques and closely resemble real people or events. For example, swapping faces in videos, altering lip movements to match different audio, etc. Nowadays Deepfakes are getting so perfect and hard to get identified with naked eyes.

Deepfake videos are created using a deep learning algorithm called Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs). The GAN encoder analyzes photographs or videos of the target from various angles to capture details, perspectives, and patterns. After analyzing GAN creates a latent face, which is a vector representation of the target's facial features. And use this vector to run two neural networks, generator and discriminator. Check out this article to learn more on deepfake media.

Synthetic Videos Using AI

AI-generated videos are created entirely by artificial intelligence without using a real footage. Generally, these videos are generated from text descriptions or prompts given to the AI.

The AI uses NLP models to understand the text prompt and convert it into visual content. This process is usually done using algorithms like Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs) or transformers.

AI-generated videos are commonly used in areas like video synthesis, virtual avatars, and even animated characters. Nowadays AI can generate realistic movements, facial expressions, and scenes based on the given prompts.

How AI Video Generators Work?

AI video generators function using complex machine learning techniques. Below is a step-by-step explanation of how these tools work:

• Training on Video Datasets: AI models are trained using large datasets of videos. The model learns patterns, movements, and features from these videos to generate new ones.
• Understanding Text Prompts: Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques help the model understand the users text input. The AI understands the objects, actions, and scenes to be included in the video.
• Generating Video Frames: The model generates individual video frames based on the learned data and text input.
• Frame Sequencing: After the frames are generated, the AI sequences them together to create a smooth, continuous video.

AI Video Generation Tools

Several tools are available for generating synthetic videos. Some popular ones include:

• DALLE Video: A video generation model developed by OpenAI that turns text descriptions into short video clips.
• Dreamix: A tool from Google that allows for creating and editing video clips based on user input.
• Runway ML: A platform that offers video generation and editing tools powered by AI.
• Meta Make-A-Video: A tool from Meta that can create short videos from text prompts.