Go Behind the Scenes on this AI Project

The AI tools my team used to create this animation are brand new; we’re trying them out as they hit the market. Here, I’m taking you behind the scenes on our experimental process for using AI to animate real people — and revealing a few lessons we learned along the way. 

Step 1: Creative Direction 
We knew we wanted to use AI tools to animate Pete Studer and Lori Messina, but before proceeding we needed to decide on an animation style, as the style would dictate our next steps. For example, did we want our characters to be 2D cartoons, 3D cartoons, or have more of an illustrated style? Did we want to show the characters from the shoulders up, or did we want to animate them moving around within scenes? 

In addition to the animation style, we needed to set the scene. thINK Board President Pete Studer is an avid duck hunter, so we set the video during hunting season to help thINK members get to know him more personally. Immediate Past President Lori Messina is, as many of you know, always dressed to the nines and would NOT be found duck hunting, so we had some fun dressing her character in a stylish outfit that makes her look a bit out of place.

Step 2: Script Generation 
We did not use AI to generate the script because we had some specific dialogue in mind, but generative AI is definitely capable of creating a basic video script that can be edited and perfected. 

Step 3: Photography 
Next, we took photographs of Lori and Pete to train the AI. These had to be against a white background, with no hats or glasses, and with hair tucked behind the ears. This makes reading the visual characteristics of a person as easy as possible for the AI. 
 

Step 4: Audio Production
Then, we recorded our stars reading the script on video. AI voice generation tools have strict security features to prevent your voice from being used without your consent, so each “actor” had to first authorize that their voice could be used, and that authorization only applied to this specific project.

At the same time, we recorded members of our team reading the script with varying tone and inflection. This provided the performance to drive the AI.

Step 5: AI Collaboration
We then fed the AI tool our chosen animation style, photographs of our stars, and our audio files and used the tool to compile these elements into characters. We used our team’s performances to map facial expressions onto the characters, then animated the body movements by hand. The animation was technically still being done by our team, but with the assistance of AI.

Step 6: Post-Production
Once we were happy with the result from the AI tool, we moved the animated video to Adobe After Effects to polish, add music, and add intro and outro bumpers.

What We Learned from This AI Experiment

Short answer: A lot!
We already knew that artificial intelligence can’t replace human creativity or critical thinking, but some of the assumptions the AI made were pretty funny. For example, we told the AI that Pete should be dressed as a hunter, and it kept giving his animated character a beard! (Perhaps the AI knew that Pete does like to grow a beard during hunting season?) We had to tell it over and over that Pete shouldn’t have a beard. 

One interesting thing we discovered was that there was no need for Pete and Lori to read the actual script. We gave them a different script created specifically for training the AI voice model, while our team read the actual script. 

We also learned that the audio used to train the voice emulator didn’t need to be gender-specific. A woman on our team read Pete’s script in a slightly different tone, and the AI was still able to make it sound like him. 

Finally, we'd hoped that AI would enable us to just plug everything into one tool and work its magic, but it doesn’t quite work like that. There are still multiple tools involved — and a lot of room for error — but this is still a much easier process than old-school animation, meaning it's something your in-house design team could replicate.

Are you experimenting with artificial intelligence creative tools? I’m leading a series of AI thINK Academy workshops this year, and I’d love to see you there so we can talk about it!

Watch the AI animated video to see the results — and meet your new thINK Board President!

As Managing Director of Client Services at Trekk, Emilee Christianson works with clients to develop strategic marketing plans and craft measurable programs that span print, web, social, mobile, augmented reality, and artificial intelligence. She leverages her expansive knowledge of marketing tactics to lead creative and technical teams and create communications programs that help B2B marketers meet their business objectives.