Welcome to VP Land - your daily update for all things virtual production & AI in video.

In this issue:

🌄 Adobe rolls out Generative Expand
🔭 DIY AI set extensions
🍿 Netflix isn’t making a Vision Pro app

And more! Let’s dive in.

PRINCIPAL PHOTOGRAPHY

Adobe AI Expands Generative Fill

Adobe’s rolled out Generative Expand, part of their Firefly AI toolset in Photoshop beta.

Now, this isn’t entirely new - just an easier workflow.

Using the crop tool you can simply expand the canvas of an image and use generative fill to fill in the empty space.

This was possible before, but you’d have to expand the canvas, select the empty areas, then use generative fill. So you save a few clicks.

But! Adobe Design Evangelist Howard Pinsky posted a video that shows how you can use Generative Expand in Photoshop with video clips.

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SECOND UNIT

Weekly Rewind: Stories You Might’ve Missed

Behind the Scene with Crossfire: Sierra Squad
We interviewed the director and DP behind the Crossfire: Sierra Squad promotional game trailer filmed at Soapbox Films in Burbank, California. Our interview covers how they made a relatively small LED screen work for a dynamic action sequence and how they used ARwall to virtually scout locations in the video game and control their angles on set.

Stability AI releases Stable Diffusion XL 1.0
The latest iteration of Stable Diffusion outperforms its predecessors, boasting higher resolution, increased detail with vivid, precise colors; better contrast, lighting, and shadows, significantly enhancing the overall quality of the rendered images.

The Chemical Brothers’ new video uses virtual production to create in-camera transitions
The Chemical Brothers, known for their innovative music videos and electronic music productions, once again pushed the boundaries of creativity by incorporating virtual production techniques in their latest music video.

Runway’s new Image to Video is surprisingly good
Runway’s new update treats an uploaded photo as the initial frame of a short video clip and then automatically generates the rest of the video. The results have subtle flourishes, such as camera movements, lighting changes, and hair and body movements, making the outputs look impressive.

VIDEO VILLAGE

Speaking of generative fill…this demo was done by Alex from Hollywood Illusion to create a set extension of him climbing a cliff. This was done before Adobe Released Generative Expand, so he took composited all the layers created in Photoshop in After Effects.

AKS

🌐 Around the Web

• Video game studios offer $7,000 incentives for innovative AI ideas and compel managers to study machine learning.

• Nvidia's cloud-based AI supercomputing service, DGX Cloud, is now available on Oracle Cloud Infrastructure for generative AI training.

• Schedule posts and track your social media with Metricool*

• Anna Valley unveils its latest innovation - a new multi-purpose studio.

• Pier59 Studios upgrades its virtual production stage with Planar's cutting-edge LED video walls and displays.

• No Netflix app is being developed for the Apple Vision Pro. Surprising since so much attention in the Vision Pro was on watching movies in an immersive theater.

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CALL SHEET

📆 Upcoming Events

July 29
Academy of Live Technology
South Kirkby, West Yorkshire
Skills Bootcamp in Virtual Production for Film & TV

August 3
SMPTE - The BIGGEST Virtual Production Show Ever!
XR Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Showcase of theatrical cinematic performances, driven by a menagerie of creative technologies within virtual production

August 4 - 5
frame:work:losangeles
XR Studios, Los Angeles, CA
Conference for conversations about the unique challenges of creating video for physical spaces, live performances, and virtual worlds.

August 
Studio Arts - Technology for Entertainment Creatives
Unreal Engine and virtual production online courses

Have a film-related event to share? Just reply back to this email and let us know the details.

ABBY SINGER

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