Deepfake Technology Animates Faces in Photos to "Bring the Dead Back to Life"

A new deepfake technology unveiled by MyHeritage can animate old photos of deceased family members. This technology is called Deep Nostalgia that makes faces in old photos move in strangely realistic and unsettling results.

Some examples of this free deepfake technology show historical figures, such as Queen Victoria, Mark Twain, and Florence Nightingale, come to life.

MyHeritage said that this deepfake technology gives history a fresh perspective of how historical figures or our ancestors were like when they were alive. It depicts how a person would have been if captured on video, USA Today reported.

Deep Nostalgia has been developed by Israel-based firm D-ID that specializes in video reenactment using deep learning technology.

Deep Nostalgia is a free tool; visit their webpage and upload or drag and drop an image to see the still photo come to life. But the results will only be seen in a MyHeritage account.

MyHeritage Unveils Deep Nostalgia

MyHeritage is a leading global company that specializes in discovering the past and empowering the future, according to Business Wire. The company unveiled Deep Nostalgia that uses deep fake technology to animate faces in still photos.

MyHeritage offers the complete package of restoring, colonizing, enhancing, and now animating old photos, making them the only company to do so.

Deep Nostalgia is the last addition to MyHeritage's technology and the newest AI-based photo tool that comes on the heels of two highly-acclaimed features that the company offered in 2020.

Last year, MyHeritage unveiled their Photo Enhancer and MyHeritage in Color that puts color to old black and whiter photos and recently upgraded to restore the colors in faded photos.

The company continues to develop new technologies by adding novel, cutting-edge tools for historical or old photos that inspire an appreciation for family heritage and nostalgic family photos.

"You'll have a 'wow moment' when you see a treasured family photo come to life with Deep Nostalgia," said MyHeritage Founder and CEO Gilad Japhet.

He added that through their technology, people could have the chance of seeing the face in old photographs come to life and imagine how they were in real life.


Technology Behind Deep Nostalgia

According to MailOnline, Deep Nostalgia uses several pre-recorded "driver videos" or the normal videos of living people performing simple gestures and facial movements. These videos direct the movements of the animated old photos.

Whenever a photo is uploaded to Deep Nostalgia's website, a preferred driver is automatically selected for each face depending on the orientation and then seamlessly applies to the uploaded photo.

Moreover, Deep Nostalgia enhances the photo before it is animated using MyHeritage Photo Enhancer to bring the blurry and low-quality photos into focus and increase the resolutions.

As a result, the uploader can now have a short, but high-quality video animation of a person that smiles, blink and move.


Check out more news and information on Deepfake in Science Times.

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