How 'Queen of Tears' used AI to create realistic backdrops like a snowy forest
With artificial intelligence (AI) on the rise, it’s no surprise that movie and TV productions are using the technology to make filming easier.
After the record-breaking success of Queen of Tears, one of the producers of the show revealed how some scenes used AI.
In one scene of the series, lead character Hong Hae-In, played by Kim Ji-Won, finds herself in a snowy forest. The production team actually encountered challenges in locating a setting that precisely matched this envisioned backdrop.
Turning to AI, the team successfully generated a breathtaking snowy landscape with intricately detailed tree structures without traveling to a different country.
"There was no snow when we filmed the drama Queen of Tears. So, at the time, the production team was thinking about whether they [needed] to go abroad and film that scene. We (the virtual production team) were also considering multiple ways to do that. So, we created this background with generative AI technology," CJ ENM virtual production producer An Hee-Soo told Reuters.
Hee-Soo added that the background they created was "almost impossible for a human to create."
"If we give this task to a human artist, the artist will say, 'It's not work a human can do even if I have 10 years of experience.' However, AI made this image without saying anything," he said.
Instead of traditional on-location filming or having a greenscreen backdrop, the actors are surrounded by 20-foot curved LED screens.
Furthermore, this AI innovation under CJ ENM’s Virtual Production helped actors by making it easier for them to imagine a scene. For instance, actors could visualize that they were driving on a road because the AI-generated visuals on big screens made it seem like they were actually moving.
The AI tech also helped eliminate the need for extensive editing as post-production teams didn't need to layer backdrops on footage shot on green screens.