David Fincheris a 1995 crime thriller View is a dark and gripping film that has since become a genre-defining classic. Decades later, the film has been given new life through IMAX and 4K releases, giving fans a sharper and richer experience of its dark aesthetic.
But in a recent interview with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Fincher revealed that the remastering process wasn’t just about improving visual accuracy, it was also an opportunity for an “incredibly stupid fix” that no one else would notice.
Fincher, known for his meticulous attention to detail, revisited a minor issue in a scene where two characters meet in a bar. Although there were 14 or 15 takes, the final cut included a “technological malpractice” in which the camera awkwardly panned late, passing one of the actors and exposing more bar than intended.
Although the performances were too good to pass up, the frying pan had haunted Fincher for years. For the 4K version, Fincher turned to artificial intelligence to correct the framing, a process he described in detail:
“We had enough background, but initially we had cut out one of the actor’s shoulders and he was wearing a black leather jacket, and there’s no data.
“We don’t know how that shoulder connects to the sleeve and the kind of elastic creases and deformation of the skin in that jacket.”
Fincher’s team used footage from other shoots to reconstruct the missing details of the jacket. Using artificial intelligence, they blended these elements seamlessly into the background, effectively eliminating the distracting pan.
“We took three or four different shots than before, which had a jacket we liked, then we put it in, then we played it back with the AI, then we took the background from where the camera landed and we simply composed them together.
“So it ends up being the most thrilling and stupid solution in the world because, apparently, we haven’t done our job. And you probably won’t see it.
This subtle use of AI shows its potential as a creative tool rather than a substitute for human artistry, a topic Fincher has historically been vocal about.
In another case, during restoration, AI was used to adjust focus in scenes where the mixed raw material left the actors’ eyes slightly soft. Fincher noted:
“We used the AI to at least keep the focus in the eyes so that it was soft, but not completely useless.”
While the use of AI in cinema is often a controversial topic, in this case it enhances a film rather than altering its essence.
by Joey Paur
Source: Geek Tyrant
Lloyd Grunewald is an author at “The Fashion Vibes”. He is a talented writer who focuses on bringing the latest entertainment-related news to his readers. With a deep understanding of the entertainment industry and a passion for writing, Lloyd delivers engaging articles that keep his readers informed and entertained.
