Realistic special effects coming soon to home movies video (2min 57sec). A new technique will allow amateur movie makers to superimpose extra features on their videos and make it look realistic. "Almost anyone can put together a simple movie these days using a cheap camera and some editing software.
"But there are still some effects that are only available to the pros in Hollywood. Imagine you shot a video of your friend but want to improve his appearance with more facial hair and blushing cheeks. Unless you have access to an editing studio it will be hard to make these changes look realistic. As a face moves it changes shape in different parts become visible. Anything added on needs to change shape as well. But now researchers at Microsoft (UK) have come up with a new method that should make it easier to alter videos."
Andrew Fitzgibbon, Microsoft: "In Hollywood, the trick is to use every piece of information you have about the footage as tightly as possible. So, if you know you're dealing with a face you use a special model that understands faces. And if you know you're dealing with a giraffe, you use special tricks for the giraffe. We've built a genera; purpose system. It just should understand any video and the same techniques should apply in any situation..."
