Latest news with #WatchTheSkies
The Age
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Age
Read my lips: AI-dubbed films are debuting in cinemas
Foreign language cinephiles can be split into two distinct categories – subtitle-lovers and those who swear by the dubbed version. Dubbing critics have long grumbled about the pitfalls of mismatched audio and awkward lip-syncing, but new technology is quietly changing the face (and mouths) of international cinema. Last week, Swedish sci-fi film Watch The Skies opened in US theatres – marketed as the world's first full-length theatrical feature to use AI for an immersive dubbing – a process that makes the characters look as though they are speaking English. XYZ Films partnered with AI start-up Flawless, which uses TrueSync, a visual tool which alters the character's mouth movements and speech to appear perfectly synced for an English-speaking audience. 'For the movie industry, this is a game changer,' producer Albin Pettersson declared in a behind-the-scenes trailer for the film. 'The Swedish language is a barrier when you want to reach out around the world.' It's important to note the AI tool has not replaced the actors – the original cast of Watch The Skies, having shot the film in Swedish, then recorded their English lines in a studio. This kept them compliant with SAG-AFTRA guidelines. 'I think a lot of filmmakers and a lot of actors will be afraid of this new technology at first,' added writer and director Victor Danell. 'But we have creative control and to act out the film in English was a real exciting experience.' Watch The Skies is the start of a long list of AI-dubbed international film collaborations between XYZ Films and Flawless set to be released in the US. They include French film The Book of Solutions, Korean flick Smugglers, Persian-language film Tatami, and German film The Light.
Sydney Morning Herald
16-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Sydney Morning Herald
Read my lips: AI-dubbed films are debuting in cinemas
Foreign language cinephiles can be split into two distinct categories – subtitle-lovers and those who swear by the dubbed version. Dubbing critics have long grumbled about the pitfalls of mismatched audio and awkward lip-syncing, but new technology is quietly changing the face (and mouths) of international cinema. Last week, Swedish sci-fi film Watch The Skies opened in US theatres – marketed as the world's first full-length theatrical feature to use AI for an immersive dubbing – a process that makes the characters look as though they are speaking English. XYZ Films partnered with AI start-up Flawless, which uses TrueSync, a visual tool which alters the character's mouth movements and speech to appear perfectly synced for an English-speaking audience. 'For the movie industry, this is a game changer,' producer Albin Pettersson declared in a behind-the-scenes trailer for the film. 'The Swedish language is a barrier when you want to reach out around the world.' It's important to note the AI tool has not replaced the actors – the original cast of Watch The Skies, having shot the film in Swedish, then recorded their English lines in a studio. This kept them compliant with SAG-AFTRA guidelines. 'I think a lot of filmmakers and a lot of actors will be afraid of this new technology at first,' added writer and director Victor Danell. 'But we have creative control and to act out the film in English was a real exciting experience.' Watch The Skies is the start of a long list of AI-dubbed international film collaborations between XYZ Films and Flawless set to be released in the US. They include French film The Book of Solutions, Korean flick Smugglers, Persian-language film Tatami, and German film The Light.
Yahoo
10-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Teenage drama is interrupted by extraterrestrial phenomena in this exclusive clip for 'Watch the Skies' (video)
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Flying saucer enthusiasts and curious Ufologists will be craning their necks toward the heavens after checking out our exclusive clip for "Watch the Skies," a refreshing Swedish sci-fi movie being released on May 9, 2025, from XYZ Films ("Ash"). Titled "UFO Freak," the uncanny 2-minute sneak peek reveals strange phenomena erupting around a group of teens hanging out at a late-night gathering in an abandoned building, causing them to scatter. This charming, nostalgic film is also being billed as the world's first "AI-dubbed" international flick using a procedure developed by Flawless to match up the lip movements of the characters from Swedish to English, and the results are pretty impressive. The process required the original foreign actors to record their dialogue in English prior to applying the pioneering TrueSynch technology. Directed by Swedish filmmaker Victor Danell, "Watch the Skies" involves a spunky teenager named Denise whose father has vanished and was possibly abducted by extraterrestrials seen in the nearby forests. She hooks up with a local investigative association called UFO Sweden and its misfit band of colorful characters who help her discover the truth of this UFO mystery. "Watch the Skies" arrives in U.S. theaters on May 9 with an ensemble cast that includes Inez Dahl Torhaug (Denise), with Eva Melander, Jesper Barkselius, Sara Shirpey, Håkan Ehn, Isabelle Kyed, Niklas Kvarnbo Jönsson, and Mathias Lithner.
