Ravi Swami
The application of technology to the moving image has been a significant element in my 4-decade career in animation, from design through to direction. I began at the cusp of the transition from analogue to digital processes, with work on Paul McCartney’s “MPL” logo, that combined traditional hand-drawn animation with computer-assisted animation.
This technological slant has continued to the present and includes work on numerous animated and live-action commercials, pop promos, and short and longform documentaries such as the 2001 Academy Award winner “One Day in September”. It culminated with the use of cutting-edge Stable Diffusion AI on the BBC / Open University series “Pompeii – The New Dig” in 2022 and built on skills in AI image generation since 2020.
The video for ‘Love Can Heal’ is an attempt to craft a coherent narrative using currently available yet continually evolving AI tools for moving image.
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ARTIST: Peter Gabriel
CREATOR: Ravi Swami
SONG: Love Can Heal (Bright-Side Mix) FROM i/o
ARTIST: Peter Gabriel
CREATOR: Ravi Swami
SONG: Love Can Heal (Bright-Side Mix) FROM i/o
Video info
The video consists of images generated in Midjourney from 2023 to the present and is inspired by the third shot, which contrasts technology with nature. The narrative grew out of concerns about the use of AI and as a play on the term “drone” and incorporates themes such how our reliance on technology can insulate us from nature and, more broadly, the idea that nature has a billion year head-start on human endeavours.
My natural inclination as a storyboard artist was to block out the narrative before attempting to visualise it using AI. However, in practice the random nature of AI made this difficult and so the challenge was to retain the core of the idea without trying to force it conform to specific shot requirements.
Song info:
Love Can Heal is a track taken from Peter Gabriel's album i/o, released on 1 December 2023. This is the Bright-Side Mix, by Mark ‘Spike’ Stent.
Words and music by Peter Gabriel. Produced by Peter Gabriel
Published by Real World Music Ltd. / Sony Music Publishing.