Архив за месяц: Сентябрь 2022

Former MoviePass execs are being sued by the SEC for lying to customers

Ahead of the official relaunch of subscription-based movie ticketing service MoviePass, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filed a complaint against three of its former executives, claiming they lied to investors and the public.
The SEC filing targeted former MoviePass CEO Mitch Lowe and Ted Farnsworth, the former CEO of parent company Helios and Matheson Analytics (HMNY), claiming they lied about how it planned to be profitable and used “fraudulent tactics to prevent MoviePass’s heavy users from using the [unlimited subscription service],” the SEC wrote.
When under the rule of Lowe and Farnsworth, MoviePass promised users a $9.95 per month subscription that would give them an unlimited number of 2D movie tickets. However, MoviePass quickly kissed “unlimited” goodbye, ending the service that was likely losing a lot of money. The company filed for bankruptcy in 2020.
Last year, Farnsworth and Lowe settled with the Federal Trade Commission after MoviePass was accused of preventing users from using the subscription service they were paying for.
The original founder and owner of MoviePass, Stacy Spikes, hopefully won’t repeat the mistakes of its previous owners. Spikes is launching an updated version of MoviePass, which is currently beta testing in three markets: Chicago, Kansas City, and Dallas. However, there will be no such thing as unlimited viewing, and instead MoviePass will have three subscription price tiers with set limits ranging from $10, $20, and $30 per month.

MoviePass readies a Labor Day return

Former MoviePass execs are being sued by the SEC for lying to customers by Lauren Forristal originally published on TechCrunch
Former MoviePass execs are being sued by the SEC for lying to customers

«Мегафон» построил сеть 4G в новой ледовой арене Омска

«Мегафон» запустил телеком-инфраструктуру в новой ледовой «G-Drive арене». Компания оперативно установила современное…
«Мегафон» построил сеть 4G в новой ледовой арене Омска

AI is taking over the iconic voice of Darth Vader, with the blessing of James Earl Jones

From the cringe-inducing Jar Jar Binks to unconvincing virtual Leia and Luke, Disney’s history with CG characters is, shall we say, mixed. But that’s not stopping them from replacing one of the most recognizable voices in cinema history, Darth Vader, with an AI-powered voice replica based on James Earl Jones.
The retirement of Jones, now 91, from the role, is of course well-earned. But if Disney continues to have its way (and there is no force in the world that can stop it), Vader is far from done. It would be unthinkable to recast the character, but if Jones is done, what can they do?
The solution is Respeecher, a Ukrainian company that trains text-to-speech machine learning models with the (licensed and released) recordings of actors who, for whatever reason, will no longer play a part.
Vanity Fair just ran a great story on how the company managed to put together the Vader replacement voice for Disney’s “Obi-Wan Kenobi” — while the country was being invaded by Russia. Interesting enough, but others noted that it serves as confirmation that the iconic voice of Vader would officially from now on be rendered by AI.
This is far from the first case where a well-known actor has had their voice synthesized or altered in this way. Another notable recent example is “Top Gun: Maverick,” in which the voice of Val Kilmer (reprising his role as Iceman) was synthesized due to the actor’s medical condition.
That sounded good, but a handful of whispered lines aren’t quite the same as a 1:1 replacement for a voice even children have known (and feared) for decades. Can a small company working at the cutting edge of machine learning tech pull it off?
You can judge for yourself — here’s one compilation of clips — and to me it seems pretty solid. The main criticism of that show wasn’t Vader’s voice, that’s for sure. If you weren’t expecting anything, you would probably just assume it was Jones speaking the lines, not another actor’s voice being modified to fit the bill.
The giveaway is that it doesn’t actually sound like Jones does now — it sounds like he did in the ’70s and ’80s when the original trilogy came out. That’s what anyone seeing Obi-Wan and Vader fight will expect, probably, but it’s a bit strange to think about.
It opens up a whole new can of worms. Sure, an actor may license their voice work for a character, but what about when that character ages? What about a totally different character they voice, but that there is some similarity to? What recourse do they have if their voice synthesis files leak and people are using it willy-nilly?

Spotify is acquiring Sonantic, the AI voice platform used to simulate Val Kilmer’s voice in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’

It’s an interesting new field to work in, but it’s hardly without pitfalls and ethical conundra. Disney has already broken the seal on many transformative technologies in filmmaking and television, and borne the deserved criticism when what it put out did not meet audiences’ expectations.
But they can take the hits and roll with them — maybe even take a page from George Lucas’s book and try to rewrite history, improving the rendering of Grand Moff Tarkin in a bid to make us forget how waxy he looked originally. As long as the technology is used to advance and complement the creativity of writers, directors and everyone else who makes movies magic, and not to save a buck or escape tricky rights situations, I can get behind it.
AI is taking over the iconic voice of Darth Vader, with the blessing of James Earl Jones by Devin Coldewey originally published on TechCrunch
AI is taking over the iconic voice of Darth Vader, with the blessing of James Earl Jones

АТОЛ подключился к программе РФРИТ для поддержки малого и среднего бизнеса

«АТОЛ Sigma» прошла конкурсный отбор и официально стала участником «Программы поддержки цифровизации малого и…
АТОЛ подключился к программе РФРИТ для поддержки малого и среднего бизнеса