Nvidia keeps finding new and interesting ways to use AI. First it was for DLSS, that impressive frame rate enhancing technology that allows players to push their resolutions higher without a drop in performance, and now it's an AI that automatically keeps your eyes glued to the camera.Available now in Nvidia Broadcast 1.4 is a new feature called Eye Contact. Basically, it uses AI tech to make it look like whoever is in focus is looking directly into the camera. This technology allows someone to be looking off-camera at a script but still appear like they're speaking off the cuff, so to speak. Useful for anyone who wants to give a speech or for some content creators, but it's a little bit creepy in most other applications.For example, apply it to every character in Jurassic Park, and it's more than a little weird.
You might recall Daniel Hashimoto, aka "the Action Movie Dad," as the guy who loves to use cool visual effects to make his kid's dreams come true (as an aside, I'm sorry to every other dad in the known universe--this guy is the coolest dad). He also has a tendency to add raptors to classic film scenes, just because he can. So it was serendipity that Nvidia released this technology, providing Hashimoto the perfect excuse to apply Eye Contact to the most famous dinosaur movie of all time.
Making Dr. Alan Grant, Ian Malcolm, Ellie Sattler, and others stare at the camera in every scene is just plain strange. This may just be years of Modern Family talking, but it makes it seem like every piece of dialog has been turned into a private aside where the character is actually explaining something important to the audience. Malcolm’s “life finds a way” scene takes on an entirely different connotation when he’s looking straight at you.
Nvidia Broadcast is available from Nvidia’s website. Note that you’ll need an RTX 2060 or better to use it.