Star Wars 1923
October 18, 2023 4:46 PM Subscribe
Star Wars 1923 [SLYT]
Laughing Squid:
Laughing Squid:
Creative director Douggy Pledger and musician Osymyso hilariously reimagined the original Star Wars movie as silent film from 1923 using Midjourney. The combination of awkward poses, monochrome footage, stuttering camera, and old timey soundtrack truly gave the the iconic opening credit of “long ago, in a galaxy far away” new meaning.
They didn't do a great job with Yoda grammar.
"So many hearts, why must I break?" really should've been "Why so many hearts I must break?"
posted by tclark at 5:05 PM on October 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
"So many hearts, why must I break?" really should've been "Why so many hearts I must break?"
posted by tclark at 5:05 PM on October 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
Midjourney was used to cram together a bunch of random stuff because a couple of guys were unable to reimagine it all on their own.
posted by njohnson23 at 5:52 PM on October 18, 2023 [30 favorites]
posted by njohnson23 at 5:52 PM on October 18, 2023 [30 favorites]
well midjourney is only capable of making things that look weird and bad so I guess throwing a heavy film grain filter on it and otherwise leaning hard into the weirdness is among the few realistic approaches to producing something with it that anyone would want to look at. still didn't love looking at this though
the extremely rapid cuts feel very unlike the intended "silent film" vibe but is probably a requirement when the software you're using can't generate more than ~0.33 seconds of animation without it getting completely fucked and awful
(vader's lawn mower that he's just sort of standing around with, on a blurry non-grassy lawn to boot, appears to have two faux-lightsabers as its handles. I like that for him)
posted by Kybard at 5:55 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
the extremely rapid cuts feel very unlike the intended "silent film" vibe but is probably a requirement when the software you're using can't generate more than ~0.33 seconds of animation without it getting completely fucked and awful
(vader's lawn mower that he's just sort of standing around with, on a blurry non-grassy lawn to boot, appears to have two faux-lightsabers as its handles. I like that for him)
posted by Kybard at 5:55 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
(The pedant in me wishes to point out that there are three links in the post, so it is not a “single link YouTube” post, but merely a “[YT]” first link.)
posted by eviemath at 6:00 PM on October 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by eviemath at 6:00 PM on October 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
The anachronistic presence of a skateboard makes me think this was created by Marty McFly in a forgotten Back To The Future sequel where he is stranded in 1923 and attempts to make Star Wars happen several decades early.
Not sure about the significance of the shopping cart, which apparently wasn’t invented until the 1930s.
posted by mbrubeck at 6:03 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Not sure about the significance of the shopping cart, which apparently wasn’t invented until the 1930s.
posted by mbrubeck at 6:03 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
It is pretty amazing that computers can do this at all, and the different ways a computer can render a Wookiee-ish or Yoda-ish thing are kind of interesting. But also, this seems to be about as good as it gets right now, and it’s unclear if it will get any better. It’s just an odd montage with no story based on the creativity of actual people who really did something back in the day. It’s unclear if we really need an endless stream of stuff like this and Wes Anderson Dune trailers or whatever. Even pretty pointless human made mash ups like medieval style Guns n Roses songs are more coherent/meaningful to me than this.
posted by snofoam at 6:19 PM on October 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by snofoam at 6:19 PM on October 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
I'm reminded of what I said about the CGI work in The Lawnmower Man in it's Fanfare thread: "CGI was in that 'We can do this! We can really do this! ... just not very well...' phase." And I think this shows us that AI-generated imagery is right about there right about now.
posted by Naberius at 6:26 PM on October 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by Naberius at 6:26 PM on October 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
It should be "Why so many hearts must I break?"
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:31 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 6:31 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
I could have done with less Yoda sloppily kissing gnarly dudes. And Chewie was railroaded. Get him some representation...
posted by Windopaene at 6:43 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by Windopaene at 6:43 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Sixteen years ago, in a galaxy quite close
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:45 PM on October 18, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 6:45 PM on October 18, 2023 [7 favorites]
It's weird to me that people are disappointed in the pace of AI video advances. Not much more than a couple years ago the very first computer invented images were popping up and it felt to me like an Apollo moment. Beyond the a judgement of “uncannyness” I have to think that most non-artist types can't appreciate what goes into creating a composed image with a cohesive visual language and a clear narrative. The ability to even know how to position a figure to put across a meaningful silhouette? To light things so they don't get lost in the clutter? My mind remains blown.
posted by brachiopod at 7:28 PM on October 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by brachiopod at 7:28 PM on October 18, 2023 [9 favorites]
And Chewie was railroaded. Get him some representation...
"It does NOT! MAKE! SENSE!"
posted by Happy Monkey at 7:41 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
"It does NOT! MAKE! SENSE!"
posted by Happy Monkey at 7:41 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
This shit will send you to the moon and back.
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:42 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by St. Peepsburg at 7:42 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
It’s unclear if we really need an endless stream of stuff like this
To be fair to this clip in particular, I think the last 30ish years could probably be summed up with this
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:09 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
To be fair to this clip in particular, I think the last 30ish years could probably be summed up with this
posted by Jon Mitchell at 8:09 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
what in fucking fuck
posted by not_on_display at 8:22 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by not_on_display at 8:22 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
I'm here for the snake people in formal wear attending the marriage of Leia Organa and her clone Leeiiaa Organa.
no Chewie / Yoda smooching seems like a missed opportunity, tbh.
c'mon people I can't be the only one here who ships Chewyoda.
posted by Sauce Trough at 8:41 PM on October 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
no Chewie / Yoda smooching seems like a missed opportunity, tbh.
c'mon people I can't be the only one here who ships Chewyoda.
posted by Sauce Trough at 8:41 PM on October 18, 2023 [6 favorites]
wait, what did I just watch? why? I guess. "why?" is what comes to mind. what was the story?
posted by eustatic at 8:57 PM on October 18, 2023
posted by eustatic at 8:57 PM on October 18, 2023
It's weird and melty, and I suppose it's amazing on some technical level, but the things I like the best about it are the human made bits, and I'm not just talking about the typography. The choice to have Yoda be some kind of kiss monster is... a weird and interesting choice. I don't know if the image generation came up with that, but the art director definitely leaned into it, again and again (+1 on chewyoda)
Overall, I like silent Star Wars fan films, but I think I prefer a less silent more cardboard approach
posted by surlyben at 9:01 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Overall, I like silent Star Wars fan films, but I think I prefer a less silent more cardboard approach
posted by surlyben at 9:01 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
Vader as an old timey strongman was genuinely awesome, though. It felt really wrong but absolutely right for the visual shorthand of the time.
posted by mochapickle at 9:14 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by mochapickle at 9:14 PM on October 18, 2023 [1 favorite]
Star Wars imagined as a silent movie by people who have never seen a silent movie all the way through.
posted by Omon Ra at 10:00 PM on October 18, 2023 [19 favorites]
posted by Omon Ra at 10:00 PM on October 18, 2023 [19 favorites]
Metafilter: some kind of kiss monster
posted by Sauce Trough at 10:38 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Sauce Trough at 10:38 PM on October 18, 2023 [2 favorites]
The look is great. The dialogue too snarky, too full of swears.
Not sure it works. Sorry.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:58 PM on October 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
Not sure it works. Sorry.
posted by Capt. Renault at 10:58 PM on October 18, 2023 [5 favorites]
Horny Yoda, the miniseries, coming soon to Disney+
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:08 PM on October 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
posted by qxntpqbbbqxl at 11:08 PM on October 18, 2023 [4 favorites]
In understanding comics, Scott McCloud came up with the idea of six layers/elements of art. McCloud basically says that true works of art have a number of layers that can be explored, and the ability to make these is the work of an artist, and that as you improve as an artist, you get better at making all the layers.
I’ve yet to see a single AI video that moves past surface. For instance, why is Vader holding a bunch of kittens in one shot? It makes no sense. The whole video is a disjointed mishmash of icons reformed around our ideas of what the 1920s are, but not… like, done well? I mean, it’s not like Star Wars: the great galactic gatsby. I’m not sure the tools allow you to do anything but the most cursory surface version of whatever prompts you type in.
posted by The River Ivel at 1:37 AM on October 19, 2023 [24 favorites]
I’ve yet to see a single AI video that moves past surface. For instance, why is Vader holding a bunch of kittens in one shot? It makes no sense. The whole video is a disjointed mishmash of icons reformed around our ideas of what the 1920s are, but not… like, done well? I mean, it’s not like Star Wars: the great galactic gatsby. I’m not sure the tools allow you to do anything but the most cursory surface version of whatever prompts you type in.
posted by The River Ivel at 1:37 AM on October 19, 2023 [24 favorites]
> "It's weird to me that people are disappointed in the pace of AI video advances."
I'm not disappointed. I hate them and I want them to fail forever. But I know that they won't, they'll eventually improve, so I am taking what grim pleasure I can in this brief period when it's being done, but at least it still sucks.
posted by kyrademon at 3:02 AM on October 19, 2023 [27 favorites]
I'm not disappointed. I hate them and I want them to fail forever. But I know that they won't, they'll eventually improve, so I am taking what grim pleasure I can in this brief period when it's being done, but at least it still sucks.
posted by kyrademon at 3:02 AM on October 19, 2023 [27 favorites]
Yes, she knows it's a multipass. Anyway, we're in love.
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:01 AM on October 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by seanmpuckett at 5:01 AM on October 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Technically it's amazing AI can do that. But it's just random 1 second images without any concept that I can grasp.
posted by caviar2d2 at 5:13 AM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by caviar2d2 at 5:13 AM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
I like my own Midjourney space stuff better.
But isn’t that the whole point of AI art? Tailoring it to fit YOUR tastes, and maybe finding something no one has seen before?
I’m a big MJ fan but it’s very easily abused/trivialized. See: Yoda kissing old men. Bleh.
posted by chronkite at 5:37 AM on October 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
But isn’t that the whole point of AI art? Tailoring it to fit YOUR tastes, and maybe finding something no one has seen before?
I’m a big MJ fan but it’s very easily abused/trivialized. See: Yoda kissing old men. Bleh.
posted by chronkite at 5:37 AM on October 19, 2023 [6 favorites]
Fuck what Yoda the not will I that like something or *cries*.
posted by y2karl at 5:43 AM on October 19, 2023
posted by y2karl at 5:43 AM on October 19, 2023
I don't really understand the point of these projects. I've never seen one that actually seemed to understand the source material it was re-imagining or satirizing. Why make a "1923" Star Wars that makes practically no effort to mimic 1923 film making conventions? What is the point of trying to squeeze a narrative out of wildly inconsistent visual designs? There are like six versions of wookies in this thing.
I am left to wonder if the limitations of Midjourney and the other AI tools people use to make these things define the contours of such projects too narrowly for them to be satisfying or if the people inclined to use these tools are just incapable of recognizing the glaring faults that permeate the project from conception to final editing pass. Maybe a little of both.
Eventually the tools will improve and people who actually know what they're doing will use them. Until then we're just using a bunch of fossil fuels to power a nonsense generator.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 6:40 AM on October 19, 2023 [10 favorites]
I am left to wonder if the limitations of Midjourney and the other AI tools people use to make these things define the contours of such projects too narrowly for them to be satisfying or if the people inclined to use these tools are just incapable of recognizing the glaring faults that permeate the project from conception to final editing pass. Maybe a little of both.
Eventually the tools will improve and people who actually know what they're doing will use them. Until then we're just using a bunch of fossil fuels to power a nonsense generator.
posted by MagnificentVacuum at 6:40 AM on October 19, 2023 [10 favorites]
Not sure about the significance of the shopping cart, which apparently wasn’t invented until the 1930s.
Thanks for pointing that out Neil Degrasse Tyson.
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:43 AM on October 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Thanks for pointing that out Neil Degrasse Tyson.
posted by Liquidwolf at 6:43 AM on October 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
It's really just "images that are based on Star Wars" than "Star Wars as a 1923 film." Really, if it had been introduced as a montage of random images set in the silent era that are based on Star Wars, I may have enjoyed it more, but it kind of failed entirely at its assignment. Well, the assignment it assigned itself? It was also more fun when the characters looked like 1920s visions of them, versus cut and paste into a gray scale film.
In reality, I think this is a perfect example of if Mad Libs was made into moving pictures for every line or sentence.
posted by Atreides at 7:14 AM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
In reality, I think this is a perfect example of if Mad Libs was made into moving pictures for every line or sentence.
posted by Atreides at 7:14 AM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
MetaFilter: The dialogue too snarky, too full of swears.
posted by kirkaracha at 7:42 AM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by kirkaracha at 7:42 AM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
Not sure about the significance of the shopping cart, which apparently wasn’t invented until the 1930s.
Great catch. If the whole purpose is to look like it was made in the 1920s, it had better get the details right.
posted by timdiggerm at 7:45 AM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Great catch. If the whole purpose is to look like it was made in the 1920s, it had better get the details right.
posted by timdiggerm at 7:45 AM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
Star Wars in 1923 would just be blank film because it wasn't shot until the mid 1970s.
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:09 AM on October 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
posted by GCU Sweet and Full of Grace at 8:09 AM on October 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
what is this i can’t even
posted by George Lucas at 8:29 AM on October 19, 2023 [29 favorites]
posted by George Lucas at 8:29 AM on October 19, 2023 [29 favorites]
Hmm. I'd recently seen something similar done for Star Trek, here. It's played a lot more seriously and I think I'm much more intrigued by it, though it's still not actually looking like a film from that period; it looks more like a series of stills which have been slightly animated.
The Star Wars one looks like it's trying to reproduce specific characters, while the Star Trek one is more like what would happen if a Trek fan went back in time and just described the general concepts (and badge design) to a movie studio.
posted by Four Ds at 8:50 AM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
The Star Wars one looks like it's trying to reproduce specific characters, while the Star Trek one is more like what would happen if a Trek fan went back in time and just described the general concepts (and badge design) to a movie studio.
posted by Four Ds at 8:50 AM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
That Star Trek thing is very reminiscent of 1940s Flash Gordon. Also some of the stylizations from the final part of “Things to Come” (1936).
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:13 AM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by Insert Clever Name Here at 9:13 AM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
this seems to be about as good as it gets right now, and it’s unclear if it will get any better.
Reminding me of an Old reminiscing in Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone Days:
Reminding me of an Old reminiscing in Garrison Keillor's Lake Wobegone Days:
You know, I don't think nothing is ever going to be what it was, ever again. We've about seen the last of it. I'm getting too damn oldposted by Rash at 9:39 AM on October 19, 2023
"So many hearts, why must I break?" really should've been "Why so many hearts I must break?"
Hearts so many, break why must I?
Paging a linguist!
posted by BlueHorse at 9:50 AM on October 19, 2023
Hearts so many, break why must I?
Paging a linguist!
posted by BlueHorse at 9:50 AM on October 19, 2023
I'm not obliged to, nor will I ever, "appreciate" "AI" "art" of any kind.
posted by mysticreferee at 9:50 AM on October 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
posted by mysticreferee at 9:50 AM on October 19, 2023 [7 favorites]
A few interesting but wildly inconsistent visuals obviously edited by human hands. AI is still much more A than I.
posted by Hot Pastrami! at 10:02 AM on October 19, 2023
posted by Hot Pastrami! at 10:02 AM on October 19, 2023
You only need to compare this with that "premake" Empire Strikes Back trailer that someone did a while ago to see how creatively bankrupt this AI attempt at "art" is.
That trailer is nothing more than a very clever repurposing of old movie clips and audio to simulate what a 1950s Star Wars would look like, but the concept is way more realized because actual (human) intelligence and imagination was used to create it. Instead of lazily providing midjourney with a bunch of prompts, someone spent hours assembling those clips and getting things just right and that effort really shows.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:10 AM on October 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
That trailer is nothing more than a very clever repurposing of old movie clips and audio to simulate what a 1950s Star Wars would look like, but the concept is way more realized because actual (human) intelligence and imagination was used to create it. Instead of lazily providing midjourney with a bunch of prompts, someone spent hours assembling those clips and getting things just right and that effort really shows.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:10 AM on October 19, 2023 [9 favorites]
The creator of that trailer also provided a list of all the "source" material for us to appreciate, something the AI can't be bothered to do.
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:12 AM on October 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
posted by RonButNotStupid at 11:12 AM on October 19, 2023 [5 favorites]
Midjourney Star Wars as done by Wes Anderson https://lucidbox.net/media/f1c9e0f6-964b-4011-909f-87ece359b8df
More generally: lots of AI content-tube: lucidbox.net
posted by Fupped Duck at 11:12 AM on October 19, 2023
More generally: lots of AI content-tube: lucidbox.net
posted by Fupped Duck at 11:12 AM on October 19, 2023
I don't really understand the point of these projects.
It could just be fun for fun's sake. I didn't think the video was great by any means, but it tickled my brain the same way Too Many Cooks tickled me (except Too Many Cooks is much better and much more demented). I just thought it was a somewhat fun watch, nothing more to it.
posted by Tehhund at 2:04 PM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
It could just be fun for fun's sake. I didn't think the video was great by any means, but it tickled my brain the same way Too Many Cooks tickled me (except Too Many Cooks is much better and much more demented). I just thought it was a somewhat fun watch, nothing more to it.
posted by Tehhund at 2:04 PM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
I liked this. Thanks.
posted by All Out of Lulz at 2:56 PM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by All Out of Lulz at 2:56 PM on October 19, 2023 [3 favorites]
Needs more Balenciaga
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:20 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by DeepSeaHaggis at 3:20 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
AI "art" bums me out so much.
posted by EatTheWeek at 5:03 PM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
posted by EatTheWeek at 5:03 PM on October 19, 2023 [2 favorites]
YES BUT YOU ARE ALL MISSING THE POINT ,,, HOW DID PRINCESS LEEAH GET HER HANDS INSIDE R2D@????!!!!1
posted by not_on_display at 7:37 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
posted by not_on_display at 7:37 PM on October 19, 2023 [1 favorite]
MJ can generate vintage photographs and recognizable characters very well at this point, which means it's going to take lots of human mind-and-hand time to transform the resulting images into something more than a momentary brain tickler. This had its moments but read as more of a themed portfolio.
Nice to see Osomyso's name on something new though.
posted by pernoctalian at 11:08 AM on October 20, 2023
Nice to see Osomyso's name on something new though.
posted by pernoctalian at 11:08 AM on October 20, 2023
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