AI and neural networks helped a Reddit user turn an old movie into 4K resolution with 60fps.
One of the most famous clips in the history of cinema is the short film “L’Arrivée d’un train à La Ciotat” (or The Arrival of a train to La Ciotat station), a video of just over 50 seconds made by the Lumière brothers. Originally recorded in 1896, as you can imagine, the cameras of the time did not capture sound, so having the image in motion was already a feat. Now you can see this movie in 4K at 60fps.
AI filled the pixels to increase resolution to 4K
A Reddit user, Denis Shiryaev decided to improve the classic with the help of technology. He began scaling the image resolution to 4K with a tool named Gigapixel AI by Topaz Labs.
This tool allows you to generate pixels in order to increase the size of the original image to achieve a higher resolution with maximum detail possible. You can see the original video below:
In addition to improving the resolution, he managed to increase the frame rate as well. Something that makes the output more fluid.
As you can see, the movement of the train and the people who walk through the scene look perfectly smooth. There is hardly any breaks of movements, which makes it completely different from the original. AI is used here to fill the extra frames, so the final result is absolutely hypnotic.
For this, Shiryaev used a tool used named DAIN, which performs a series of super complex processes that fill those non-existent holes with images perfectly synchronized with the rest of the movie.
To achieve this, analyze the tool analyzes the images in order to detect the visual flow of the scene, context and depth of it. Then it generates a heatmap which ends up creating the perfect image for the frame.
And then he added sounds as the final touch.
