AI Generated Magicians From The Past
-
- Posts: 199
- Joined: October 21st, 2017, 11:02 am
- Favorite Magician: Doug Henning
- Contact:
- Richard Kaufman
- Posts: 27070
- Joined: July 18th, 2001, 12:00 pm
- Favorite Magician: Theodore DeLand
- Location: Washington DC
- Contact:
- Dustin Stinett
- Posts: 7263
- Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
- Favorite Magician: Sometimes
- Location: Southern California
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
It would be swell if they were identified, assuming they can be.
-
- Posts: 199
- Joined: October 21st, 2017, 11:02 am
- Favorite Magician: Doug Henning
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
I mostly used generic prompts, such as "Vintage photo of a magician doing a trick with eggs." I also used ones that said, "Old photo of Ricky Jay performing a magic trick for an old lady," and "Vintage photo of Houdini performing the cups and balls magic trick."
-
- Posts: 934
- Joined: May 18th, 2011, 1:55 am
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
The eyes and faces on these ai generated images are a bit creepy and ghostless machine-like. It’s a bit like Charlie Kaufman’s Anomalisa where the ai slowly gradually become conscious that they indeed are ai and the horror that entails. Facial recognition was correct the first look through with Jay and Houdini. And the first indeed was generic and I wouldn’t put a name to the face. The props maybe made me think of Hofmann, but I don’t really have an image of Hofmann stored in my memory bank.
Ctrl alt delete
Ctrl alt delete
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Interesting to see a few spatial/perspective oddities: the oversized airborne eggs. the dwarfish RJ, and the front seating arrangement in the doves pic.
-
- Posts: 8710
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Westchester, NY
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
That's great! Floating eggs. Cups and cups.
Did you specifically prompt it NOT to use playing cards?
Did you specifically prompt it NOT to use playing cards?
Mundus vult decipi -per Caleb Carr's story Killing Time
-
- Posts: 5918
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Huntsville, AL
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
These are . . . interesting. Not only for what they are right now, but for when you extrapolate the last few years' progress to what could be done in, say, 2026. It won't be long before AI-generated images won't be distinguishable from the real thing.
These do show some of the common flaws of AI images, though, particularly hands. "Ricky" has (if you zoom in) as many as six fingers on his right hand. The hand over the floating eggs is just weird, as is the left hand of magician #1.
If these were real performances, the one I'd most like to see in person is the woman who is rocketing up above the stage.
These do show some of the common flaws of AI images, though, particularly hands. "Ricky" has (if you zoom in) as many as six fingers on his right hand. The hand over the floating eggs is just weird, as is the left hand of magician #1.
If these were real performances, the one I'd most like to see in person is the woman who is rocketing up above the stage.
-
- Posts: 199
- Joined: October 21st, 2017, 11:02 am
- Favorite Magician: Doug Henning
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
I tried many variations of "Sawing a woman in half magic trick" but the results looked nothing like any recognizable rendition of the illusion in any form. They were creepy, bordering on horror.
-
- Posts: 1830
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: PARIS - FRANCE
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
As we are talking about magicians of the past, who knows if there is a photo of Henry Christ?
-
- Posts: 934
- Joined: May 18th, 2011, 1:55 am
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
It’s amazing how some of these pictures stick in the brain cells with such detail even the morning after, especially the Ricky Jay one and the levitating lady. So much so that I have now adopted the “J” peg with the ai generated image as part of Roth’s ABC kindergarten code.
Hay little bee the wide web sea dose a good deed.
Relax and have an effervescent drink on me.
Ghee-wiz the heuristics of the eyes on Ricky Jay.
Hay little bee the wide web sea dose a good deed.
Relax and have an effervescent drink on me.
Ghee-wiz the heuristics of the eyes on Ricky Jay.
-
- Posts: 934
- Joined: May 18th, 2011, 1:55 am
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Relax (be at ease) and have an effervescent drink on me.
-
- Posts: 934
- Joined: May 18th, 2011, 1:55 am
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
I’m pretty sure there is a picture of Christ in the book by Graham & Diaconis in the “Stars of Magic” section.
-
- Posts: 1830
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: PARIS - FRANCE
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Bravo Edward and thank you.
It's page 173. He is with Sam Horowitz
It's page 173. He is with Sam Horowitz
-
- Posts: 3312
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Short card above selection.
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
For the Ricky Jay look-alike and the old lady, the caption is:
"Watch closely, Madame, as I crush Fifi your pet chihuahua into my fist of oblivion."
"Watch closely, Madame, as I crush Fifi your pet chihuahua into my fist of oblivion."
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Surely you meant the Ricky Jay simulacrum.
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
‘Bob Farmer at the biker bar’ produces some interesting results.
Andrew
Andrew
- Dustin Stinett
- Posts: 7263
- Joined: July 22nd, 2001, 12:00 pm
- Favorite Magician: Sometimes
- Location: Southern California
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
We need laugh emojis for this place ...
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Dustin Stinett wrote:We need laugh emojis for this place ...
-
- Posts: 199
- Joined: October 21st, 2017, 11:02 am
- Favorite Magician: Doug Henning
- Contact:
-
- Posts: 3312
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Short card above selection.
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Caption for the seance table shot:
"I'm not sure but I think there's a ferret in my pants."
"I'm not sure but I think there's a ferret in my pants."
-
- Posts: 5918
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Huntsville, AL
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
My family hoot-laughed at Doug Henning. And the herd of rabbit-headed sheep also was amusing.
-
- Posts: 934
- Joined: May 18th, 2011, 1:55 am
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
George Karger, [ Harry Blackstone Sr. ], Circa 1950
This isn’t an ai generated image but I think the end idea is imbedded here, that is, eventually to make these old masters come back to life in a Harry Potter newspaper sort of way.
There was a Time Magazine special published a few months back worth a look and a read through (T100-AI). Magazine Memory Test anyone? AI meets AM
-
- Posts: 3312
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Short card above selection.
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Are these images generated by AI from scratch or are they simply a super Google search of already existing images?
-
- Posts: 199
- Joined: October 21st, 2017, 11:02 am
- Favorite Magician: Doug Henning
- Contact:
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Bob, these are images created from scratch from a variety of text prompts I used in an AI image generator program. So in a certain way, I feel a sense of authorship about them. My choices about even a single word in the prompt changed the results entirely. It's been interesting to see what current AI comes up with in terms of what it thinks magicians are/were. Not surprisingly, if I just use the term "magician" the AI comes up with white males in any context, often with top hats. When I added modifiers in order to diversify the field, the results tended to skew toward racial and sexual stereotypes, which I would then have to further modify.
In the app I was using, I had to choose from six thumbnail results for each prompt. My primary artistic guidelines were: The magician should be doing something familiar but slightly off, The magician's faces have to be (mostly) without AI-generated flaws, and The composition should be compelling.
I prompted for vintage or old photos, and certain things popped up regularly, like smoke and glowing orbs. The results varied drastically when using "performing", "performing with", and "on stage" along with other modifiers.
Although I'm happy to share these thoughts and examples of prompts, I must admit that, like magic, I want to keep the "methods" secret, and just let the images speak for themselves.
As I look at this collection, I find that I want to tell a little story about each magician, since they have now come to life. Maybe I will.
In the app I was using, I had to choose from six thumbnail results for each prompt. My primary artistic guidelines were: The magician should be doing something familiar but slightly off, The magician's faces have to be (mostly) without AI-generated flaws, and The composition should be compelling.
I prompted for vintage or old photos, and certain things popped up regularly, like smoke and glowing orbs. The results varied drastically when using "performing", "performing with", and "on stage" along with other modifiers.
Although I'm happy to share these thoughts and examples of prompts, I must admit that, like magic, I want to keep the "methods" secret, and just let the images speak for themselves.
As I look at this collection, I find that I want to tell a little story about each magician, since they have now come to life. Maybe I will.
-
- Posts: 3312
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Short card above selection.
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Then it would seem that since you created the prompt that created the images, you would be the copyright owner of those images.
-
- Posts: 1830
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: PARIS - FRANCE
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
I have another request:
is there a photo of Elmer Biddle (in a magic book or magazine).
Thank in advance
is there a photo of Elmer Biddle (in a magic book or magazine).
Thank in advance
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
I just uploaded one to his MagicPedia profile, and there's another in Genii November 1957.
-
- Posts: 1830
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: PARIS - FRANCE
Re: AI Generated Magicians From The Past
Thank Joe