{"id":2963,"date":"2023-04-28T17:56:45","date_gmt":"2023-04-28T17:56:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/machine-learning\/2023\/04\/28\/rock-n-robotics-the-white-stripes-ai-assisted-visual-symphony\/"},"modified":"2023-04-28T17:56:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-28T17:56:45","slug":"rock-n-robotics-the-white-stripes-ai-assisted-visual-symphony","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/salarydistribution.com\/machine-learning\/2023\/04\/28\/rock-n-robotics-the-white-stripes-ai-assisted-visual-symphony\/","title":{"rendered":"Rock \u2018n\u2019 Robotics: The White Stripes\u2019 AI-Assisted Visual Symphony"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Playfully blending art and technology, underground animator Michael Wartella has teamed up with artificial intelligence to breathe new life into The White Stripes\u2019 fan-favorite song, \u201cBlack Math.\u201d<\/p>\n

The video was released earlier this month to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking \u201cElephant\u201d album.<\/p>\n

Wartella is known for his genre-bending work as a cartoonist and animator.<\/p>\n

His Brooklyn-based Dream Factory Animation studio produced the \u201cBlack Math\u201d video, which combines digital and practical animation techniques with AI-generated imagery.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis track is 20 years old, so we wanted to give it a fresh look, but we wanted it to look like it was cut from the same cloth as classic White Stripes videos,\u201d Wartella said.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

For the \u201cBlack Math\u201d video, Wartella turned to Automatic1111, an open-source generative AI tool. To create the video, Wartella and his team started off with the actual album cover, using AI to \u201cbore\u201d into the image.<\/p>\n

They then used AI to train the AI and build more images in a similar style. \u201cThat was really crazy and interesting and everything built from there,\u201d Wartella said.<\/p>\n

This image-to-image deep learning model caused a sensation on its release last year, and is part of a new generation of AI tools that are transforming the arts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe used several different AI tools and animation tools,\u201d Wartella said. \u201cFor every shot, I wanted this to look like an AI video in a way those classic CGI videos look very CGI now.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wartella and his team relied heavily on archived images and video of the musician duo as well as motion-capture techniques to create a video replicating the feel of late-1990s and early-2000s music videos.<\/p>\n

Wartella has long relied on NVIDIA GPUs to run a full complement of digital animation tools on workstations from Austin, Texas-based BOXX Technologies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve used BOXX workstations with NVIDIA cards for almost 20 years now,\u201d he said. \u201cThat combination is just really powerful \u2014 it\u2019s fast, it\u2019s stable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wartella describes his work on the \u201cBlack Math\u201d video as a \u201ccollaboration\u201d with the AI tool, using it to generate images, tweaking the results and then returning to the technology for more.<\/p>\n

\u201cI see this as a collaboration, not just pressing a button. It\u2019s an incredibly creative tool,\u201d Wartella said of generative AI<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The results were sometimes \u201ckind of strange,\u201d a quality that Wartella prizes.<\/p>\n

He took the output from the AI, ran it through conventional composition and editing tools, and then processed the results through AI again.<\/p>\n

Wartella felt that working with AI in this way made the video stronger and more abstract.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Wardella and his team used generative AI to create something that feels both different, and familiar to White Stripes fans.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The video presents Jack and Meg White in their 2003 personas, emerging from a whimsical, dark cyber fantasy.<\/p>\n

The video parallels the look and feel of the band\u2019s videos from the early 2000s, even as it leans into the otherworldly, almost kaleidoscopic qualities of modern generative AI.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lyrics are anti-authoritarian and punkish, so the sound steered this one in the direction,\u201d Wartella said. \u201cThe song itself has a scientific theme that is already a perfect fit for the AI.\u201d<\/p>\n

When \u201cBlack Math\u201d was first released as part of The White Stripes\u2019 critically acclaimed \u201cElephant\u201d album, it grabbed attention for its high-energy, powerful guitar riffs and Jack White\u2019s unmistakable vocals.<\/p>\n

The song played a role in cementing the band\u2019s reputation as a critical player in the garage rock revival of the early 2000s.<\/p>\n

Wartella\u2019s inventive approach with \u201cBlack Math\u201d highlights the growing use of AI \u2014 as well as lively discussion of its implications \u2014 among creatives.<\/p>\n

Over the past few months, AI-generated art has been increasingly prevalent across various social media platforms, thanks to tools like Midjourney, OpenAI\u2019s Dall\u00b7E, DreamStudio and Stable Diffusion.<\/p>\n

As AI advances, Wartella said, we can expect to see more artists exploring the potential of these tools in their work.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in full favor of people having the opportunity to play around with the technology,\u201d Wartella said. \u201cWe\u2019ll definitely use AI again if the song or the project calls for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

The release of the \u201cBlack Math\u201d music video coincides with the launch of \u201cThe White Stripes Elephant (20th Anniversary)\u201d deluxe vinyl reissue package, available now through Jack White\u2019s Third Man Records and Sony Legacy Recordings.<\/p>\n

Watch the \u201cBlack Math\u201d music video:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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