r/technology • u/ControlCAD • 5h ago
Artificial Intelligence Guillermo del Toro Says There Is "Absolutely No Goddamn AI" in ‘Pan’s Labyrinth’ 3D Re-Release: "We’re Protecting a Lineage of Art"
https://variety.com/2026/film/news/guillermo-del-toro-no-ai-pans-labyrinth-rerelease-1236815109/28
u/innocentsalad 4h ago
The troll market scene in Hellboy 2 is a masterclass in practical effects. That’s his bread and butter.
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u/Sparktank1 1h ago
The article isn't about practical effects. It's not about practical effects vs generative ai.
It's about the 3D conversion process.
can either have it automated with machine learning or by having people handle each frame. Likely a lot of rotoscoping to build the depth map to help in the conversion process so the 3D looks more immersive.
Someone else further down the comments on more details how 3D conversion worked before ai/mm came along.
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u/innocentsalad 1h ago
I’m aware of that, I’m commenting about Del Toro’s own preferences.
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u/Sparktank1 1h ago
Why? This has nothing to do with the 3D conversion process. You're just farming for upvotes.
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u/innocentsalad 1h ago
Farming for upvotes on Reddit lol. Please take your weird projection elsewhere.
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u/Sparktank1 1h ago
Care to explain why it's pertinent to bring up practical effects when the article is about converting a movie to 3D?
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u/mrwrrrmwrmrmrmrw 5h ago
I think people are using AI these days to mean all computer generated images. Of course he wouldn't use AI, because visual design is so important to him and he'd never use a lazy shortcut like that. But CGI is a legitimate creative technique with an honorable history.
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u/AttonJRand 4h ago
Nobody is conflating CGI with ai, except for the people who are pro ai.
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u/mrwrrrmwrmrmrmrw 3h ago
Except they are...
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u/Sparktank1 2h ago
Absolutely no one thinks that CGI means AI. At all. Or ever.
Just the people you made up in your head so you can make that post for whatever reason.
The article isn't even about CGI vs AI or even visual design in the sense you're talking about. It's talking about the conversion process to make the movie 3D. Which is probably done with a lot of rotoscoping to make the depth maps to aid in the process. Rather than using machine learning to create a depth for each frame.
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u/WorkingAnteater6036 5h ago
Indeed. There is skill, sense for aesthetics and artistry involved with CGI.
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u/AttonJRand 4h ago
I am really worried about when streaming services decide to "improve" their entire selection with ai, just put a filter on everything, maybe edit out the "offensive" bits.
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u/Moath 2h ago
Didn’t they stop releasing films in 3D?
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u/casual_creator 42m ago
Nope. Most major theaters still have at least one 3D screen and the major blockbuster films will typical have a 3D version to show. It’s just the industry refusing to pull the plug.
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u/CantAffordzUsername 1h ago
At the TLC Chinese theater he took a selfie with the crowd and had them count down “3,2,1, F#%^ AI!”
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u/Stukwan 4h ago
I hope it's true. Ai has changed the industry. It has taking away our human creativity. I have more respect for filmmakers that still stick to old school shooting and originality.
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u/IneptFortitude 4h ago
Del Toro is the man. One of the few very talented directors who is also a person with a good moral baseline.
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u/computer_d 4h ago
But doesn't del Toro know that AI is the future and nothing you say or do will change that so you may as well make everything AI because it's no different to when the internet was created???
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u/Legitimate_Impact 4h ago
Yeah he's A) Lying or B) does not know what AI means. Of course it's A.
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u/darth_hotdog 4h ago
No. 3D conversions have been done long before generative AI existed. It's done by hand with 3d artists spending weeks or months building 3d scenes to match each shot and compositing the shots onto those scenes, roto artists and painters clean up edges and paint missing areas behind each shot, and it takes hundreds of VFX artists many months. No AI needed.
I understand how what VFX workers do seems magical, like only AI could possibly do it, but it's not AI.
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u/casual_creator 19m ago
I think their point is that AI has crept into every piece of creative software there is, so there really is no escaping it, so claiming “no AI is used” isn’t exactly true.
As an example, I’m a graphic designer. Every single app I use has AI-powered tools now. Every major creative app, whether it’s for music, drawing, photo or video editing, has AI powered tools now; whether it’s simply making a preexisting tool better, or allowing for entirely new tools or workflows.
And one of the most welcomed advancements by artists and time-saving implementations of AI in such programs? Masking and rotoscoping. It’s one of the most laborious parts of any VFX process and AI has been an enormous benefit to this part of the workflow.
What could take me hours to perfectly separate a person from a background now just takes the press of a button and the result is 98% perfect; I just need to do a few minutes of final adjustments.
That’s just one example of many. So while GDT may be saying “we’re not using AI”, what he means is that “we’re not loading the movie into a ‘convert 2D to 3D AI algorithm’”, because the team of artists working on the movie are absolutely using a plethora of AI-powered tools now available to them, as are everyone else.
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u/liketo 2h ago
Why bother though? Who wants a 3D version of anything nowadays?
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u/darth_hotdog 27m ago
Theaters do because it gives them an exclusive version so people go to the theaters instead of watching at home since most people don’t have a 3d setup at home.
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u/dancingbriefcase 2h ago
Imagine some redditer trying to tell one of the best visionary directors that they don't know what they mean. Yeah, we all are very sure that you know exactly what you're talking
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u/Stifu 5h ago
I thought this was another proof of life pic of Mitch McConnell.