A few years ago, I saw a wonderful science fiction movie, called "UFO Sweden" at the Fantastic Fest Festival. I loved him. I wrote a rave review. I waited to get a proper release so I could see it again. That issue has never come.
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"UFO Sweden" is not an unavailable film. It's a definition of a pleasant crowd: inventive, funny, sweet, exciting film about science that feels like Hollywood adventures in the 90s, we are still rich these days. It is a story of a troubled teenager trying to find his missing father with the help of his old UFO investigations club, an unusual team of accidents that have only each other. That's wonderful. And unexpectedly emotionally. There is only one "problem". It is a Swedish film, starring Swedish actors, talking to Swedish, and even most mainstream film fights to find an overseas audience if translations are included.
But that's where things are interesting. The film has a new title, "Watch the Heaven", and finally gets a wider release (through a limited edition through AMC theaters on May 9, 2025) for the American audience. Instead of translations, the film will be called English. However, this is not the kind of oak you expect-this is a "submersible Dable", stunning new AI power supply technology, which digitally restores the actor's mouth to the new audio, leading to a smooth performance.
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I was skeptical. I was ready to crunch. But, as I say, to actually watch "Watch the Heaven", I quickly realized that I see something that can literally change how international films can attract a foreign audience that will not read translations. The doors are blown. This can change the way we watch movies.
Watch how the sky uses ethical AI for its immersion
If you are like me and tend to get ick whenever someone expresses AI in the context of a creative fieldOk, you certainly aren't alone. Scott Man, co-founder of Blanca, the company behind the new immersion, totally understands it.
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"I think it's fun as a struggle, because I think all technologies can be used for good or bad, true," Man told me about Zoom. "It depends on how it is used, how it is used."
There is an important difference that should be made between what makes the flawless and what another AI power supply technology is known. Impressive debris is a tool used by creatives, and one who does not replace creatives in the process of making films:
"We have built tools for creatives, for artists, for directors, for actors, for sound mixers, this kind of things. And I think when you allow artists, creatives themselves with new technologies, they can do much more, and that's the right way.
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The director "Look at the Heaven", Victor Danel was initially skeptical, but was conquered after realizing that he could return the original actor, and allow them to give their characters (the guild of the actors on the screen gave a flawless and submersible to impose his stamp on approval). And while traditional oaks are routinely ridiculed for the "lip" effect, technology means that the actors no longer have to execute them to match the movements of their lips of their characters, and English dialogue does not have to be inconveniently expressed to match the cyadence in another language. The new performance is digitally mapped in the actor's mouth, allowing them to call performance natural for perhaps for the first time ever.
"This technology allows us to be a little freer," Danel told me. "We can change the subtle things in the dialogue, in the translation, making things a little clearer, or they can have more direct, or the funniest, small things. And that freedom, it's liberating." Danel's enthusiasm for technology is obvious, even admitting that he prefers the English version of "Watch the Sky" over the original film.
Impressively Dablo can change the way people see the international cinema
I think the sneaky beauty of "Watch the Sky" is that unless you know about the insertion of the submersible process of oak, the effect is largely invisible. If you know what to look for, you can probably see the seams here and there, as you would imagine any fresh technology. But for the ordinary viewer? The person who would never look for this film when he was titled "UFO Sweden" and asked to read translations? The effect will be invisible.
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As seasonal Cinophil with constant interest in the international cinema, I think I will continue to choose a subtitle when the option is available, mainly because I have never had a problem with them. But flawless "immersion" is not necessarily intended for me. The intention is for the mass audience of people who see subtitles as a barrier, but who are otherwise inclined to enjoy a movie initially made in another language. This is a technology built to make the whole world of film available to the mass audience. If done correctly, and responsibly, this is an internationally cinema gate for millions of viewers in English.
And frankly, the message that is impeccable is presented by all the real things, and "watch the sky" speaks for itself. The film is still an explosion in English and has not lost something I wanted in the original Swedish version. And, it was handled directly by the directors, working with the original team, allowing everyone involved to mix and adapt the film, as they thought they fit into their creative process. This is not automatic sludge, but a chance for artists themselves to build a direct bridge to a new audience and have complete control over how foreign audiences will enjoy their work.
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As an Ai-skeptic who loves translations, I found myself intrigued and inspired by what "watch the sky" offers and what it means to how mass audiences can watch and enjoy movies around the world in the coming years.
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