South Park creator Matt Stone has shed light on the secretive work being done by his company, Deep Voodoo, positioning it as a rare entity navigating the complexities of artificial intelligence in entertainment responsibly.

In a rare interview, Stone, 54, discussed how Deep Voodoo aims to achieve things that are beyond the capabilities of human labor alone, distinguishing their mission from more mundane AI applications.

The Genesis of Deep Voodoo

From Trump Deepfake to Boutique Firm

The company's origins trace back to the late Trump administration when Parker and Stone attempted to create a deepfake movie featuring Donald Trump progressively losing control. When local effects houses couldn't meet their quality standards, the duo took matters into their own hands.

They recruited AI specialists online and established an internal outfit to develop the necessary technology. Although the Trump film project was ultimately shelved due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the core team remained intact.

Deep Voodoo subsequently executed over half a dozen viral projects that audiences may not have realized were powered by their technology. The firm has been quietly supporting production labels with their visual effects goals for several years.

A Low-Profile Operation

Deep Voodoo maintains an extremely low profile, operating out of a standard, professionally lit brick-walled studio in Venice, Los Angeles. The firm employs model experts globally, including teams in Eastern Europe, Argentina, and Vancouver, utilizing remote compute power.

The leadership reflects this grounded approach. Jennifer Howell, the Chief Content Officer, is an animation veteran who has worked across numerous studios. The CEO is Afshin Beyzaee, a lawyer who previously served as chief counsel at Parker and Stone’s Park County production company.

Commitment to Ethical AI and Licensing

Prioritizing Permission Over Scraping

A core tenet of Deep Voodoo is its strict adherence to licensing agreements, refusing to work with any studio that has not secured explicit authorization from actors or their estates.

Beyzaee emphasized this stance, stating, “It’s about making sure that we’re providing this service, providing this technology, in a way that respects the laws and the protections and the rights that people have.” The company will decline jobs if the required permissions are insufficient.

Unlike firms that scrape the internet for training materials, Deep Voodoo relies on licensed images. This data is captured either on-site using nine cameras to elicit varied facial reactions or provided directly by the production company.

Laborious, Bespoke Modeling

The process is intentionally laborious, which a scale-minded Silicon Valley firm would likely avoid. Creating a bespoke model for a specific production can take up to a month and involve approximately 300,000 images.

Howell noted that their mission, stemming from the artists' inherent pickiness, is to create cinematic visuals that never pull the viewer out due to substandard effects. This contrasts sharply with prompt-based synthetic content, which often lacks an artist at the center.

The Future of Performance Transfer

Beyond De-Aging: New Creative Frontiers

Stone asserts that their methodology differs significantly from purely synthetic approaches, focusing instead on capturing real actors performing under what is essentially a digital facial mask.

“The magic is the performer. Without that is just becomes wallpaper,” Stone remarked, highlighting the importance of the human element in their AI-driven creations.

De-aging remains a primary use case, but the company is also pioneering “performance transfer.” This technique allows an actor to record their performance casually on a stage, and that performance is then mapped onto a digital environment, making it appear as if they were physically present in complex locations like Paris or Beijing.

Anticipating Industry Shifts

Stone believes this technology will revolutionize production speed and reduce costs, potentially making large-scale location shoots obsolete. He acknowledges that such advances may cause friction with physical crews but maintains that the technology is inevitable.

He also foresees new creative applications, such as weekly political shows using deepfakes to create grotesque mashups capturing the essence of public figures. While acknowledging potential downsides, Stone believes the benefits will be overwhelming.

Implications for South Park

When questioned about integrating AI into South Park, Stone confirmed that he and Parker intend to use it. He suggests that the technology could alleviate the current bi-weekly production schedule, potentially allowing them to go home earlier.

Ultimately, Stone is optimistic about the creative potential: “And it means maybe the show’s better.”