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Flemish AI technology wins technical Emmy

Brahma AI recognised for face replacement that preserves the original acting performance.

Flemish technology entrepreneur Jo Plaete was involved in an Emmy for technical television innovation on Wednesday. The award went to an international team using AI to digitally change actors’ faces and ages without having to recreate their original performances entirely.

The Television Academy and the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences have recognised the technology in the category for AI-based face replacement and post-production preserving performances. Alongside Brahma AI, Disney Research, Rising Sun Pictures and Digital Domain are also named as recipients.

Jo Plaete is chief technology officer of Brahma AI. The technology was used, among other things, for Robert Zemeckis’s film Here, in which Tom Hanks and Robin Wright play characters at different ages. According to Plaete, the system worked almost live during filming, allowing the director to see at an early stage what a younger or older version would look like.

The award is not for a fully automated system that replaces actors. Its purpose is instead to preserve the movements, timing and facial expressions of an existing performance while adjusting the appearance. Human editing and artistic control therefore remain necessary, even when parts of the process are carried out by models.

The recognition comes at a time when film and television companies are looking for ways to use AI in existing production pipelines. The technology can make productions quicker to assess and may make it possible to see effects during filming. At the same time, it raises questions about consent, ownership of faces, the value of acting and how viewers are informed.

The Television Academy describes the development as a technical improvement that affects the production and presentation of television. This is not a judgement on the artistic quality of Here or on the social desirability of changing faces. The award mainly says that, in the jury’s view, the technology is sufficiently production-ready to play a major role in professional audiovisual production processes.

For Dutch and Flemish makers, the significance lies mainly in the combination of local expertise and international productions. The technology is developed and applied in a global chain involving film studios, visual-effects companies and streaming services. The next debate will probably focus less on whether it is technically possible and more on who gives consent and who manages the digital identity.

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