Real-Time Cosmetic Retouching for Video

Image and video editing is all the rage, always trying to find the perfect body, the perfect colors, the perfect angle, the perfect scene. Digital retouching is increasingly easier and faster, requiring less experience from the user. Logically, the next big goal is applying these changes in real time, so everyone looks "splendid" via streaming and live broadcasts. Jason Zhang, creator of the Z CAM camera line, shared a demo of real-time cosmetic retouching, which he called "the new virtual reality". Does he have a point or not?

Many users believe the world would be a better place without social networks. And yet we can't stop using them. In the past, some of their creators talked about dopamine hits and social validation loops, the need to "not feed the beast" and put a collar on its neck. One of the most disturbing requirements of social networks is that we must be "perfect" on them. If you don't attend four or five parties a month or throw yourself out of a plane with a parachute at least twice a year, you're "missing out on life". And that's not enough. Perfection must go beyond your way of living and accompany you at every moment. Face, hair, body. Photoshop makes the impossible possible for images, but what about video? Well... it's not that far off:

What you just saw is a demonstration published on Facebook (!) by Jason Zhang, creator of the Z CAM camera line that specializes in cinematic models and virtual reality units. The text is brief, but Zhang seems to suggest that the real-time cosmetic retouching feature for video will be available on the Z CAM E2 camera, currently on sale for $1,999. With a simple command, the system adjusts the jaw and cheeks, keeping the changes regardless of angle or speed of movement. One detail to highlight about this "filter" is that its activation also modifies the surrounding light.

Now, the question is: Do we need this? In my personal opinion, I have no doubt that the hardware is already up to the task, and that dynamic real-time cosmetic retouching of video will become another feature. I also think it will be useful in professional spaces, probably reducing post-production time and costs. But if something like this reaches smartphones, the parade of artificial faces and bodies will multiply...

Source: