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Friday, November 8

Explore the intentional misuse of generative A.I. as an aesthetic strategy then learn how to transform video into stylized generative A.I. animations using open-source tools.

Lecture: 1:00-2:00 PM

Workshop: 2:30-5:00 PM

Lecture

Transing the Archives: Generative AI against the Grain

In this talk + short film screening, multidisciplinary artist Ava Aviva Avnisan (she/they) will speak about the intentional misuse of Generative AI technologies as one of the critical / aesthetic strategies deployed in the making of her short film Specters of Home – Prologue. The film—an homage to Chris Marker’s 1983 Sans Soleil—follows the writings of an unnamed female time traveler whose personal and family histories are fatefully entangled with the State of Israel’s Declaration of Independence in 1948; the Jewish Exodus from the Muslim World; and the Palestinian Nakba. The film comprises a wide range of visual materials including footage sourced from both family archives and the Israel Film Archive; ghostly renderings of the Palestinian village of Lifta created from 3D lidar data scans; and generative AI animations created in collaboration with artist Doug Rosman. The talk will conclude with a screening of Specters of Home — Prologue.

Workshop

Generative AI Image and Animation Creation with ComfyUI

In this hands-on workshop you will learn how to transform video into stylized generative AI animations using the open-source tool ComfyUI. Adopting a structure inspired by surrealist parlor games, participants will work in pairs to respond to a creative prompt, as well as to one another. Each participant will come away with a short, collaboratively-created experimental animation, and the knowledge to continue working with these tools on their own.

The workshop is designed for creatives of all levels interested in exploring creative applications of generative AI image and animation creation. No prior experience is required. Participants should bring a laptop; all other necessary materials will be provided.

What We’ll Cover

• Overview of the possibilities, limitations and dangers of generative AI
• How to use RunDiffusion, a (paid) third party cloud-based solution for running ComfyUI that doesn’t require you to own your own powerful computer
• Resources for delving deeper into the theory and practice of generative AI  
• The basics of using the ComfyUI web interface including
  • How to create images using a text prompt
  • How to create images using both a text prompt and an input image
  • How to batch a sequence of video frames