Technology
Mind-blowing 4K colour footage of 1920s Paris recreated by AI shows daily life 100 YEARS ago
A STUNNING YouTube video sends you time travelling back to 1920s Paris thanks to artificial intelligence colourising old black and white film.
The AI enhanced film shows the daily life of Parisians in 1927 in 4K quality.
The 1920s in Paris were often referred to as “les années folles”, which means “the crazy years.
World renowned artist Pablo Picasso lived in the city during the decade, as did writers Ernest Hemingway and W.B Yeats.
The video was published by a YouTube account called glamourdaze.
It’s an edited clip of a series of travelogues created by early film maker Burton Holmes.
A young couple can be seen at an outdoor cafe[/caption]
AI has been used to determine their hair colour and complexions[/caption]
The original footage was digitised by AV Geeks and preserved on the Prelinger Archive.
Clips of the film, called Seeing Paris, were then taken by glamourdaze and then restored with a series of AI techniques.
A soundtrack was added to the background for a more immersive experience.
Roaring Twenties actress Pola Negri can be seen here at a tree house restaurant and bar[/caption]
Most people wore hats everyday[/caption]
Some of the footage is still a bit dark[/caption]
The YouTube video caption explains: “Time travel back to Paris of the roaring 20’s, flappers, bobbed hair, cloche hats, and dancing to jazz!
“Brought to life with AI deep learning techniques. Silent movie actress Pola Negri can be seen at the now long forgotten treehouse restaurant bar – Robinson Pavillon Lafontaine. “Robinson” was a popular guinguette ( a bar where you could drink and dance outdoors).
Cafe Dome appeared very busy in the footage[/caption]
The flapper fashion and hairstyles can be seen on the two women dancing together[/caption]
Parisian fashions are on full display in the clip[/caption]
“Located at 32 Rue de Malabry, in a small district Le Plessis-Robinson, south of the city.
“The pavilion is preserved today as a front only. Long gone are the bright young things of the roaring twenties.
“We also see the famous Cafe de la Paix on the Boulevard des Capucines, as well as Le Dôme Café in the Latin quarter.”
What is artificial intelligence?
Here’s what you need to know…
- Artificial intelligence, also known as AI, is a type of computer software
- Typically, a computer will do what you tell it to do
- But artificial intelligence simulates the human mind, and can make its own deductions, inferences or decisions
- A simple computer might let you set an alarm to wake you up
- But an AI system might scan your emails, work out that you’ve got a meeting tomorrow, and then set an alarm and plan a journey for you
- AI tech is often “trained” – which means it observes something (potentially even a human) then learns about a task over time
- For instance, an AI system can be fed thousands of photos of human faces, then generate photos of human faces all on its own
- Some experts have raised concerns that humans will eventually lose control of super-intelligent AI
- But the tech world is still divided over whether or not AI tech will eventually kill us all in a Terminator-style apocalypse
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What do you think of the colourised Paris footage? Let us know in the comments…
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