A Belgian VFX Specialist Creates Fake Tom Cruise Deepfakes
Using a combination of art and science, a Belgium-born VFX specialist named Chris Ume has created a series of Tom Cruise deepfakes. These videos have received international attention. One of them has gone viral. Reddit users have called them terrifying.
Before releasing his latest video, Ume spent two months building a computer model of Tom Cruise’s face. This was made from a database of over 6,000 images of the actor. Then he trained the system to recognize different facial expressions and angles. He then fine-tuned the system on a smaller set of images. He also worked to fix glitches in the digital graphics software.
When he posted the videos to TikTok, the lookalike account @deeptomcruise went viral. His followers quickly began to debate whether or not the real Cruise had joined the app. He has more than 3 million followers. He is now the most popular account on the social platform. The alarms went off in Washington DC and national security circles.
The Tom Cruise lookalike has become the subject of a series of articles and comments online. He has appeared on shows like The Today Show and NBC’s Good Morning Texas. He has even been seen performing on the show AGT. He is also married to Carter Reum in real life.
Earlier this year, the Tom Cruise lookalike released a series of digitally manipulated videos on YouTube, including clips of Cruise practicing a golf swing. In some of the clips, he appeared to be dripping wet from a swimming pool. In other clips, he was playing guitar.
In one video, he was wearing a bathrobe and had a dog sunglasses in his pocket. Another video showed him singing a song by Elton John. He also pulled jumpers over his face. He wore a wig of wiry grey curls.
Chris Ume, the visual effects artist, said he was only interested in entertaining people. He reassured them that he did not make the videos to pass as Cruise. He emphasized that each of his deepfakes was done carefully and with great time and effort.
He stressed that it is important to avoid making harmful deepfakes. He said that it is possible for anyone to create a video and call it a deepfake, but there is a limit to the damage. He says that he wants to avoid putting his name on the same videos that could harm others. He said he is also working on tools to determine if an unedited video is a deepfake. He has also said that the law has not been fully established to protect the rights of the families of the dead.
He did not mention who is behind the fake Tom Cruise account, but he did say that he works with Miles Fisher, a top-flight Tom Cruise lookalike. The two have collaborated on a company called Metaphysic, where they use deepfake technology to create the most convincing deepfakes ever. They have produced a number of videos, and the trio of deepfake videos that have been released are being hailed as the most realistic.
