Film, Media and Culture research group presents:

‘”Virtual Maggie”: creative, technological and legal dilemmas in the ‘deepfakes’ resurrection of Margaret Thatcher. Issues arising from a practice research project.’

Research talk by Dr Dominic Lees (UWE Bristol)

Week 18, Wednesday 24th February 2021, 5pm

Deepfakes have been used by practitioners since 2017 as a cheap and rapid means of face replacement in digital video. Deployed with both playful and malign purposes, as well as by artist-activists as political provocations, the practice has paraded a spectacle of technological subculture, a nose-snubbing to the high-end Digital Visual Effects (DVFX) face replacements perfected by Disney Studios for major Hollywood blockbusters. Recent developments have extended the potential of deepfakes beyond low-res user-generated content. Predicting a near-future in which open-source access to machine learning tools has democratized access to face replacement in High Definition digital video, this paper considers the impact of deepfakes on mainstream screen culture and the major ethical and legal issues that need to be resolved.

Dominic Lees writes on issues of screen theory and practice, with further research on the interface between technology and screen production. He is an experienced TV drama and film director, and Associate Head of Department- Filmmaking at UWE Bristol. His directing practice in the UK, Germany, France and Poland has included forty episodes of drama series, short films and the multi award-winning independent feature, Outlanders (2008).  He holds a PhD in Film from the University of Reading.

Forthcoming book (March 2021): Seeing It On Television: Televisuality in the Contemporary US ‘High-end’ Series (Bloomsbury).

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Requests for the meeting details and any further questions should be directed to the group’s co-directors Dr Frances A. Kamm and Dr Susan Wang (F.A.Kamm@kent.ac.uk; S.Wang@kent.ac.uk)