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Wonder Dynamics, a new start-up founded by Tye Sheridan, the star of Steven Spielberg’s Ready Player One, and Nikola Todorovic, has unveiled an AI-powered video editing tool named Wonder Studio that can replace real-life actors with Computer Generated Image (CGI) characters.

The software uses AI to automate the more objective visual effects (VFX) work, allowing VFX artists to focus on the subjective work, which is more crucial to the story and more creative.

The tool also offers in-depth options for lighting, motion, grain, and color.

It has been in development for three years and can animate footage live, frame by frame, without the need for actors to do motion capture.

The Wonder Studio is as simple as dragging and dropping different CGI characters into real-life actors within the footage.

The software comes with several CG character archetypes that can be implemented into films, with the eventual aim for VFX artists to create their own characters that can be sold on the platform.

The company plans to offer a free tier to the software and paywall professional features that will be wanted by heavy users.

The Russo Brothers, known for directing the Marvel Cinematic Universe films, have already adopted the software for their upcoming Netflix film with Millie Bobbie Brown and Chris Pratt.

According to Todorovic, “The beauty of AI is taking something so complicated and simplifying it. You can’t replace artists with AI, we’re about enhancing and empowering them. This doesn’t disrupt what they’re doing; it automates 80-90% of the objective VFX work and leaves them with the subjective work.”

Mr Sheridan added:  “We are storytellers at heart, and we’re only building technology as a means to help us tell better stories. AI presents a huge opportunity for more films to be made and for more voices to be heard.”

Both Motion capture (mocap) and manual CGI edits are currently expensive for filmmakers.

Wonder Studio aims to bridge this gap by automating most of the objective work, freeing up time for VFX artists to work on scenes that are more crucial to the story and more creative.

Wonder Studio is currently in beta, with various paid plans available.