Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

Welcome to Chechnya

29/10/2021

By Debra Kaufman

In 2017, newspapers around the world began carrying stories of crimes against the LGBTQ community in Chechnya, a constituent republic of Russia located in the North Caucasus region. Later that year, noted journalist Masha Gessen published a story in The New Yorker that revealed that, despite global political pressure, the Chechen government continued its kidnapping, torture and murder of members of the LGBTQ community but that a small group of activists were clandestinely rescuing individuals at risk and getting them out of the country.

Documentary filmmaker David France (who made the award-winning 2012 movie How to Survive a Plague about the AIDS crisis) read the news reports with growing horror and called Gessen to learn more. Masha put me in contact with the people on the ground and within days I was embedded in the safe house in Russia, filming, he recounts. On his first trip, with a cinematographer, he brought a 4K Sony Handycam which was small enough to look like a tourist's camera. They then left the camera at the safe house so the residents could use it. When we returned to the shelter, we found that people picked up the camera and told their stories in case anything happened to them, says France. They wanted to record their lives and their suffering so something would be left behind. These stories were the spark that grew into the acclaimed documentary Welcome to Chechnya.

When France met the activists and the people they were helping to escape, he made a life-or-death promise to keep their identities safe. During production that meant a tight, secure workflow for getting footage off the cards and onto encrypted hard drives and then overwriting the cards to every trace of the content.

But hiding the identities of the activists and those fleeing persecution was another, more complex security problem. I didn't want to put them deep in shadows or in hoods, says France. I wanted to feel their humanity and see their expressions. As production was wrapping up, France began what became almost a year of R&D and painstaking labor to make good on his promise. I had told everyone we'd render them as cartoons, he says. And we tried out rotomation. But it turned out that this technique amplified their physical characteristics, turning them into easily recognizable caricatures.

France then worked with artists who interpreted the subject's emotions and actions, overlaying that over the footage but, he says, that technique masked their humanity. We tried Snapchat-like technologies to give them dark glasses or masks but that undermined the seriousness, urgency and danger they were encountering, he says. We eventually turned our attention to the idea of transferring one person's face over another. France was leery of using such a deepfake technology but tried to imagine what if it could ethically be used to reveal something real that otherwise could not be conveyed.

After speaking with numerous VFX supervisors, he found Ryan Laney and his partner Johnny Han who believed they could make it work. They came back with a stunning example that showed it would be possible, says France.

Laney noted that what was important to France and his team was to not dehumanize the people in the film. We want to give them a human voice and to keep them safe, he said. David wanted the face replacement to be so good that even their own mothers wouldn't recognize them. When they tested out style transfer (in which, say, Van Gogh's painting style is transferred to a photo of the Golden Gate bridge), Laney said it gave him and Han an understanding of how machine learning could be used to solve the problem.

Next came the code writing, using Google's TensorFlow open-source AI/ML software library. We treated it as if it were a VFX show, says Laney. The style transfer of faces became like a different kind of rendering images, but instead of CG as the result, we were generating a face. In New York, France recruited 23 LGBTQ activists to be the new faces of the Chechen/Russian subjects, shooting them in a bluescreen studio with an array of Panasonic cameras. He made sure to shoot the head in multiple positions and the mouth making every position possible for believable lip-synching.

According to Laney, compositing required a VFX artist to look at every frame to check the fit regarding tracking, color, lighting and anything else. But it wasn't a creative tweak, emphasizes Laney. As an ethical consideration, we constrained it strictly to technical correction. They also placed a soft halo around the face to make it clear that it was a replacement, which was also spelled out in the film's opening. In the first 20 or so shots, we made them very soft so viewers could really see what we were doing and understand the halo, says Laney. When I first saw it work, I got the chills. It was incredible how well the picture matched and the emotion came through, even though it's another face.

France also made sure that anything that identified the subjects was removed, including clothing and jewelry as well as kitchen and bathroom products in safe houses outside of Russia. In the process of obtaining informed consent from the interviewees, Laney reports that one subject said watching it helped him process his experience because it was like watching someone else go through it.

According to France, who is currently working on a documentary on COVID-19, screenings of Welcome to Chechnya on Capitol Hill and in the U.K. and Europe provided the evidence needed to prompt sanctions. But the atrocities continue unabated. Laney, whose team processed over 400 shots and over an hour of screen time, is now providing this and related identity protection services, most recently employed in director Jennifer Ngo's Faceless, a film about the pro-d
LINK: https://hpaonline.com/welcome-to-chechnya/...
See more stories from hpa

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

04/08/2026

Dalet Announces Commercial Availability of Dalia, Bringing Media-Aware Agentic AI to Enterprise Productions

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

04/07/2026

Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in Dolby Cinemas Across Japan, Presented in Dolby Atmos and Dolby ...

April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

15/04/2026

Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Transmitters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

JB&A Spotlights Exhibitors Ahead of Pre-NAB 2026 Technology Event

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wave Central, EVS Announce SMPTE ST 2110 Interop Collaboration

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Top Reason for Subscribing to Pay TV Is Live News and TV, Survey Finds

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

NAB Leadership Foundation Honors Outstanding Broadcasters

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Wisycom Expands MPR60 With New Multichannel IFB Mode

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

15/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires Premium Manufacturer ARRI

Strategic Alignment With the Riedel Group for Innovation and Growth Thomas Riedel, founder and owner of Riedel Communications and the Riedel Group, has acqui...

15/04/2026

Iyuno Deploys SDVI Rally Platform to Accelerate and Scale...

SDVI, the leading platform provider for cloud-native media supply chains, today announced that the company's Rally platform has been deployed by Iyuno Media...

15/04/2026

Frequency Leads the Industry in Live Local News on FAST

Frequency, the engine behind many of the worlds leading streaming television channels, has become the platform of choice for leading U.S. broadcasters bringing ...

15/04/2026

Harmonic Introduces Breakthrough AI Orchestration Service...

New Service Simplifies Integration of AI Applications with Exceptional Reliability and Security SAN JOSE, Calif. April 14, 2026 Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) t...

15/04/2026

VIDI and Media Links Bring Scalable IP Transport to Germa...

During the 2025 off-season, VIDI completed a major upgrade of the broadcast infrastructure across all 36 stadiums in Germany's 1st and 2nd Bundesliga. The p...

15/04/2026

Clear-Com Introduces Transformational Arcadia and Eclipse...

Clear-Com announced significant updates to its award-winning Arcadia Central Station as well as enhancements to the Eclipse HX Digital Matrix System now runn...

15/04/2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026

Shotoku Introduces the World to Aura P2 PTZ Prompter Panner at NAB SHOW 2026 Brie Clayton April 15, 2026 0 Comments New system removes PTZ pan restric...

15/04/2026

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File Workflow Integration

LiveU Announces Expanded Collaboration with Sony at NAB Show, Adding Direct File...

15/04/2026

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation

This 24-Hour Performance Art Piece Needs Your Participation Keefer Glenshaws latest project is about collaborating with the Berklee community and beyond. Apr...

14/04/2026

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 Playout and Live News Workflows

ToolsOnAir and Omnistream Bring Mobile SRT Contribution into Professional 24/7 P...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Haivision Launches Falkon X4 5G Mobile Video Transmitter

Haivision has announced the Falkon X4, a 5G mobile video transmitter for live broadcast and remote production. The device will be showcased at NAB Show 2026. ...

14/04/2026

SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Stripe TVs Matthew Pavey on Making Live-Production Tech More Portable, Intuitive, and Accessible

Founded by veterans of the production-truck world, Stripe TV was born out of a d...

14/04/2026

Studio Berlin Adds LDX 135 and LDX 180 Camera Systems from Grass Valley

Grass Valley has expanded its partnership with Studio Berlin, supplying 12 LDX 135 UHD/HDR camera systems and 12 LDX 180 Super 35mm cinematic cameras, including...

14/04/2026

LTN Appoints Mark Romano and Edward Cox to Vice President Roles

LTN has announced two senior appointments ahead of NAB Show 2026: Mark Romano as Vice President, Multichannel Platforms, and Edward Cox as Vice President, Sales...

14/04/2026

Agor and Sennheiser to Deploy Largest Spectera System to Date at Eurovision Song Contest 2026

Sennheiser and Italian rental company Agor have begun preparations for their Eu...

14/04/2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet Announce Prediction Market Partnership Ahead of FIFA World Cup 2026

DAZN and ADI Predictstreet have announced a partnership to integrate ADI Predict...

14/04/2026

Deltatre Completes Digital Platform for Serie A as Part of Four-Season Partnership

Deltatre has announced the completion of a direct-to-fan website and app for Leg...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Daktronics to Exhibit with Grass Valley

Daktronics, will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 in partnership with Grass Valley at Booth C2408, Las Vegas Convention Center, April 19-22. Daktronics will showcase a...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Backblaze to Host Partner Showcases

Backblaze will host a series of partner presentations at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N1259, North Hall), open to all exhibition hall badge holders. Showcase partners i...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: BRAHMA AI to Exhibit Enterprise AI Content Platform

BRAHMA AI will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2415, West Hall), demonstrating its Enterprise AI Content Platform for media, entertainment, sports, and technol...

14/04/2026

Bridge Technologies VB440 Integrated into NEP Platform

Bridge Technologies has announced that its VB440 production probe has been integrated into NEP Platform, NEP Group's software orchestration system. The inte...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Clear-Com to Demonstrate Expanded Intercom Ecosystem

Clear-Com will introduce new products and demonstrate its communications ecosystem for broadcast and live production at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C5807, April 19-22)...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: EZDRM to Introduce Revenue Security Prism Framework

EZDRM will use NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2260) to introduce the Revenue Security Prism, a framework for combining multiple security technologies to protect streamin...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Telos Alliance Product Preview

Telos Alliance will introduce the following products at NAB Show 2026: TV and Media Telos Infinity MK2 Panels: A new generation of hardware control panels for...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Panasonic to Showcase IP and IT Production Solutions

Panasonic Video and Audio Systems North America will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth C3509), demonstrating IP- and IT-based production solutions for sports, bro...

14/04/2026

Behind the Mic: WNBA Adds Sue Bird, Sophie Cunningham to Networks Commentary Teams; John Buccigross Signed to ESPN Extension

Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...

14/04/2026

NAB 2026: Blackmagic Design Announces Multiple New Products

Blackmagic Design will exhibit at NAB Show 2026 (Booth N2502). CEO Grant Petty s product announcement livestream is available at youtube.com. The company announ...

14/04/2026

Thomas Riedel Acquires ARRI, Adding Camera and Lighting Component to Riedel Group Portfolio

The deal establishes a close strategic alignment' between the iconic cinema...

14/04/2026

Taming the Untamed: Producing the 2026 Absa Cape EPIC Mountain-Bike Race

BIGSHOT Media, with support from Teradek, produced untamed African mountain-bike race' with daily coverage and highlights show The 2026 Absa Cape EPIC, an...

14/04/2026

SVG Announces Sports AI Innovation Lab to Advance the Use of AI in Live Production

The Sports Video Group (SVG) today announced the launch of the SVG AI Innovation...

14/04/2026

AIR Music Tech release Fabric Vintage Synths Vol.1

Captures a trio of renowned polysynths The latest software to join AIR Music Tech's extensive catalogue captures the sound of three sought-after polysyn...

14/04/2026

United Plugins introduce UnitedFreeBundle

Free offering includes 10 powerful plug-ins United Plugins have announced the launch of a new bundle that brings together 10 of their pro-audio plug-ins, an...

14/04/2026

Celemony update Tonalic

Julian Coryell joins virtual session player line-up Announced at NAMM 2026, Celemony's Tonalic kits DAW users out with real performances by world-class ...

14/04/2026

Supporting Safe Space Flights with WESCAM MX-Series Imaging Systems

WESCAM MX -Series EO/IR Systems Provide Critical Visibility During NASA Re-Entry Operations....

14/04/2026

L3Harris Demonstrates Autonomous Electronic Warfare Capability During US Army Experiment

DiSCO reduces uncertainty during the fog of war in modern threat environments an...

14/04/2026

GOES-19 One Year Later: Protecting Communities Through Advanced Technology

GOES-19 imagery captured by L3Harris-built Advanced Baseline Imager technology helps forecasters issue life-saving weather warnings. Credit: NOAA/NASA...

14/04/2026

Reimagining Earth Measurement for the AI Era: L3Harris and Xoople Develop a New Spacebourne Capability

For decades, understanding the physical world from space has required a trade-of...

14/04/2026

Nielsen Appoints Roberto Ruiz to Lead Measurement Science

Ruiz has helped fuel growth for both client-side and media companies, including, most recently, TelevisaUnivision. He will spearhead transformation, innovatio...