Video Upscaling software. (Before & After pics)

I didn't know where to put this, and I also didn't want it to seem like I'm spamming, but recently I've been experimenting with upscaling software to update my older projects- it's a mixed bag and the tech is getting better, but not quite there yet.

I'm using a short video I assisted on as a test. The story is about a reporter who realizes his government is starting to crack down on individualism; I play the reporter's manager, a supporting role.

The short was shot on Hi-8 video.

The shots:
(The software upscales & tries to provide detail only; the color correction is my work.)






This one has incredibly accurate detail:


My appearance: (I was 22 when this was shot back in 1994)


The faces have an unfortunate AI-generated quality to them. Also, my skin was NEVER that perfect. If you examine the top pic closely, you can still see my acne & pockmarks.

I've noticed in a few shots that the program does weird things- one character does not wear glasses, yet for a few seconds he's clearly wearing spectacles. Facial features also distort slightly in wide shots where information is pretty much guessed at.

When I'm done with this, I may upload it for viewing. It's only 15 minutes long. Acting & writing is done by teenagers, so take that into account. (I was in film school and assisting the director with this project.)

 

Whoa.
Totally out of my league. It’s unbelievable what technology can do today.

 

Very kewl. Please do upload the end result.

Is it possible for us to view both versions once your done?

 

Or at least some of the original?

 

I don't see why not. Don't watch it expecting Oscar-winning performances, though.

On a related note, I'm also experimenting with AI generating software and it's fairly disastrous- I can't get it to do anything worthwhile, but on the other hand I can make it do completely crazy nonsense, and I may just combine the two to make a laugh riot out of this project. (This project featured a brief fight scene, and I tried to lengthen it slightly with AI, but all it did was make the two combatants engage in a dance-off, and no, I'm not kidding about that.)

 

I've read other comments about AI creating content that wasn't what the artist/creator wanted.

Once you give AI an idea, do you no longer have control over what AI creates? Are you able to edit? redirect? during the process? These redundant questions sound good in my head, not so good in writing.

 

I honestly don't know how other people manage it; I'm playing around with a program called RunwayML, and any time I attempt to create something, I get random garbage or the image in question doesn't do anything other than "shift" slightly. (If I take a photo of someone and tell the program to make the person wave, the person will just move slightly and their face will change... but nothing else.

Recently I went back after a few months after not using it and it's improved slightly, but I still can't get it to do exactly what I want. I don't know if my prompts are not verbose enough, or too much verbosity.

This is their website (This is not the video software I'm using, that's an entirely different animal.)
Runway | Tools for human imagination.