How 'Coraline' studio Laiki uses Intel's AI to perfect stop motion films

Laika, the stop motion animation studio behind films like Coraline and Kubo and the Two Strings, isn't afraid to embrace new technology. We chronicled how it used 3D printing to add a whole new level of detail to 2012 film Paranorman. Now, the studio has its sights set on something even more ambitious: Artificial intelligence. Laika has partnered with Intel to use machine learning tools to clean up artifacts that used to require thousands of hours of manual artist labor. As Jeff Stringer, Laika's director of production technology explains, the company 3D prints shapes for facial performances, which animators painstakingly tweak to create natural and emotive motion-capture characters.