11
Unpopular opinion: I think the best way to learn is by looking at the bad fakes first
About three years ago, I was trying to learn this stuff on my own and felt totally lost. I kept watching those super polished, scary-good fake videos of politicians and just got frustrated because I couldn't see the flaws. Then, on a forum, someone told me to go look at the early, janky deepfakes from 2017 and 2018. I spent a whole weekend digging through old YouTube clips and archive sites. Seeing those weird, blurry jawlines and the eyes that never quite blinked right was a game changer. It taught me what to look for in the skin texture and light reflections. Now, when I see a new fake, my brain spots those same little tells, even when they're much better hidden. Has anyone else found that starting with the obvious, bad examples made it click for them?
3 comments
Log in to join the discussion
Log In3 Comments
ross.christopher20d ago
Honestly I used to think you had to study the perfect fakes to know what good looks like. But your point about the early janky stuff makes total sense now. It's like learning to spot a bad paint job before you can appreciate a flawless one. Those weird jawlines and dead eyes from 2017 taught me what smooth movement and real skin texture should actually look like. I was overcomplicating it trying to find tiny flaws in the perfect ones when the bad ones show you the whole problem in plain sight.
5
victor_hill4420d ago
Yeah and I spent like a week squinting at a perfect fake of a politician before @ross.christopher pointed out the 2017 stuff. My brain was trying to find a pixel when the old ones just have a whole messed up face. Felt pretty dumb.
6
ryan_black20d ago
The 2017 deepfakes were like a free masterclass in bad CGI. You don't need to see a perfect fake when the old ones show every single wire. It's the best way to train your eye without overthinking it.
-1