Red eye Interviews the artistic duo Supernova

Thank you so much for being here for the interview, for RED-EYE One of the first things I'd like to ask you that not very curious is how you met and what is your background that influenced in your work and what is your inspiration behind everything you within your body of work?

Let's say we met on Instagram he contacted me Matteo, let's say a year and a half ago more or less And after a few a few exchanges of messages, we found each other immediately sharing the same vision and we started chatting more with the time then it's once we've made

some "virtual introductions" I've got couple of jobs and I said "Let's try to do some little projects together!" and from there then slowly we are starting to collaborate until the birth of SUPERNOVA that is our directing duo born since 7-8 months, so quite fresh.

But let's say we are on the right track, though and we have started to do some work a little bit bigger and bigger slowly and so on..

Regarding our background, we come from two totally different backgrounds, but totally our own. I moved to Milan about 15 years ago, I have studied at IED and then already from the first university year started collaborating with Claudio Sinatti which I have been in the in his studio for so many years doing a lot of projects together. From there I slowly moved more and more into the video, photography and directing. With him I was doing more things let's say.. video installations and programming like ISADORA let's say that this one then slowly I got

moved and I found my own way.

Well Matteo to you we don't ask your background

Yes that's the background! This background here. Exactly I confirm it, in the sense that it began, let's say as an exchange of ideas via DM on Instagram because it already seemed since the beginning that, let's say, that our skills could be well integrated and then afterwards we met. We started with a couple of jobs already quite important and difficult, then we saw that things were working well and then we actually began with this project of directorial duo

and we are very excited about this a lot.

To the technology that you're using right now. I mean, how is it influencing your work and how are you using it? What kind of tools and technology are you approaching?

Well we try to be very on the point when it comesto the technology and above all, be super up-to-date because anyway is precisely in order to diversify, we need to put a new technology or a different language than others are doing, certainly we exploited leading to the iPhone's lidar technology.

So with the scans we made a couple of jobs using that technology and then bring them in a 3D world by creating the avatar via the let's say the application and then bring this this

into a 3D world including working it and messaging it all images, let's say standard with those

Of the of the avatar and 3D. Then another cutting-edge technology, especially in the last campaign we did, is the artificial intelligence that is really in my opinion is a let's say a medium that can really give you something in more than normal because it is still super fascinating handing over a computer or a machine the ability to alter image algorithms or videos we have never done ever seen, so I think it's a super fascinating thing this really super fascinating and to give winder possibilities. It's not only aesthetics, but also a matter precisely of language, in my opinion not so let's say these two for now are the things on which we are a little more focused on. Video still it remains a key part, absolutely.

Then it's nice to just find this balance both aesthetic and language by using more form is more technologies possible?

Here is better to ask the question than this because Matteo and I made a long time ago a project together working with GAN algorithms and we had found a sort of obstacle. When we were putting like a feed of the images the algorithm always tended to find faces etc., quite dystopian in the outcome of the image, so we put a lot of time to find this balance, in the sense that we did not want to have a dystopian approach, I'm talking about years ago, and so this is a job that stand years ago and instead the feedback say of the algorithm always had a fairly dystopian cut, however disturbing, quite heavy.

Then I wanted to understand from you, since there was, obviously now evolution of the algorithm let's say an intelligence artificial with which you have done the latest work, it was easy to find a balance or did you still have this kind of feedback, creepy and dystopian?

So on the last work I'd say No. Because it is simply was a collaboration we did with another artist and the request for a little bit, was to be hyper realistic, because some a fashion product is there a problem there is as soon as there was one thing or a face that was distorted something it was immediately: "not good, not good, not good" Yes, we had to.. Especially Francesco, for guy with we collaborated on for this project. He spent a lot of time on it a lot, however, it was not so extreme. In my opinion, he used a technique quite new, because not to make typology, let's say of morphing through artificial intelligence previously needed from 700-800 photos while he was able to do this stuff here only with about ten to fifteen pictures, so just a good step forward from this hour this side and then returning a clean and very very realistic need, in that case was to go aside.

We were also talking about generative art this latest work that precisely to Jacopo you have as a background is it from Ferrari, right? That you have collaborated?

Yes, this is actually the first project that we did together and it is and it is all based on the

lidar, so the scans through iPhone because it is a avatar and then, having this Avatar available, we have to put it into a 3D world and reworked by doing some of these disintegration/aggregation effects I would call for this is the technique on which we based this series of these videos. The thing about this thing was mostly the fact that he did it in a way that almost live without little time to prepare it quickly, this is the and even when talking about technology/tools is a chance that simple iPhone can give you in some cases without building much more complicated situation then you can create an avatar in 2 minutes, even, 1 minute and then work on it because the idea was really to using the iPhone for an almost express thing.

As you say working for real in real-time that you have the job that then actually you also dedicated in post-production, there will be possible to work directly on the phone and have instant download. That is incredible! But on the static photography a little experimenting with DALL-E or Mid Journey?

We havent still dedicated to it, I saw that there are some crazy things to do. Yes, I have to say that now there has been just these days an upgrade on Mid Journey and what was already the result, perhaps of two or three months ago a month is this that now.

Do you know as prompts "photo realism" ?

Actually I okay, but I mean I don't know what is the the meaning, in the sense then. At first it made sense because it was a fairly recognizable aesthetic under a concert profile, if you search for photorealism and Artificial intelligence that is beginning to look far too much like reality after that that is, it becomes a bit.. You don't understand the difference between one and the other, and in my opinion it is

How about new projects? Are you working on any projects?

We are looking forward to it, but yes, then we have we are developing our personal publishing project, we say always based with these new techniques, so there will always be some AI mixed with normal shots and the theme is that some of the connection between human/nature. In fact the name is Re-Connect and and from there will develop the whole story. It's important to also find brands with whom to have solid partnerships that leave you

the chance to experiment as well.

We're doing as new projects even just the idea of using let's say artificial intelligence or however, any kind of new language to call also go into the merits of some things, not just aesthetics, but leaving a message is very important because used in a specific way will amplify the content in a new way.

We're not using these new techniques to have a specific purpose, what we are most interested in kind of the basic idea, that is, that is only a tool to then to tell our idea.

I have a question that refers to the past and has no future plans or at any rate to those works related to Google live Street there is all crazy work that has been done as it would also be interesting to have just a couple of notions related to the project.

The thing is born from by chance in the sense that I personally liked to move inside because you have something that relaxes me so then I have always liked closed systems, in the sense to the world, however, it waits for its own rules that is, kind of 360 cameras how do you move and every closed system I use has errors. I think it's interesting just to take advantage of these errors to then create videos. Like a world basically you can talk about anything in the sense you can make a video fashion, how can you make a Telling you ecology, how can you invent adds.

Human then create characters that are in there when things is high the world given still

fixed and you give it new content based on your need. Everything without moving fom home,

it was one thing that probably using this technique was the first work, first or proper first made me and Jacopo together. We started from the fashion side. We have been commissioned for two videos it was a bit of telling about the transition, say the move from Maranello in Milan, the year before the show been to Maranello and had been the first of Ferrari's and they wanted to make it clear that this year (last year) they moved it, it was no longer in Maranello, but in the Iconic city of fashion: Milan. That is and therefore.

What do you think? We are in a simulation?

I do believe that a lot! That is really! I swear to you that, I'm convinced

overconvinced. Thething i that the next step of AI, however, of all that is going on.

It is creating everything that will be virtual of what we are experiencing, i.e., the Matrix, is not so far out there, actually whether we think about it or not, that is, the game music nature there is among all a virtual world where we will be there and it will all be a moment simulation inside the simulation, I don't know say sartrian, can we can say sartrian? We are living a reality of our own there is life away, so we created a simulation of our life that it is still tangible and real that simulation of is creating a simulation through the A.I. then you have it the passage that creates his simulation of se same to exist and as a mother.

From The Matrix we're going to Inception.

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