Jamie Anderson, Ben Field bring recently launched prodco Deep Fusion to Cannes

Benjamin Field and Jamie Anderson (photo: Will France)

MIPCOM: Jamie Anderson and Benjamin Field are here in Cannes with their fledgling production company, Deep Fusion Films, which is already using artificial intelligence (AI) in its documentaries.

The full-scale production company, founded in August, will produce both scripted and unscripted programming and comes after the senior creatives made the 2022 feature-length biographical documentary film Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted for Britbox UK.

Field and Anderson have partnered with media investor and businessman Andrew Keats, who will act as the company’s MD.

Field discussed how tech, and specifically AI, will be at the heart of Deep Fusion’s production processes during Mipcom’s inaugural Unlocking AI Summit yesterday.

The duo’s documentary Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted, distributed by Abacus Media Rights, used AI to explore the untold personal story of the Thunderbirds and Space: 1999 creator.

The film combined groundbreaking ‘deepfake’ technology to ethically repurpose a wealth of intimate existing audio archive bringing Gerry Anderson back to the screen to discuss his life and career – a technique believed to be a global first in the unscripted space, Deep Fusion said.

Field, previously senior producer at The Format Factory, led development and production at the UK indie for three years, while Jamie Anderson is the son of Gerry and has a background in exploring and commercialising IP within the content and licensing space.

“Given the shifts in commissioning strategies within the industry, we all need collaborations, partnerships and new financing models more than ever. Hybrid ownership, innovative finance and coproduction models are a key part of Deep Fusion’s approach,” said Anderson.

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts – and that’s one of the many reasons I’m so happy to be partnering with Benjamin on this new venture, as we both have the same outlook.”

John Gore’s first commission as CEO and chairman of the recently acquired Hammer Films was for Deep Fusion Films to produce a documentary about the past, present and future of the British studio.

The film screened at the Odeon Leicester Square on October 11 at the worldwide premiere of the new Hammer movie Doctor Jekyll, starring Eddie Izzard.

It is also working on I Am Jenny, a film about 64-year-old Jenny Terranova, one of the longest survivors of Huntington’s Disease.

The film will see Terranova tell her story in her own voice, despite having been unable to speak for the last six years.

Field and Anderson, working with vocal replication specialist ElevenLabs, will use AI to replicate Terranova’s voice from old family home-movies and provide a synthetic simulation which will allow her to “read out” impactful and enlightening excerpts from the journal that she wrote in the years immediately following her diagnosis.

Field said: “I Am Jenny is the perfect example of how synthetic media can be used for creative applications. Before now, Jenny would not have been able to relay her own story in such a direct and emotionally powerful way and the family completely supports this approach.”

Anderson added: “This isn’t a use of new technology for technology’s sake. We firmly believe that there are ethical and creative ways to apply these technologies that benefit the storytelling and an audience’s enjoyment. We intend to lead the field in their application – rather than shying away from them.”

“If we manipulate the truth, then our audience will lose faith in us and our films will lose value, both creatively and financially. As producers, writers and directors, we oversee truth and integrity. The film we made about my late father received a reception which was testimony to these pillars that we upheld throughout production.”