AI GENERATED IMAGE by film maker David Baksh/Annex Films, courtesy of TopFoto.
Topfoto and Annex Films are launching a new ad campaign in these exciting yet profoundly concerning times for all image users and audiences. Who are we? What can we trust?
Featuring a cast of Topfoto’s team, the two 40-second films in Topfoto’s ‘Reality Checked’ campaign, ‘FAKE’ (out 29 October) and ‘PROMPT’ (out soon), give a rousing defence of the lasting power of the real image over the cheap thrill of the fake – and show what can be lost when the lines between them become blurred.
Famous for the brilliant and the bonkers, Topfoto has seen a lot in its near-one-hundred-year history. But whereas each past wave of social and technological progress has added to their rich and vibrant collection of images spanning from the earliest photography to the present day, the arrival of photo-realistic AI image generators now presents a unique threat, not just to the Topfoto archive, its photographers and other picture libraries – but to reality itself.
Flora Smith, Topfoto’s MD and owner says: “Like many long-standing family-founded firms, Topfoto sees great potential in new operational tools, but the assault on truth, academia, news reporting and creative practice is real – and to be deftly defanged. We are delighted to work with Annex Films on this project, our contribution to what is at stake and what we offer”.
The director and writer of the Reality Checked campaign, David Baksh, sums up the dilemma now facing every professional working across the image-based arts, “There are few aspects of life that will be untouched by the AI revolution. Yet, we remain largely unprepared for both its impact and its aftermath. Like grazing dinosaurs, we have all looked up and been dazzled by the pretty lights, only to be hit by the realisation that the oncoming collision could be existential. As filmmakers, creatives, designers and art directors, we’re all excited by this technology – but if we don’t constantly challenge how and why we’re using it, we’ll end up losing much more than we gain.”
Cultural and creative researchers, working across multiple projects, formats and platforms, need to know historic images are genuine as well as just right for their publishing needs. Topfoto saves the image buyer from having to waste valuable time triple-checking for authenticity.
Fun but deadly serious, the two “Reality Checked” campaign ads, “Fake” and “Prompt”, have been written and directed by David Baksh to fire up an effective public service broadcast, threaded throughout with affirmation of Topfoto’s role as a first-class trusted resource for compelling images, run by some of the most dedicated, approachable and helpful people in the industry, since 1927.
With real image thanks to: Avalon | Craig Sugden | Heritage Images | Interfoto | John Topham | NASA/JSC | PA Images/alamy | Picture Alliance | Roger Bamber
