We were able to recreate this iconic scene from Lost Highway by David Lynch by leveraging modern AI pipelines. A single SD-resolution image was enough for the system to generate a 3D mesh with physically-based rendering materials and necessary textures. Rigging the virtual face muscles and optimizing the model was the next step, but the process remained fully automated. Once both faces were ready, extracting facial motion capture from a video sequence went surprisingly smoothly.

We decided to keep the glitches and inconsistencies in the motion capture, as the process is still highly experimental. These could be refined with more time and effort, but the fact that this sequence—something that would have taken 5–10 days just two years ago—was completed in roughly 8 hours (including learning mistakes) is remarkable.

The project could be expanded further to create full-body characters and a party environment, but our main focus was exploring how much expression could be retained after this digital transformation. Would the moment still be as powerful when the Mystery Man asks, “ASK ME?”

David Lynch was a true auteur—perhaps one of the last—before everything became just “content” by default. His passing is a great loss, and if you’re unfamiliar with his films, we highly recommend watching them.