Cartoon "Smena": Creating AI Animation with Neural Networks

The cartoon "Smena" by Bogdan Rakhmankulov tells the story of an elderly farmer who learns to accept help from his engineer daughter. The project was created using Seedance and Soul Cinema neural networks.

The Story of Accepting Help

At the center of the plot is a conflict between a father accustomed to independence and a daughter who installs an autopilot system on an old tractor. The system is configured along lines that the father has been writing down in a notebook for decades.

Production and Technologies

The work on generations took three days. Characters were created in Soul Cinema, while locations are described via text prompts. Color palettes and details from individual images were used to maintain style.

An extended version was created in Seedance 2.5, with upscaling performed through Topaz to 1080p. Sound design includes diegetic sounds from Seed Audio 1.0. Editing was done in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Awards and Recognition

The project won silver at the Animators' Meet, Best Animation at the Los Angeles AI Film Festival, and the "Best AI Film" award at Krylaty Bars. The cartoon was also selected for the Lastochka and Catharsis festivals. On YouTube, the video has gathered nearly half a million views.