Alice in Wonderland: The Simulation Paradox

Disclaimer: This trailer is a fan-made creation, inspired by a potential film idea and developed using advanced AI tools. I don’t claim rights to “Alice in Wonderland” or the voice and likeness of Florence Pugh. I used these elements for artistic and educational exploration, without any intent for profit. I deeply respect the original creators and their work. If there are any concerns, I stand ready to address them. Through this project, I aim to showcase the potential of AI technology and to ignite conversations about its implications. A huge thank you to Cropper for all the help with the sound and the late-night editing with me on this, my companion down the rabbit hole!

Sound: insta / cropper___

Visuals: insta / justinhackney

From as early as seven years old, Wonderland has been a beacon of inspiration for me. The insatiable curiosity of Alice and the dreamlike scenarios of Lewis Carroll’s universe have always resonated deeply within me. Just like Alice, I’ve always been driven to question everything, making curiosity my life’s driving force.

The concept of simulation theory has intrigued me since childhood, prompting me to question the nature of my own reality. A cherished memory of mine involves my grandmother—a woman profoundly in tune with nature, yet also a passionate gamer. I can still picture her playing the original Tomb Raider. She paused, looked at me, and whispered, “One day, these virtual worlds will be as real as our own.” That sentiment set me on a path of endless wonder.

Over the years, we’ve witnessed films with breathtaking visuals and video game engines, like Unreal, pushing the boundaries of realism. Then came the AI revolution.

About a year ago, I founded “realdreams”, an AI community nestled in East London. We host free events and workshops, all centered on AI’s magic. My experience with DALLE.2, a transformative AI tool, was so profound that I felt compelled to share its wonders with a larger audience.

The progress since then has been staggering. Tools like Midjourney and DALLE3 now create photorealistic worlds, challenging even the most vivid human imaginations. Runway Gen2 has been particularly transformative for filmmaking. While I cherish its possibilities, I also deeply value human interactions and collaborations in the filmmaking process.

This trailer is a glimpse into a vision I hope to bring to life with a real team of passionate individuals. AI has revolutionized how I manifest my ideas, democratizing the art of storytelling. It’s a thrilling era where everyone can be a creator.

This project springs from my enduring passion for AI and the myriad questions it raises. Beyond showcasing the future of cinema, I aim to use AI as a lens to delve into pressing concerns surrounding it. While there’s a palpable apprehension about AI, I believe in channeling that concern into constructive dialogue.

I chose the immensely talented Florence Pugh to be the voice and face of Alice, and with the aid of AI, I was able to emulate her voice and likeness with striking authenticity both scary and exciting. For other characters, voice modulation tools enabled me to infuse my own voice, enriching the overall narrative- but these are workarounds to share my vision; if I could make this film, I would use real crews, real performances, real people!

Gpt4 – this helped me express my story ideas and play around with the narrative using ai to back and forth different ideas.

Midjourney – This was used to create my storyboards, my images that I would then bring to life.

Runway Gen2- This was used to animate the film, turning images into videos- I must have made thousands of clips picking and choosing the best moments for the edit.

Pikalabs- This was used to generate videos with young alice and her father as runway has filters in place that prevent this (for very good reason!) so i used Pikalabs for these shots.

Elevenlabs – this is used to generate the narration, at first i tried lots of different styles, a classic disney style, a philisophical version with Alan Watts before I landed on Florence which made it feel a lot more personal to Alice, had more impact.

Premeire – edit

I hope you find joy in this trailer. Your thoughts and comments mean a lot to me. Do like, share, and subscribe for more innovative AI content and reach out to us at www.realdreams.io if you want to join the community.