Long Before Kendrick Lamar’s ‘The Heart Part 5,’ Godley & Creme’s ‘Cry’ Video Perfected the Face Morph — With Analog Technology
variety.comA.D. Amorosi Kendrick Lamar’s video for his latest single, “The Heart Part 5,” is a stunning feat of deep fake technology, where the rapper’s face morphs seamlessly into those of Kobe Bryant, O.J.
Simpson, Jussie Smollett, Kanye West, Nipsey Hussle and Will Smith. It’s certainly not without precedent: Created by Lamar and collaborator Dave Free with their pgLang studio, the deep fake technology is the work of “South Park” creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Deep Voodoo studios — which used it for their eye-popping 2020 “Sassy Justice” video — and similar tactics were used for Michael Jackson’s 1991 video for “Black and White” and, going back even further, in 1985 for recording artists/ pioneering directors Kevin Godley and Lol Creme for their song “Cry.” As with “The Heart Part 5,” the video for “Cry” consists entirely of faces blending seamlessly from one to another, and although the technology was radically different and less geared toward specific social commentary, the emotional power and mesmerizing potency of the human face as a tool to engage or enrage has not diminished.Godley and Creme started off as co-founders of the 1970s group 10cc before working as a duo as musicians and pioneering video directors, with Duran Duran’s “Girls on Film,” Herbie Hancock’s “Rockit” and Huey Lewis & the News’ “Hip to Be Square” to their credit.
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