Filming of the first series based on the script of the neural network has started on STS

STS has started filming the first Russian series based on a neural network script created by students of the Skillbox educational platform and trained on the TV channel’s comedy hits. Georgy Dronov, Alina Alekseeva, Tatyana Orlova, Sergey Stepin, Alexander Novikov and Maxim Sushko are playing the leading roles in the sitcom The Sidorovs, which will premiere on the VK Video platform.

The series tells the story of an average Sidorov family, consisting of a father (Georgy Dronov), his wife (Alina Alekseeva), mother-in-law (Tatiana Orlova), son-in-law (Sergey Stepin) and son (Alexander Novikov). They live like typical sitcom heroes: they swear, joke, solve everyday problems. But at some point, the father notices that the reality surrounding them is strange: they cannot leave the apartment and constantly hear off-screen laughter. Then Sidorov realizes that they are all characters in the series, and decides to get out of it.

Sergei Znamensky, director (Ivanov-Ivanov, The Family): “Projects such as The Sidorovs are an opportunity to have your say. After all, unlike classic sitcoms, there are no frames here and you can fool around. I believe that a completely new format can come out of this story, which will be especially interesting for a young audience.”

According to the director, there is not a single screenwriter in the film crew: “We try to minimize the edits of the received material. We go the other way: we take the situation written by the neural network and try to justify it with our human methods and professional qualities. Even if there is no logic in what is written, we look for it and add it. In general, we decided to play on this illogicality.

Casting for the main roles went on for more than two months. The creators of the project were inspired by the Voronins, so Georgy Dronov, the star of the STS hit, was the first to be invited to the new series. “Of course, I have a lot of experience in sitcoms,” the actor shared. – But here I was interested in a character who, along the way, realizes that he is inside the series, and tries to get out of it. And the team here is just amazing. It’s nice to see that so many people are driven by a progressive idea. What we are all doing now is a bold experiment.”

At the same time, the actor did not hide his fears that artificial intelligence could deprive him of his job: “What if it happens that robots will oust us, representatives of humanity? After all, it is much more convenient for the producer: he bought the program, launched it and started working. Robot actors are not capricious, they do not need to be fed, and their working day can be twelve hours a day. On the other hand, artificial intelligence will definitely not have such a quality of performance and approach as that of actors.”

Applicants for secondary roles were searched on the platform of short videos VK Clips. The winner of the nationwide casting was 31-year-old go-go dancer, actor and model from Murmansk Maxim Sushko, who will play the role of a silly jock neighbor.

The scenery of the Sidorovs’ apartment was built in the same AMEDIA pavilion, where the Voronins were filmed at one time. The Ivanov-Ivanov and Semeyka team is working on the project.

Vladimir Larkin and Vadim Povolotsky were responsible for the development of the AI ​​TV Script Generator neural network as part of their graduation project. To train artificial intelligence, the authors uploaded popular STS series into it, including Rodkom, Voronins, Dyldy, Eighties and The Oligarch’s Wife. Thousands of pages of text made it possible to set algorithms as close as possible to writing a movie script. The neural network has learned to independently generate its main structural elements: time and place of action, names of characters, replicas, remarks and other components.

Victoria Litvinova, project producer: “Just a year ago it was impossible to imagine how tightly artificial intelligence would enter into all spheres of our life and what a leap forward generative art would make. Already today, neural networks come to the aid of screenwriters and change the landscape of the film industry, and in Russia there is the world’s first series written by a neural network. Interestingly, the development of the neural network for the Sidorovs was carried out by novice programmers. This accessibility of high technology creates incredible interest in the future.”

Inna Shkarbanova.

Photos from filming