Page 20 of Night and Day
Izzy hung his head a little, giving it a slow shake. “No. I don’t spend on anything else, really. That’s how I can afford to spend my time on these ... passion projects. It’s a choice. I can’t pretend it doesn’t hurt sometimes. I see others going overseas and having that sort of adventures and I know I’m missing out—”
“No!” Mia’s hand flew to his arm, their knees bumping together. “You’re not! You’ve found something. You have something here... I’m jealous of it, and I haven’t even seen what you do. But you’re brave. I can already see that.” She squeezed his forearm, her lungs seizing at the hard muscle that twitched under her palm. Was she being supportive or just looking for excuses to touch him? Mia cringed at the stab of her conscience, but held on, her whole body vibrating on high alert like a flat battery plugged into a charger.
Izzy huffed, his gaze on her hand, but held still. Too still. Mia brushed her thumb across his black arm hair. She could see the goosebumps now, and they seemed to transfer onto her own skin. How long could she stay here, locked into his warm skin, enjoying the cascade of heat that pooled in all the right places?
“Would you like to see the movie trailer?” Izzy asked, lifting his eyes up to her.
Mia pulled her hand away on a sharp inhale. “Yes, please!”
Izzy invited her to the computer screens, clicked his mouse and brought up a video window. “Now, this is only three minutes. The whole thing will be about half an hour, but like I said, I just can’t render it on this computer. I’m saving for a whole new production suite, like the one Weta Digital used for the Marvel movies.”
Mia’s eyes rounded. “How much is that going to cost?”
“A shit ton.”
“Sounds great.”
His mouth curved into a regretful smile. “Yeah, no travel for the next ten years.”
He hit ‘play’ and an image of a dark prison cell filled the screen. A single lightbulb swayed in the middle, illuminating a naked man who lay face down on the concrete floor. He stirred to life, rising to sitting, looking around. His face looked familiar.
“Who’s the actor?” Mia asked.
“It’s ... not really a person. It’s computer-generated.”
Mia did a double take, blinking at the screen. The naked young man on the screen was real. There was no question about it. He had to be. “But he looks like a real person. That’s a real person!”
“Deke played the part in a motion capture suit, but we put a slightly different face on him—”
“Like a deepfake?”
“Sort of, except the character was created by an artist, so it’s not really any living person. Does that make sense?”
Mia frowned. “Technically, yes. But why? Surely you could get an actor who looks the part to play the role...”
She lost her train of thought, her attention back on the screen. A haggard old man, in a soaking wet uniform, sat on a bunk bed and addressed the naked guy. ‘You thought the pain would be over?’ he asked. The naked man stared at him, confused.
Izzy pointed at the old guy. “My brother played that part and then we aged him.” His face split into a grin. “I know it sounds weird, but I save so much time and money that way.”
The video continued with the old guy introducing himself as Friday. ‘Born on a Friday, died on a Monday,’ he said rather cheerfully. The video screen turned black.
Izzy’s shoulders dropped. “That’s all I have so far. It took forever to render, and I fried one of my hard drives, so I have to upgrade the gear before I can go on.”
“That’s amazing! I can’t believe that’s computer generated. It doesn’t look awkward or fake like... you know.”
“CGI has come a long way since Polar Express.” Izzy laughed, then looked up as a heavy bass vibrated through the building. Someone was playing music upstairs. “Do you want a drink? I think I have a couple of beers. I can introduce you to Deke. You guys should know each other, living in the same house and all.”
Living?Mia shook her head at the thought, but followed Izzy upstairs.
