Doug owns his own animation company.
Viggle:Hi Doug, it’s great to have you with us today! You’ve had quite an interesting journey in both traditional and AI-driven post-production. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you found your way to Viggle?
Doug: Thanks for having me! I’m originally from Kansas, studied writing and film production at a film school in West Chester, and moved to London about six years ago. My career has primarily been in post-production as a advertising director, working with clients across the UK and the US at agencies like TBWA working with global brands. Much of my work is animation-based, which is how I got involved with AI.
I started experimenting with AI tools early on, posting tests on LinkedIn, and someone sent me Viggle as an character swap option shortly after you launched. What stood out to me was that Viggle wasn’t diffusion-based. The mocap re-textualization was a game-changer because it opened up new possibilities in animation.
Viggle:That’s amazing! How did AI tools like Viggle address the challenges you were facing with traditional workflows?
Doug: OI had a background in 3D and was used to working with assets. Earlier this year, the challenge in creating animation with the tools available—like Runway and the Chinese models—was that the results were not quite there yet. I had to rely on workflows like AnimateDiff and ComfyUI. But when you’re watching animation, the movement needs to be intentional, and the generated backgrounds back then (and til this day) were constantly changing, making it difficult for mass consumption.
That’s where Viggle filled the gap. It offered a way to create consistent animation passes with intentional movement, especially with characters. I’d get the image close to where I wanted it using other tools, then apply diffusion to upscale. Viggle gave me way more control over motion, which was a huge breakthrough.
Viggle: We're so happy to hear this! Can you walk us through your typical process for style transfer animation?
Doug: Sure. I’ve been working with one of the biggest animation studios in the world, and they’re really interested in Viggle because there’s nothing quite like it in the market right now. My process usually looks something like this:
- Image Generation: I primarily use MidJourney and FLUX these days. FLUX has much stronger prompt coherence, even though MidJourney offers more style options. However, MidJourney takes a lot longer, and a ton of inpainting is involved.
- Finding Motion: I use motion capture data or go online to find reference movements that fit what I’m trying to create. Then, I’ll frame the motion the way I want.
- Viggle Animation Pass: I use Viggle to create the animation pass for the characters. This is where I can control the movement more effectively.
- Compositing: I comp the Viggle animation into the scene, then upscale using a diffusion pass or tools like Topaz for higher resolution.
Viggle:That sounds like an incredibly efficient process, especially with how you’re using mostly AI tools. What are your thoughts on how Viggle can improve, and what features would you like to see in the future?
Doug: I think Viggle is already filling a major gap in the market, but there are a couple of things that would really take it to the next level. First, offering more upscaling options with higher definition textures would be fantastic—especially for animation studios that need extremely detailed outputs.
Second, I’d love to see an integration for lip dubbing. Being able to sync lips to dialogue or soundtracks with AI would be a huge step forward for animation workflows. It would make character interactions feel more lifelike and immersive.
Viggle: Thank you for the feedback! We love hearing from creators like you and will definitely integrate those in our product considerations. It’s clear that your experience in both traditional and AI-driven workflows has helped push the boundaries of what’s possible with animation. Thanks so much for sharing your journey with us, Doug!
Doug: Thank you! It’s been an exciting time in the world of AI, and I’m looking forward to seeing how Viggle continues to evolve.
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