The production company behind Virtually Parkinson, Deep Fusion Films, has launched new technology division, Deep Fusion Technologies (DFT).
Emmanuel Obi-Akwari has been appointed as UI/UX developer – AI and media innovation lead, reporting to Deep Fusion Film’s head of creative AI Christian Darkin, who joined the company last September. Obi-Akwari holds a multi-disciplinary background in front-end and back-end development, law and UX design.
The first product to launch under the DFT banner is Verbl — an AI-supported transcription, translation and dubbing service designed to make localisation faster, more cost-effective and more accessible. Verbl combines “ethically driven and fully licensed machine efficiency with human oversight to ensure accuracy, cultural sensitivity and editorial integrity, enabling content to be easily monetised in global markets.”
Benjamin Field, co-founder and director at Deep Fusion Films, said: “Welcoming Obi to the team at such a pivotal moment makes him ideally placed to help shape the next generation of creative tools. His talent and energy are already shaping the way we think about the future of storytelling tools and celebrates the creative outcomes of cross-fertilising knowledge and skills. With the launch of Verbl, we’re proving that AI can drive opportunity, not redundancy. This isn’t about replacing people — it’s about building better workflows, supporting the creative economy and creating skilled jobs in the process.”
This is the second strategic hire in three months for Deep Fusion Films following the appointment of former ITV/BBC development executive Charissa Coulthard to the newly created role of development executive.
Deep Fusion Films was founded in October 2023 by producers Jamie Anderson and Benjamin Field. Anderson and Field’s first collaboration was a feature-length biographical documentary about Anderson’s father, legendary Thunderbirds creator Gerry Anderson. In Gerry Anderson: A Life Uncharted (Britbox UK/Abacus Media Rights), deepfake technology was used to ‘ethically’ repurpose intimate audio archive footage and bring Anderson back to the screen to discuss his life and career. Deep Fusion has produced three projects in 2024: Hammer: Heroes, Legends and Monsters, a Sky Original feature documentary commissioned to celebrate Hammer Films’ 90th anniversary set to air on Halloween and Hunt: We Need to Talk About James, charting the life of legendary British racing driver James Hunt and Virtually Parkinson, a podcast hosted by an AI replica of the late UK broadcast legend, Sir Michael Parkinson.
Jon Creamer
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