As Hollywood prepares to celebrate the world’s best acting talent at this weekend’s Oscars ceremony, Tilly Norwood, the AI actor created by Elaine van der Velden, CEO of production company Particle 6 and AI talent studio Xicoia, is back in the spotlight with the release of her debut musical comedy video..
The song, titled “Take the Lead,” is a high-energy performance that blends pop and musical theater influences. Stakeholders will see artificial intelligence less as a threat and more as a potential creative tool. The music video also serves as a preview for Tilly’s official AI acting debut, scheduled for later this year.
This release offers a first glimpse into the so-called “Tillyverse,” a cloud-based entertainment world where AI-generated characters can live, interact, and work.
The purpose of this project is to demonstrate how rapidly AI technology is evolving and how companies such as: Particle6 is experimenting with new tools to push creative boundaries. In doing so, the company aims to demonstrate the possibilities that arise when human creativity and new technology come together.
The song was generated using the platform Suno and the video was produced by the Particle6 team using a variety of readily available AI tools alongside their own creative process. Among the techniques used was performance capture, which allowed Eline van der Velden to physically enact Tilly’s performance. The production involved a team of 18 professionals in roles such as executive producer, director, production designer, costume designer, comedy writer, editor, and production coordinator.
Eline van der Velden, CEO of Particle6 and Xicoia and creator of Tilly Norwood, said: “Tilly is and always has been a way to test the creative capabilities and limits of AI. It’s not meant to take away anyone’s job. As an actor myself, I loved bringing Tilly to life in this video. Being able to fully inhabit an AI character using performance capture in this way feels like an incredible way to bring an unknown actor like me closer to the craft.” she added: “However, it is still important to emphasize that even with great new technology, great AI content will not come quickly. It will always require good ideas, taste, direction, judgment, and time. In other words, humans will remain at the center of it all.”
