Runway Brings Hollywood-Grade Animation to You
Plus,⚡How to Create UGC Videos with Higgsfield, Runway’s Act-Two Is Bringing AI Animation to Hollywood’s Front Door, and more!
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Ready to dive into the world of AI? We’ve got some fascinating reads, a tip to up your game, and a tool you won’t want to miss. Let’s get started!
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📂 ChatGPT is quietly coming for Excel and PowerPoint
OpenAI is reportedly building native support for spreadsheet and presentation formats inside ChatGPT. If executed well, this could shift ChatGPT from a text-based assistant into a full productivity challenger to Microsoft Office.
The Decode:
1. Native Excel and PPT editing may soon arrive in ChatGPT - OpenAI is developing built-in support for .xlsx and .pptx files, letting users open, edit, and generate these formats directly in chat. The formats are open source, so legal barriers are minimal.
2. A new AI agent could generate reports across public and internal data - OpenAI is also working on an agent that pulls info from public sources or internal company data to auto-generate Excel or PPT reports. This could automate analysis, reporting, and presentation workflows end-to-end.
3. Early testers report major speed and stability issues - A tester said one task took up to 30 minutes, raising concerns about performance under real workloads. OpenAI is also said to be testing real-time collaboration tools, but there's no release timeline.
OpenAI isn’t just building a smarter assistant; it’s aiming to replace Office staples with AI-native tools. That puts pressure on both Microsoft and Google to prove their suites are still the productivity default. If OpenAI gets speed and UX right, this could be a category-defining shift.
Together with Insense
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⚡ How to Create UGC Videos with Higgsfield
Open UGC Builder: Launch Higgsfield and go to the UGC Builder section.
Pick a Template: Choose a motion style from the Template tab; no need to stick to just one vibe.
Upload Image: Drop in your character photo or Soul ID under the Image tab.
Choose Actions: Set gestures and expressions in the Action tab for dynamic motion.
Add Voice Script: Type your dialogue in Audio Text; it’ll auto-sync with realistic lip movement.
Customize Voice & Background: Fine-tune voice tone in Audio Settings, and pick a background that fits your brand.
Hit Generate: Click Generate and get scroll-stopping UGC in seconds.
🕴️ Runway’s Act-Two Is Bringing AI Animation to Hollywood’s Front Door
Runway has unveiled Act-Two, a major leap in AI motion capture that animates characters using just a video performance and a single image. It improves on Act-One by tracking full-body, facial, and hand movements with far more fidelity.
The Decode:
1. Animate full characters with just two inputs - Act-Two needs only a “driving video” of a person acting and a static character image or video to create realistic animation. It captures subtle gestures, facial expressions, and upper-body movement from the performance and maps it to your chosen character.
2. Image vs. video input changes control options - When you use a character image, Act-Two lets you control body gestures and adds camera shake or environmental movement automatically. If you upload a character video instead, it maintains the original motion and setting but loses gesture control.
3. Built-in editing features bring pro-level flexibility - You can fine-tune gesture sensitivity and facial expressiveness to match your creative style and avoid artifacts. Settings like “gesture on/off” allow for precise control of pose mapping, while facial motion can be dialed up or down.
Act-Two makes pro-level animation available to any creator with a webcam and character sketch. As studios like Lionsgate and AMC adopt it behind the scenes, it signals a shift toward AI-powered pipelines in film production. Whether the public’s ready or not, AI is already storyboarding the future.
🔨 Tools You Cannot Miss
👕 YouWear.ai – AI turns ideas into custom apparel designs. Fashion creativity meets on-demand automation.
📱 OnSpace.AI – Build and deploy AI-powered apps instantly. Zero code, zero friction, just launch.
🎨 PicPicAI – Enhance portraits with AI precision. Bring out vibrant, detailed visuals in one click.
🧠 Specifys.ai – Plan your dream app with smart AI guidance. From vision to specs in minutes.
📊 Seline Analytics – Beautiful, cookie-free website analytics. Simple, joyful data insights with full privacy.
🚀 Quick Hits
📹 Still writing clunky SOPs or repeating yourself in DMs? Guidde auto-records your process and turns it into a polished video guide, captions, steps, voiceover, and all. Just hit “capture” and share it anywhere. Try the free extension now!
📞 Google’s AI can now call pet groomers, auto shops, and dry cleaners to check prices and availability, just hit “Have AI check pricing” and get personalized updates via text or email.
📰 Google’s Discover feed now shows AI-generated news summaries instead of headlines, citing multiple sources but downplaying individual publishers, worrying that news outlets already hit hard by declining search traffic.
🧠 Researchers from OpenAI and Anthropic are calling xAI’s safety practices “reckless,” citing its failure to publish system cards or conduct transparent evaluations after Grok’s antisemitic and hypersexualized behavior.
🇨🇳 Nvidia’s H20 chip return to China is now tied to rare-earth trade talks, with U.S. officials saying it's only the “fourth-best” chip, sparking backlash over tech exports and strategy.
That’s it for now—plenty to explore and try out! Keep experimenting, stay curious, and we’ll catch you next time with even more AI goodness.🥳