In the past week, a unique AI video has taken social media by storm, humorously depicting members of the current Israeli government dancing at what appears to be an '80s-style party. The viral creation comes from Daniel Kotz, a video editor and director, who shared insights into his creative process and thoughts on the implications of deepfake technology.
"The idea came from a similar video that surfaced on social media recently featuring Lionel Messi," Kotz explained in an interview. "In that video, they superimposed Messi’s face onto everyone at an '80s party, and it really amused me, sparking my imagination."
2 View gallery
The original photo and the AI rework adding Benjamin Netanyahu's face
(Photo: Daniel Kotz)
Kotz, who studied film and specialized in post-production, decided to make an Israeli version of the concept. "I initially planned to replace the faces of Sara and Bibi Netanyahu with those of the dancers, similar to the Messi video. But as I worked on it, I realized there was potential to include the entire government, and there are some real standouts."
Not as easy as it looks
The creation process, it turns out, was more complex than it might seem. "I had to match the faces to the body shapes and head sizes of the people in the original video," Kotz explained. "For example, Sara Netanyahu has a rounder face, so I needed to find suitable characters in the video. Ben-Gvir has a fuller figure, so his face fits a larger character, and so on."
Unlike more advanced deepfake techniques, Kotz used technology that only required a single image of each person. "I deliberately searched for pictures of the politicians when they were younger, so they’d fit the '80s vibe," he noted. Kotz used a software called Comfy UI, which allows for relatively easy face-swapping. "The low quality of the original video actually worked in my favor," he said. "It hides the imperfections in the swaps and gives the video a more authentic look."
Beyond the technical aspects, Kotz paid close attention to artistic choices. "The music selection went through several stages. I eventually settled on a song by Tislam, whose lyrics matched the cynical tone I was going for in the video. It creates a sort of nostalgia for something that never existed."
Blurring the line between reality and fiction
In a world where artificial intelligence increasingly blurs the line between reality and fiction, Kotz is fully aware of the potential consequences of the technology he used. "It's cool for jokes, but it’s also quite dangerous in terms of the directions this technology can take," he said. "Nowadays, anyone can 'swap faces' and make world leaders say or do things far more serious than dancing at a party."
When asked about AI’s impact on the post-production industry, Kotz expressed cautious optimism. "AI can take you from 0 to 80% very quickly, but to achieve precision, to complete that final 20% and make something perfect, it still takes a lot of work and expertise," he explained. "There will always be a need for human input, but people who know how to work with AI will replace those who work manually—I'm sure of that."
Kotz also touched on how the video took on a life of its own on social media in recent days, coinciding with the assassination of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah by Israel. Surprisingly, he wasn't entirely thrilled. "On the one hand, people tell me they’re watching the video on repeat, which is great, but on the other hand, I didn’t like that they rebranded it as 'The Dancing Government' after Nasrallah’s killing. It kind of misses the point for me."
It’s worth noting that alongside Kotz’s video, several other deep fake and AI-generated clips referencing Nasrallah's death appeared on social media over the weekend. While some of these are amateurish, the speed and ease with which such videos can now be produced is remarkable, especially considering that this technology has only been widely available for about two years.