Four-part doc on Knut employs ’most advanced’ generative AI to reconstruct historical sequences, producer ZED says
Sky History is among the buyers to have a picked up a docuseries about the Vikings which makes extensive use of AI for historical reconstructions.
Four-part Knut, the Viking Emperor, produced by Paris-based factual indie ZED (The Sound and the Fury), traces the remarkable rise of the Viking warrior who united Denmark, Sweden, Norway and England under a single crown through his conquests.
Each episode (The Birth of a Viking Warrior, The Revenge of a Landless King, The Last Duel for England, Knut The Great, Master of Northern Europe) will chart how Knut’s actions led to the creation of a powerful and far-reaching Nordic empire, the foundations of which still impact Europe today.
The series will be narrated by a group of international experts for historical accuracy on the content but, notably, the historical sequences will be reconstructed and recreated using advanced generative artificial intelligence software.
In general, visual effects or dramatic reconstruction has been used in documentary making for the purposes of illustrating historical narratives, but ZED says AI has been used to “achieve a striking level of realism”.
Knut, the Viking Emperor was commissioned by Histoire TV in France, with Sweden’s SVT and Germany’s ZDF Studios joining Sky History in pre-buying the documentary.
ZED president and founder Manuel Catteau said: “Knut is a great European epic, brought to life by an outstanding team of European partners.
“This means a lot to ZED, and I hope the series will travel across all continents, allowing us to share our rich history and creative expertise with a global audience.”
Kelly Hornsby, head of acquisitions for Hearst Networks UK & EMEA, described the doc as an “innovative visual approach to the life and career of one of medieval Europe’s most iconic figures”.
“Knut was a Viking warrior who, through cunning, guile and not a little ruthlessness conquered not only England but united her with Denmark and Norway in the great North Sea Empire,” she added. “ZED are becoming a great partner of Hearst Networks EMEA and we look forward to working more with them.”
Mikael Osterby, head of factual at SVT International: “Working with ZED is always a pleasure. Knut is the most thrilling of all Viking stories and almost too good to be true. We will work closely on developing the AI drama reconstructions and I feel that my Viking genes will once again explore new grounds finding new ways of telling factual stories.
“Our business is changing rapidly and ZED is discovering ways of modernising and developing how to make the audience keep watching our content.”
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