Make Your Own Silent Film with Google and The Peanut Gallery

Google Peanut Gallery

This is one of the cooler things Google has put out in a while. Using their new Peanut Gallery, you can make your own versions of silent movie scenes using your microphone and a little imagination. You talk, and it creates dialogue that gets plugged right into the movie.

So far they have clips from A Trip to the Moon (which is what I chose to make intertitles for), The General, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The Hunchback of Notre Dame, Plan 9 From Outer Space and many, many others. Obviously there are public domain reasons for what they’re using, but I can’t wait until they get The Artist on tap as well.

The talk-to-text usability isn’t exactly perfect, but it’s definitely close, and the entire program makes for a fun diversion for film geeks and for anyone who wants to rewrite a few classics. If you make one, post it up in the comments section so we can all have a look.

Scott Beggs: Movie stuff at VanityFair, Thrillist, IndieWire, Film School Rejects, and The Broken Projector Podcast@brokenprojector | Writing short stories at Adventitious.