We have created this FAQ to answer all the questions nobody has ever asked us.

Who on Earth Are You?

RF Productions (pronounced rough productions) is the two man team behind the Cyberia and Give Me Head Universe. We are brothers; one is old enough to remember what life was like before the Internet while the other has spent his entire life basically plugged into the Internet, sometimes forgetting to maintain personal hygeine for several days at a time.

The creative mind, known only as R for the time being, is an award-winning author of fiction who, several years ago, reached top 10 on Amazon with his collection of short stories.

The technical mind, otherwise known as F for the time being, is a technological whiz kid who takes care of the admin and the algorithms. F also makes decent enough brews to justify his inclusion in the credits.

So Why RF Productions?

RF Productions is the name of our creative operation. Our goal is to create a unique lost media project which is accessible to everyone. It is in the hypertext fiction genre which is old school and, with a few exceptions, generally unloved.

This particular project will evolve in real time to being a full story which people can click around on this website for free. We hope to expand this project exponentially.

Okay, So What’s So Great About These Stories?

Nothing really. We use AI to help us create the vital images along with numerous editing suites. It’s like an adult’s picture book for numpties who can’t be bothered reading a far superior literary work.

After R began experimenting with AI a couple of years ago, he couldn’t believe how potent the technology was while being relatively low effort.

However, the “low effortness” felt like cheating when compared to the organic art process used by proper artists. After a while, R decided that in order to justify the low effortness of creating images, he needed to create something decent.

And to be absolutely clear: there is pretty much zero human talent that goes into generating AI images. Absolutely anybody can do it.

So What’s New?

R decided that a good way to utilise AI images is to enrich an interwoven story with recurring characters and themes. The challenge is to achieve a plausible, authentic world using this technology when, before it existed, such a project would only be possible if you had a humongous budget.

One thing we have quickly realised when using AI art is that all of the generated images are disconnected from each other. This is fine for creating artistic images. However, it doesn’t serve storytelling. We have attempted to solve this by having characters reappearing in different contexts in different mediums. This aspect has been both interesting and challenging at times.

As such this particular type of story couldn’t have existed before 2022 which is when our preferred AI generator Midjourney first launched. We believe that we are amongst the first to use AI generated images and videos to help craft a full story of this type.

Truth is this technology is still taking baby steps while at the same time having a rocket up its arse. The rate of development will inevitably mean that today’s AI art technology will be old hat before you’ve finished reading this. Furthermore AI videos are rapidly improving to the point of having cinematic capabilities (if you blur your eyes a bit). In other words our primitive contribution is already as outdated as the moustache. And we say this with the utmost respect for the moustache.

With all this in mind we are archiving an example of the early AI art boom and how creatives were using it in 2023 onwards. Future generations who play around with far more sophisticated forms of AI will someday look at this project in the same way we look at a cave painting.

Are You Using AI For Your Storytelling?

Absolutely not. AI storytelling isn’t the same as using AI to create very specific images. We can tell half decent stories in our own voice, but we can’t create accompanying images without a huge budget.

Whatever, Trevor. So What Are you Busy With?

As huge fans of the cyberpunk genre, we set off to create a narrative for an ’80s parody television series. For more layers, we decided that a production team of ambitious but chaotic yuppies were responsible for it. The story is as much about their demise as it is the Cyberia Universe.

We also made the decision to create a retro futuristic setting because it’s more fun and less predictable than creating perfect and impressive cyberpunk images.

The beauty of AI is that we (we meaning everyone in the entire world who has access to AI technology) can create anything we want. Therefore it’s important for us to at least try something different.

Isn’t This What Everyone and Their Gran Is Doing?

Of course. To be clear: this isn’t a manifesto. Free creative expression is what’s important and people should create whatever they choose–whether they’re using AI technology or a canvas and paintbrush.

Furthermore, we see many AI images and videos by hundreds of different people every day of the week, and we’re blown away by how this technology is being utilised.

And to be absolutely clear: we are now seeing AI videos which make our humble contribution seem dated already. We are under no illusion that this project is in some way revolutionary. We’re just having fun and we hope some folks out there will enjoy it.

Isn’t AI Just a Load of Bollocks Compared to Organic Proper Art Where Somebody has Actually had to Use Materials, Their Time, Patience and Craftsmanship?

Right now there’s a tidal wave of hostility towards AI art for a multitude of reasons. Some we agree with, some we don’t.

First thing we’d like to note is that AI art is just a new creative technology which is still finding its way. We would be flabbergasted if, in another hundred years, organic art became obsolete. It just isn’t going to happen. Some artists may use AI as an assistant (much like some of today’s artists do except with humanoids), but many more will keep it au naturel.

We’re also aware that AI can be used horrifically: invading people’s private space, creating propaganda, manipulation, low effort clickbait, assaulting people’s dignity, ripping artists off to name a few. We are just as disgusted at this behaviour as you are.

That said, we’re interested in the creative potential of AI generated images and whether it can be seen as an art tool in its own right. If you think AI “artists” should be rounded up on the streets and shipped off to the gulag, that’s fine with us. You might also be proven correct in the fullness of time. We’re currently undecided.

However, when  all said and done, we are only really interested in creating something original, fun and as authentic as possible. We don’t claim to be mavericks changing the world one AI prompt at a time.

We are happy to chat with anyone who wishes to leave comments or, preferably, through DM. We appreciate everyone’s thoughts on the matter.

And for the record: we are huge art lovers. We visit museums and galleries all over the country and, when possible, the world.

Oh, Fuck Off! You Just Want to Sell Your NFTs.

That’s not a question, but we understand your fury. We would love to sell our NFTs. However, we will be completing this project regardless because we’re thoroughly enjoying this creative process.

If we make any money then this will allow us to dedicate more time and resources to this project as well as future projects.

We also thought that it would be good to create old school collectors cards using today’s technology. In this way, owning the NFT allows people to support our efforts and to be invested in the project.

And needless to say that the NFT market isn’t worth shit right now. What’s important to us is the storytelling.

What Tech Did You Use to Create the Images?

We used Midjourney Model V5.1 and 7 to make the vast majority of images in this story. We then used various photo editing software to play around with them.

We used KLING AI 1.6 for the videos.

We used Eleven Labs for most of the sound.

How Can Somebody Contact You?

Feel free to send us a message on social media or you can email us at the following address:

rfproductions88@outlook.com

Anything Else We Should Know?

As this project develops, the content may change, expand, remain incomplete or read completely shit. However, at some point, we will announce its completion and then stick a flag on it.

Cyberia is a work of fiction which exists to entertain our readers. All characters and locations are imagined. Any resemblance to anyone anywhere is coincidental. Besides, we’re broke so suing us is a complete waste of time.

We first kicked around the idea for this project late in 2023. The first image we created and used for this project was on 2nd January 2024. It was Boriz’s collectors’ card image. We will add the finished date upon completion.

We think that’s all for now. If you have any questions for us or would like to say hello then please get in touch.

Many thanks,  

RF Productions

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