They also showed how their algorithms could animate those digital models, getting them to say things that were actually said by someone else. 

The technology relies on advances in 3D face reconstruction, tracking, alignment, multi-texture modeling and puppeteering, which were developed by a research group led by UW assistant professor of computer science and engineering Ira Kemelmacher-Shlizerman.

The UW research team's latest advances include the ability to transfer expressions and the way a particular person speaks onto the face of someone else — for instance, mapping former president George W. Bush's mannerisms onto the faces of other politicians and celebrities. In the demonstration video below, Bush is seen speaking, but the words are made to look like they're coming from a number of different celebrities.