Is AI stealing opportunities from the future?

“AI is ruining the creative industry!”

A commonly used phrase amongst those who demonise artificial intelligence throughout its rise in popularity within the film industry, with netizens believing it is ‘the beginning of the end’. But the other half of the divide believes the complete opposite! There is a belief that AI might have to be the next big thing since the creation of cameras.

Many speculate on the development of artificial intelligence and whether it is truly powerful enough to produce full-length films with just an AI bot and a detailed prompt. Some claim that even if it did advance to such extremes, the final product would lack the depth and emotion that human-made movies inject. However, the OMNI International AI Film Festival denies that by working as a platform that pushes projects using artificial intelligence into the spotlight. Not to promote what people like to call ‘AI slop’, but pieces that can be truly understood and have meaning behind their creation.  

The renowned Australian filmmaker, George Miller, led the judging panel for the most recent edition of OMNI out of ‘intense curiosity’ about the way artificial intelligence is evolving the traditional way of storytelling. In an interview with the Guardian, he claims that ‘It is a balance between human creativity and machine capability’ and that ‘AI is arguably the most dynamically evolving tool in making moving image’.

One of OMNI’s founders, Travis Rice, reinforces that they’re ‘committed to showcasing compelling narratives, not flashy tech demos or viral clips or silly throwaway memes’. This further pushes the idea of artificial intelligence becoming a strong tool to enhance the quality of content produced and finally being accepted as a helper rather than a maker.

It seems that this advancement is sought only by big corporations, which are pouring absurd amounts of money into the pot to develop artificial intelligence. Directors of Marvel and even Trump himself are collectively planning to invest around $900 million into the production of artificial intelligence. To AI enthusiasts, this is amazing, more funding to develop this incredible tool that can make working more efficient.

 

Although artificial intelligence has its bad rep; it has helped countless movies, including the Oscar-nominated movie ‘The Brutalist’. The main character, Laszlo, is a Hungarian architect played by Adrien Brody and is required to speak in a Hungarian dialect in one of the scenes. Artificial intelligence was used to enhance the speech of Adrien Brody to make the dialogue sound more authentic to a Hungarian speaker.

This has opened a discussion on whether using voice-altering tools is even necessary. Hiring an actor who would be able to complete the job would be a lot more authentic than a synthetic voice. It’s a valid argument, as it could bring in new actors to the shining lights of Hollywood. However, without big-name actors such as Brody himself, the movie wouldn’t have brought in nearly as much traction as it did. Even if the movie was a masterpiece in writing, without well-known figures playing as the sophisticated characters, interest is not going to be found as quickly, unlike an actor with an already established fanbase.

This can encourage well-known celebrities and agencies to start slacking when it comes to training for roles. Agencies can cut corners and save a few pennies with voice acting lessons, which artificial intelligence can fix up in no time. Stars will continue to maintain their fame at the top, and newly emerging talents will have to work 10x harder to exceed the expectations artificial intelligence is setting for them.

Although artificial intelligence could be hindering opportunities for debuting actors, it is democratising production for independent filmmakers, broadening the variety of creatives that can showcase their art. While concluding a study in 2023, Pradeep et al. quote, ‘AI has an impact on filmmaking and brings opportunities as well as challenges’; I believe there is no better way to sum it all up.

It has allowed smaller studios and lone creators access to tools that usually require an excessive budget. Software such as Filmustage allows producers to import their scripts, and the AI automatically identifies what would be required for the props, as well as the characters of the script and how the shooting must pan out. This reduces planning time significantly, allowing creators to focus on other parts of the project.

For an in-house example, the developing movie ‘Stevie’, written by the owner of NoStairway Creative, Rob Marshall, used AI to generate videos during pre-production. There was a necessity to produce a mood board to capture the movie’s overall feel, but there was a shortage of time to find actors and shoot in Shoreditch, London. Therefore, using artificial intelligence, it placed a generated version of Stevie into the streets of London without hassle. This process saved time and money in the long run while the perfect actress for Stevie was still being found.

Below is a video generated for the mood board:

This scene was made by importing a self-photographed image of a street in Shoreditch, then using the help of AI to generate Stevie walking down the road. As shown, the prompt you give must be extremely specific, or else you will have your avatar doing all sorts of wacky movements. You don’t have to worry about sound either because it will automatically be generated for you, alluding to it being a real-life video.