What if Alfred Hitchcock storyboarded Psycho using an algorithm, or Akira Kurosawa trained an artificial intelligence to choreograph the rain in Rashomon? While these scenarios may sound like science fiction, they are much closer to possibility than one might think.
The combination of artificial intelligence(AI) and human creativity is initiating a revolution in filmmaking that goes beyond traditional boundaries.
This technology serves to augment human imagination while ensuring efficiency and accessibility.
Yet, this is not simply about replacing artists with AI robots; it is about what I term the hybrid creative engine.
In this blog, we will take a closer look at the various aspects of filmmaking, and how AI technology has changed it for the better.
We won’t evaluate machines as the enemies of artistry, but rather as allies, as sources of creativity, and in some instances, cheeky pranks.
From the ethical questions, to the marvels of AI making storytelling accessible for all, we will attempt to imagine a world in which the concepts of “human-made” and “machine-made” become increasingly blurred.
The New Creative Partners – AI as Co-Writer, Co-Director, Co-Editor
Let’s start by dismantling a myth: AI cannot entirely write your award-winning screenplay.
At least, definitely not alone. What it can do is serve as a tireless brainstorming partner. OpenAI’s GPT-4 or Jasper, for example, can easily create entire scenes, dialogue snippets, or even plot twists through simple prompts.
The AI scripted short film Sunspring (2016) is an excellent example. Although it is completely nonsensical – which in-turn raises the question about the interpretation of human emotion by algorithms – it was written by an AI.
Humans are the ones who push curating and refining AI generated ideas into ‘magic’. That is, think of the aftermath to the AIs “throwing spaghetti at the wall.” The human decides what works, making it a step in the right direction towards a future version of a writer’s room.
Director Tony Kaye (American History X) once said, “Filmmaking is a series of happy accidents.” AI’s proposition as the ultimate accident creator embodies his statement perfectly.
Case in Point:
- Pre-production: AI scans scripts to help breakdown pacing, predicting audience reactions, or casting choices looking at Heuristics and Analytics systems.
- Post-production: Editing footage with text prompts has been greatly simplified due to platforms like Runway ML. Saying something along the lines of “make this scene feel like a 1970s Polaroid” does exactly that.
But here’s the rub : AI has no experience. It can create a perfect symmetry just like Kubrick or snappy dialog like Tarantino, but it will never understand the pain of losing a loved one or the feeling of having its first kiss. That’s where the human soul kicks in.
Democratization of Filmmaking – From Hollywood to Your Living Room
Martin Scorsese seems to reminisce with the phrase that film is being turned into mere “content.” He describes how streaming algorithms think about movies. However, artificial intelligence is changing the film making industry in a way that Scorsese might appreciate. A retiree in Buenos Aires can now shoot a documentary using a smartphone that automatically colors and grades the film, meanwhile high school kids in Nairobi can now animate short films on their phones using AI tools.
Tools Leveling the Playing Field:
- Generative AI:MidJourney and Stable Diffusion can create concept art and storyboards within minutes.
- Voice Synthesis: Respeecher and other similar software clones actor voice with their consent, allowing indie filmmakers to alter routines without paying actors.
- Low-Budget VFX: NVIDIA can now create realistic explosions and remove the age of actors without spending 200 million dollars on Marvel movies.
Democratization of filmmaking is not only about diversity but also standards. Once under rated communities have access to AI tools, there will be countless untold stories that Hollywood has locked away.
Envision an AI model trained to help screenwriters create culturally neutral real life narratives with non western templates.
Ethical Dilemmas – Who Gets the Credit (and the Cash)?
If Generate AI wrote 70 percent of the script in a motion picture, who owns the copyrights? The questions regarding ownership of an AI’s generated artwork can be astonishingly perplexing and have sparked much debate.
The Attribution Crisis:
- Hisense State Fair sparked controversy when an AI Artwork won because conservative artists were not in support of this. The same conflict will arise in cinema.
- The Writers Guild of America Union is taking proactive measures against the use of AI.
And then there is deep fake technology. Yes, AI can cast James Dean for a new role, but should he actually step into the frame? The issue is, what happens when the actor’s face is used without permission, like Carrie Fisher’s in her “digital resurrection” in Star Wars?
A Possible Solution:
- Blockchain for IP: Smart contracts have the ability to keep track of human and AI productivity, thus giving out correct royalties.
- Ethical Guidelines: Organizations like the Partnership on AI are beginning to construct regulations but having them followed is a whole nother problem.
The Uncharted Frontier – Emergent Creativity
AI technologies have taken center stage; they are not tools, but new forms of artistry ready to be explored.
One example is interactive movies. In such films, the plot is directly shaped by the emotions of viewers in real time via a webcam, or imagine a horror film where the soundtrack is directly synchronized with your heartbeat – how amazing is that!
Experiments Blurring the Lines:
- “The Crowd” (2023): An AI synthesized hundreds of thousands of user-submitted videos into a crowd-sourced narrative film.
- AI as Method Actor: Models are being built that will ‘act’ as humans in virtual rehearsals.
Humans and machines don’t need to be in competition; they can work together and create art through a collaborative process.
Jazz artists, for example, utilize a method where musicians take turns improvising where one provides a phrase for the other to expand on further.
In filmmaking, an entirely new form of language could be invented through collaboration.
Navigating the Hybrid Future – A Manifesto for Filmmakers
In order to adopt the future of filmmaking while maintaining morality, we need structure:
- Augmentation, Not Replacement: Using Ai to perform menial tasks like color corrections or continuity controls allows artists to concentrate on storytelling.
- Transparency: A public has the right to have full knowledge of when a piece of content has been “AI-ed.” And if necessary, an appropriate label should be provided.
- Education: Film schools need to teach literacy of Ai along with screenplay writing and cinematography.
Lastly, let’s appreciate irreplaceable art. AI can set up a perfect three-act structure, but the beauty of Rowlands’s performance in A Woman Under The Influence where it encapsulates chaos, or Everything Everywhere All At Once, can never be done by AI.
The Harmony of Human and Machine
The future projection of a movie is not some apocalyptic fight between machines and humans. It is a collaboration in which human beings form a melody and AI technology orchestrates scales.
As the legendary editor Walter Murch noted, filmmaking is similar to sculpturing, ‘You are discovering the film as you go’.
With AI, we are not just discovering; we are inventing tools that can help us to carve deeper levels in the imagination stone.
At this instant, the most imperative question should not be, ‘Will AI replace film makers?’ but rather ‘What stories can AI and humans create together that have never been bonded before?’ The answer alone can unmold the entire concept of art and work around it.