Tech companies have been developing artificial intelligence (AI) systems that can create videos. Soon, AI movie-making could become a staple for the film industry.
Some studios could use it to reduce production costs and time. For example, they could use AI-generated explosions to save time and money setting up real ones.
On the other hand, it could threaten the livelihoods of numerous writers, actors, and other creatives. Read on to learn more about the technology’s impending effects on films.
AI movie-making: The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly
Let’s start with a recent announcement from Lionsgate, the studio behind the critically acclaimed action movie series, “John Wick.”
The report says Lionsgate will let New York-based AI research firm Runway AI use its 20,000 titles to create a generative model.
READ: What to expect in the future of AI chatbots
The AI model will create “cinematic video,” which the companies say will inspire storyboarding sessions or pre-production meetings.
The AI tool will help filmmakers and other creatives “augment their work” to deliver “capital-efficient content creation opportunities.”
As a result, this AI movie-making program can help produce more movies with lower investment costs.
The Wall Street Journal cited Lionsgate founder Micheal Burns, who said it could generate explosions or other backgrounds.
On the other hand, a protest involving Hollywood writers and the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) succeeded.
The strike pushed California into passing several laws limiting Hollywood’s AI usage. As a result, these creatives have protected their livelihoods.
Unfortunately, Popular Science says other studios may use AI movie-making to recreate actors as digital avatars.
READ: World’s first AI movie camera transforms footage in real-time
PopSci reports they could go a step further and create “synthetic performers.” Their AI filmmaking tools could generate a new actor based on their past movies.
Hollywood actor Joseph Gordon-Levitt argued creatives should receive compensation when people include their work in AI training.
“AI can’t do our jobs yet, but it might be able to soon,” Gordon-Levitt wrote in an op-ed for The Washington Post.
“And people whose jobs are threatened by AI will be the same people who produced the data used to train it.”