Use AI Where It Improves Workflow, Workload, Entertainment Value

“An A.I. is like any intelligence. It has needs. It will start to evolve, to influence, perhaps the entire world,” Max Waters, “Transcendence”, Warner Bros, 2014

We were asked how much AI we used in doing our weekly screed. Honestly … none.

We have a general idea, but our mind tends to wander, “Oh look at the cute birdie!”

Sometimes we hit a dead-end, hit delete and start over … again.   

But, when we’re finally satisfied, we can say, “Yeah, we did that.”

Sure, we know AI is creeping into every segment of the M&E industry–some scary good, some scary bad.

It will grow in usage in ways we can’t even imagine, so writing guardrails into contracts and then bragging about them doesn’t do much good because things change, stuff happens…

Ups, Downs – There is a lot of euphoria surrounding all of the good/great things AI is going to do for us. We still aren’t sure of the side effects. 

We’re cautiously optimistic about the use of AI technology in the industry.

Some applications show promise in reducing costs, reducing inefficiencies, improving the quality and quantity of projects and streamlining the delivery/viewer satisfaction processes.

The relationship needs to develop slowly because we’ve already seen half-baked ideas released into the wild and once, they’re out there … they’re out there.

We’re not a complete luddite but we just don’t recall an AI movie that turned out well.

The tech-based streamers/producers have been using the technology for some time to wade through tons of movie/show ideas, viewer response and fiscal results to determine what works, what doesn’t.  

A lot of “great” film/story ideas never make it past this hurdle, disappointing folks who just knew this project was right and people would flock to see it.

At other times, the data will be used to change, refine ideas and word/action flow to strengthen the film/show.

In many instances, the ideation creators will agree that the recommendations did improve the project. After all, no one wants to be associated with a dud, even if she/he isn’t on the credits.

As Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos noted during the company’s last earnings report, people ultimately care most about the quality of the show/movie rather than the technology being used.

To deliver a constant stream of new content, the leading film/show providers in the Americas will be investing a total of $133B out of the global investment of more than $247B.

Global Production – Hollywood retains its title as the center of the video content creation industry, but studios/streamers are finding it easier and more economic to develop, produce and acquire content people really want to see from around the globe.

Hollywood/LA still represents the major center in the content world; but thanks to studio construction, tax incentives, advances in training and tools, great projects are being produced in Atlanta, Tucson, Albuquerque, Toronto, London, Berlin, Lagos, Mumbai, Seoul and other major film centers.

According to PwC, film/show production in the Americas will increase 4.3 percent through 2028, which is behind the global rate of 4.6 percent.  One of the greatest advances (in our opinion) was VP (virtual production) a combination of technologies developed by Disney’s ILM (Industrial Light & Magic) gaming kingpin NVIDIA’s GPU (graphic processing unit) and Epic Games’ Unreal Engine gaming software.

Virtual – Studio facilities are being produced around the globe and all of them have at least one VP stage to enable content creators to duplicate locations around and off the planet.  When combined with an extended list of other incentives, they are serious contenders for large and small projects.

The advance has virtually eliminated the use of green screen production. For a studio to competitively land film/show projects it’s almost a necessity.

The virtual production stage enables the production and post-production teams to work together efficiently and seamlessly.

VP and the enhanced computing power leveled the playing field for studios everywhere to compete for film/show production and has almost eliminated the need/expense of location shoots.

While it hasn’t necessarily reduced the long hours crews spend on set, it does enable them to periodically get home at a reasonable hour.  

But long before projects hit the set, something has to be written.

Writers’ Assistant – AI is being cautiously used in film/show writers’ rooms to assist in researching ideas and subjecting options, but it still takes empathy and experience to develop scripts that grab and hold an audience’s interest/attention.

AI content development and generation were key factors in last year’s writers’ strike but will be used to assist creators (writer’s assistances, script coordinators, staff writers/editors and showrunners) in translating concepts into stories and generating credible human dialogue. 

Increasingly, it will be used to turn text into visuals and storyboards and create animated 3D models from 2D videos or images.

Most of the focus today is on speed, efficiency and reducing costs and the industry has yet to define/determine how the powerful technology can produce greater value creation. 

The common concern in the industry is that AI will replace jobs; and in some instances, this may be true but from what we’ve seen to date and the developments that are in the works, we also agree with AI proponents’ observation that AI won’t replace your job but somebody using AI will take your job. And that being said, it stands to reason that AI will impact the “management” layer more and put more power in the hands of creatives who have experience in delivering compelling video stories.

Smart Cameras – Intelligence has been designed/built into today’s advanced film/show cameras to ensure the best possible shots are taken for each project scene to minimize/eliminate costly reshoots.

AI is already proving its value in storyboarding and previsualization, allowing for rapid prototyping and visualizing scenes before they are shot. 

Advanced smart camera tracking makes it possible to lock onto targets while shooting scenes while being able to analyze and recommend alternative camera shots and angles. 

A major advantages of these new AI-controlled systems is that they reduce the chances of human error during shooting to get the perfect show every time.  In addition, they can increase shooting time and productivity. 

In many ways, AI enhances film/show creativity by enabling film makers/crews to envision and create content that would have been difficult and perhaps even impossible before.

Animation – AI tools have significantly improved the quality of animated films/shows/games while delivering significant budget (time/money) savings.

You have probably noticed the dramatic number of really great animated projects from studios in the Americas and especially SEA (Southeast Asia). 

Many of these would have been budget (time, money) prohibitive in the days of hand-drawn animation.  

AI and CGI (computer graphics imagery) have not only made animation for games and video stories less expensive and faster but have also increased the number of jobs in the field. The same is true in film/show post-production. By automating many of the mundane, time-consuming tasks, they give video/sound editors, colorists, VFX specialists and artists to focus on higher-level tasks.

Improving Post – Tool producers such as Adobe, Avid, Blackmagic and others have added AI tools to their products that take a lot of tedious and time-consuming work out of post-production.

Adobe, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Avid and other solutions have cautiously and effectively introduced cutting-edge AI tools into the industry’s postproduction process.

Adobe Firefly is a comprehensive suite of generative AI tools that don’t just manipulate images and video but also performs automatic b-roll generation with advanced editing options in addition to smoothing transitions, extending shots and more.

Adobe Premiere Pro coupled with the firm’s Creative Cloud apps, multi-cam editing capabilities, automatic VR orientation and other enhancements have made it a popular solution across the postproduction arena.

Widely used in studio production, Avid Media Composer has been enhanced with collaborative workflow, multiple resolution support and real-time collaboration. 

Designed for large projects, Avid’s solutions enable frame-accurate editing, advanced color grading and HDR (High Dynamic Range) support. 

A solution that has continued to amaze us is Blackmagic’s Davinci Resolve.  The company has steadily improved its capabilities and performance with high-quality color grading tools, high-resolution/frame rate support, automatic image stabilization, cinematic quality visual effects and surround sound audio mixing support.

Best Impact – Digital film/show production has enabled filmmakers to quickly/economically shoot scenes and action from multiple angles and then determine the best shots/angles for the best audience response.

When combined with Video Analytics software, these tools help the production/post team to quickly, efficiently and effectively scan through the volumes of video files (sometimes 20-50TB plus) to find the best angles/shots for the completed film/show. 

When content production moved from film to digital, the amount of content shot/captured literally went through the roof and shot/scene selection became time consuming, labor intensive and most post folks will say downright mind-numbing. 

AI-enabled Video Analytics tools didn’t make the job fun, but they did enable the production/post team to create high-quality content more quickly.

Localization – With advanced AI-enabled localization products, studios/streamers can more quickly, more effectively and more economically meet the interests and enjoyment needs of people around the world.

One of the areas where AI has probably impacted jobs is in movie/show localization.

Historically, content produced in India, Japan, South Korea, France or any other country was produced in a specific language for a specific audience.

That was it!

A little hint here, if you’re visiting another country – any country – go to a movie (or two).  It’s a great way to learn how to converse with locals – they’ll appreciate it, and you’ll enjoy your trip a whole lot more.

Allan McLennan, CEO of 2G Digital, noted that localization used to require hours of people painstakingly translating the audio into something folks in the target market could understand.

The fastest and most expensive approach are subtitles, which even producer Bong Joon-ho used for his Oscar-winning film Parasites.  He referred to it as the one-inch subtitle barrier because it is the least expensive and most widely used way to localize a film/show.

“Even with advanced AI tools we use today on films/shows it is still time- and process-intensive to dub a project, but it is a lot more economical,” McLennan stated. “Few studios or producers would consider the daunting task of accurately lip-syncing the words with people’s faces. But using AI-enabled tools, producer James Cameron was able to localize Avatar 2 into 47 languages.”

McLennan pointed out that today, Netflix, Amazon Prime, Apple TV+ and most of the studios now acquire and produce projects around the world for viewing in the countries where they have subscribers. Increasingly, they’re finding that the films/shows develop significant followings around the globe.   “Video stories have always transcended country borders,” he emphasized, “but AI localization just made it easier and more fun for folks to enjoy.”

Endless Search – Smart streaming services pay a lot of attention to their recommendation tools to minimize viewer frustration in searching for entertainment and finding the shows/movies that match their interests.

That’s true but there’s one AI-enabled tool we really appreciate and that’s Netflix’s recommendations system.

Sure, we know that they use all of the information they gather from us to develop/acquire “gotta watch films/shows” in addition to “suggesting” why we can’t afford to leave them. 

It’s not the only one that helps people pinpoint stuff they’d like to watch but it’s our go-to favorite when it comes to finding projects we might (will probably) enjoy. Apple and Disney+ have good selection engines based on our viewing experience and habits but most of the others have recommendation/selection tool that’s a “work in progress.”

Jeezz guys, wake up and copy what the industry leaders do. 

How difficult can it be?

Rough Air – Studios, indie filmmakers and streamers still have a lot of work to do to ensure they use AI right and when to leave the work to the experts.  It’s not as easy as tech proponents would have you believe.

Obviously, it’s more difficult than we think.

AI tools and products are still in their infancy, but we think most of them are products that need to be examined, tested and learned from before they’re released in the real world.

The technology pushers need to take a page from the first computer algorithm developer, Ada Lovelace, when she said back in 1843, “Never am really satisfied that I understand anything; because, understand it well as I may, my comprehension can only be an infinitesimal fraction of all I want to understand about the many connections and relations which occur to me…”

AI has the potential of being the productivity engine for creative processes. And as Will Caster noted in Transcendence, “Actually, it’s still in its infancy. What you’re seeing is just a small taste of what we’ll achieve.“

AI is still in the nascent stage and can be used to do both good and bad.