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Lights, camera, action: How AI is transforming the filmmaking landscape

Lights, camera, action: How AI is transforming the filmmaking landscape

July 23, 2023

Welcome to the Sunday edition of Interesting Engineering’s Blueprint. This weekend, our feature explores the brave new world of artificial intelligence and movies, from green screen to silver screen. Here’s what’s happening:

🎬 Artificial intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing many industries, and the filmmaking industry is no exception.
🎥 AI has ushered in a new era of creativity, efficiency, and immersive storytelling.
🔮 We also look at what the future holds for AI in filmmaking.

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Lights, camera, action: How AI is transforming the filmmaking landscape

From scriptwriting to pre-production, AI is transforming how movies are made, and it's been that way for a while.

In 2016, an experimental film called "Sunspring" was produced using a script written by an AI program named Benjamin. It used a recurrent neural network model to generate the screenplay, but the result was deemed surreal and incoherent.

Fast forward to today, AI tools are generating scripts and plot suggestions derived from patterns and data from existing films and books. They are often able to offer a fresh perspective, and though there are concerns about the potential replacement of human artists, these tools might also democratize filmmaking by reducing costs.

AI is also revolutionizing the pre-production phase of filmmaking. Tasks like storyboarding, casting, and location scouting can be made more efficient using AI technologies.

For instance, AI can analyze vast amounts of data to find suitable filming locations, suggest actors based on their past performances, and help streamline budgeting and scheduling. Companies like Cinelytic are leveraging AI to provide data-driven solutions throughout a film's lifecycle.

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AI in Cinematography and Post-production

In cinematography, AI aids in executing precise and complex camera movements, optimizing scenes for the best lighting conditions, composition, and camera angles.

AI-based systems such as AXIBO, for example, use robotic systems to perform camera movements that can be controlled through voice commands, making the process more intuitive and adaptable.

Post-production is another area where AI has had a significant impact, with visual effects (VFX), computer-generated imagery (CGI), and film editing being significantly transformed by AI and machine learning. Films are made more realistic and immersive, enhancing the cinematic experience.

AI can also enhance post-production and editing workflows by automating time-consuming tasks, letting filmmakers focus more on creative decisions and storytelling.

As AI technology continues to advance, ethical considerations grow as well. Potential displacement of human creatives by AI, loss of diverse perspectives, and the use of deepfakes are some of the concerns that have been raised.

Striking a balance between AI's capabilities and the preservation of human artistic expression is paramount, with the need for guidelines to maintain human involvement and uphold ethical standards in filmmaking.

What of the future? We might witness the emergence of more personalized filmmaking, influenced by AI technologies. The use of virtual actors and digital characters in films could potentially become more prevalent as AI-powered CGI and VFX improve.

So grab some popcorn, and click below to learn more about how the story is developing.

"I think artificial intelligence is the natural progression of all the tools that we've been using to augment our filmmaking since the beginning. It's just the latest generation. I don't think it's taking jobs away from people. It's actually just facilitating the creation of things that wouldn't have been possible before."

James Cameron, Academy Award winning director of films like Avatar, Titanic, and Terminator.

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