The world of film and TV production in Los Angeles has seen some major shifts from 2016 to now. If...
AI’s advent in the entertainment industry was not if or when, but how.
How would AI be applied to the highly involved processes that run the film industry?
Many companies and studios, large or small, have already found innovative ways to apply AI to their productions. Every aspect of film production has been given a once-over to see where AI could lead to an improvement. While AI proponents have been riding a wave of goodwill over the speedy results people are already experiencing, the narrative about AI’s continued use in the entertainment industry or indeed any industry, is still being determined.
As much as AI can be potentially helpful, its drawbacks are almost quite as numerous. Film Executives will always seek to help the bottom-line by making these labors of love more efficient. AI can indeed streamline many detailed and intensive tasks, and companies promising just that are cropping up left, right, and center. However, as with all technology, AI is in the early stages of its existence where its purpose and rules regarding usage have not yet been determined by society. This means that while the future of AI is undecided, it is still important to focus on the present and current ways AI is already making a mark on the entertainment industry.
Table of Contents
Pre-Production
When AI entered the entertainment industry, there was a lot of discussion about what this meant for the artistry of filmmaking.
"Could AI replace people’s jobs or is it merely just a tool?"
There are still a lot of conflicting opinions about AI, but currently, it cannot be denied that AI’s usage in film and TV productions is growing; especially with the optimization of pre-production.
Writers and studios are using AI for script coverage and sorting, which is substantially quicker and easier than going through many different levels of read-throughs.
Through AI programs, writers can edit quickly and continuously, without the need for trading favors for another pair of eyes. Studios can go through hundreds or thousands of scripts in a blink with AI sifting through them. There are many AI script coverage companies out there like Scriptbook, Screenplay IQ, and Presence.
Out of the other AI script coverage companies, Screenplay IQ is notable for being, as they say, “WGA compliant", if suspiciously cheap. They also state that all scripts and writing analyzed will not be used to train AI models.
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While it seems only too glorious that a new cheap and instantaneous way to get feedback is available for up and coming writers, critics rightfully examine how useful AI can be in analyzing human creativity. AI is great at processing data and can be programmed to recognize certain cliches or redundancies but it is still a program unable to feel or “connect” with the work it reviews. There is a true artistry in script coverage, in seeing a script and understanding its potential. AI can only regurgitate what it has been conditioned to say rather than innovate or relate to the meaning behind certain phrases.
Post Production
Video editing, VFX work, and post-sound editing are other avenues where AI shines. It can complete tasks such as dialogue replacement and enhancing actors’ performances through reworking their facial expressions. AI software is commonly utilized to change the main language of a film to accommodate its global audiences.
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For example, Flawless AI is a software used by major companies such as Netflix, Disney, and HBO to refine performances and sync audio. Some specific examples include “The Brutalist” and “Everything, Everywhere, All at Once”. Dávid Jancsó in “The Brutalist” used Respeecher, a Ukrainian AI company, to enhance the Hungarian accents of actors Adrien Brodie and Felicity Jones. This was due to certain sounds being hard to grasp in the Hungarian accents by actors; therefore, AI was the perfect tool to perfect the sounds and speed up the post-production process for editors.
Another software that captures this ability as a means of saving time and cutting costs is Quickture. Its software offers the ability to pre-program story beats, generate auto rough cuts, and create highlight reels upon requests.
Tied to the ability to generate footage and creative storytelling is Generative AI
- It can be used for a multitude of things, including creating historic retellings and recreating pertinent scenes from the past to elevate documentaries, non-fiction projects, and visual storytelling.
The combination of VFX work and AI adds to the creativity as well as reducing costs
- A subscription to an AI software and a team that knows how to operate such machines is needed, which, in comparison, is cheaper than paying a salary to a whole team of people.
- It brings the possibility of deepfaking actors on set and minor roles or background characters to further save on hiring talent.
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It also allows for the de-aging of actors such as Tom Hanks and Robin Wright in the upcoming movie “Miramax”. AI was also used in the film “Putin” to deepfake Vladimir Putin’s face and body onto a stand-in actor to portray the dictator. Director Besaleel plans to use the same technology to create deepfake actors for supporting and minor roles.
Companies such as Metaphysics AI and Runway AI have been used in major productions to assist in such tasks.
Back-end
As seen, numerous productions are using AI to simplify the administrative tasks AI can help by shifting through data and suggesting strategies to help the movie.
For example: Forbes suggests that with AI’s computing abilities it can sift through tons of social media data to gauge audience reactions and predict their response to certain strategies.
One such company used AI in exactly this way when Warner Bros. used AI in the marketing of “Aquaman.” Their application of AI could potentially have led to much of the movie’s box office success.
Another team that used AI for marketing was the production of “Civil War,” the 2024 dystopian film about war in America. To promote the film, AI was used to generate posters of apocalyptic scenes set at famous American landmarks.
Humans and AI
"While AI’s use appears limitlessly versatile, there are still humans needed to guide AI and ensure its product is up to standard."
When Disney used their software to adjust facial expressions and other details in their large CGI sequences, it can be assumed that people needed to tweak the AI and greenlight the effects when they thought it looked realistic enough. Even though AI has countless capabilities, no technology can be truly hands-off. Teams of engineers still watch over the AI programs to keep them operating and producing effects that meet specifications.
AI companies like Screenplay IQ, emphasize AI’s role as a tool to streamline arduous and costly processes in the entertainment industry. Screenplay IQ’s slogan is that AI alone is incapable of writing a script but is rather better as a tool for writers to make the best versions of their own creations.
These sentiments demonstrate some of the current feelings toward AI and its role as originator or assistant.
Addressing the Controversy
Many major entertainment companies like Lionsgate and Warner Bros. might be slowly incorporating AI into their work or processes, but other companies have drawn their boundaries against AI.
YouTube is one such company as they recently updated their YouTube Partner Program which determines what creators and content gets monetized.
YouTube is standing firm in promoting “authentic” content—of which “inauthentic” would be AI—to purge the platform of “AI slop.”
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Speaking of generative AI, media companies are becoming more protective of their IP as AI indiscriminately trains using available media on the Internet and repurposing it.
Disney and Universal are currently suing AI company Midjourney for using their IP to create images and then claiming ownership of those works. These images very clearly showcase famous character IPs. AI using famous characters, actors, voices, scripts, and other privately owned content has become a major roadblock in AI’s use. It is a huge point of contention for actors who don’t want their likeness used without their permission—Morgan Freeman’s company is concerned about his voice being appropriated—and other creatives who don’t want their works used to strengthen AI’s generative abilities.
"The outcome of this lawsuit and other training restriction legislation for AI will surely have an incredible impact on AI’s further path."
Furthermore, aside from the large media companies having issues with AI the rather unknown and uncredited laborers of film like writers, designers, and what-have-yous are facing another obstacle in recognition. Fueling the controversy, according to The Hollywood Reporter, is a looming understanding that creatives are being asked to flesh-out or polish AI generative works but will remain uncredited because the “main creator” was an AI program. According to the writer at THR their friend was “asked to rewrite a pilot generated by ChatGPT. The terms were explicit. No credit. No disclosure. Just a polish pass — then back to the shadows.”
The main controversy of AI is that it absolutely cannot exist in a vacuum and relies upon the creative works or IPs of others in order to be trained to do what it does. As YouTube puts it, how much of AI work can be called “authentic,” and does it even matter if AI is simply a “tool?”
Conclusion
The use of AI in the entertainment industry is, without doubt, very prevalent and evident in what we see today. Although new, it's a sector that is quickly growing and will only be more innovative and advanced in years to come. We can't predict whether or not it's here to stay, but it's best to acknowledge the tools offered and how they can be used.
There's a solution for every need that AI provides and it can open up possibilities for creators like never before. In addition to it being a solid answer to anyone looking at saving costs. But, similar to most resources, it has its cons as much as it has its pros. So, it is up to choice to determine which tools would be of use.
