💡Lights, camera, a(i)ction

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👉 The what and the why

AI is already revolutionizing the way we produce video and photos, with examples ranging from OpenAI’s video generator Sora to the hyper-realistic images produced by Midjourney.

However, until recently, it remained largely unused by the big-budget creative industry. That is, until Tony Vinciquerra (Sony Pictures CEO) stated that they’re doubling down on its use of AI in filmmaking.

This move is said to decrease production costs, speed up production cycles, aid creatives in their existing work, and even create completely new animation styles.

Similarly to the actors and writers strike, unions like IATSE are once again highlighting the potential impact on the job market and job security. They claim an increasing amount of creative professionals are seeing their jobs partially and fully replaced by AI tools.

How will Sony Pictures use AI in its production process?

As we continue to see new advancements in the AI space almost daily, the potential use cases for it remain to be seen.

The most likely areas are animation and post-production work. It could, for example, be used to create entirely new animation styles or aid animators in their existing work.

The full extent to which AI can be implemented needs to be defined by the agreements resulting from the strikes of IATSE and Teamsters.

👉 The implications for you

The integration of AI in the film industry will have a widespread impact, affecting some professionals more than others. It will likely result in a couple of negative and positive changes in how creatives work;

• 🔻 Job displacement: AI's efficiency in various filmmaking tasks has led to job displacement and increased competition for roles such as post-production technicians, editors, actors, and visual effects artists.

• 🔻 Loss of “the human touch”: While highly subjective, there is a concern that the replacement of writers and other creatives with AI will result in a “soul-less” feeling lacking the human touch.

• 🔻 Ethics and legal concerns: The use of AI in filmmaking raises ethical dilemmas, such as the potential misuse of deep fake technologies, biases in algorithms, and issues related to copyright and ownership of AI-generated content.

• 💚 New job opportunities: While AI may replace some traditional roles, it also has the potential to create new job opportunities that require human intelligence and expertise, such as overseeing AI systems and integrating AI-generated content with human creativity.

• 💚 Enhanced efficiency and creativity: AI can streamline filmmaking processes, from screenwriting to post-production, allowing for faster and more efficient production cycles. This can enable studios to undertake more projects and focus on creative aspects.

Regardless of which of these points ends up being true, creative professionals will no doubt need to stay alert as the industry moves forward. Learning new technologies and staying up to date on trends will continue to be increasingly important.

🔥 Our take on it

AI is, by default, a very controversial topic. From doomsday visions to copyright concerns, it’s a topic that is highly debated.

Regardless of what we may think of technology, though, it is here to stay. And moving along with it instead of catching up to it will be the key to remaining relevant in the future professional scene.

Concerns about job displacement is to us an irrelevant concern as trying to fight it will likely only slow the development down, but not stop it forever. Meaning that eventually we all will have to learn to co-exist with the capabilities of AI.

There is no doubt that we are right around the corner from a massive shift in how humans work, and all one can do is try to stay relevant.

Going forward, creative works that focus on the human experience with a heavy dose of “human touch” will likely remain, at the very least, a niche in demand. However, big production houses like Sony Pictures will also likely continue to produce mainstream material that relies more heavily on AI-generated content.

Finally, the only thing we do know about the near future is this; the importance of staying ahead trends will only increase.

👋 See you on Thursday!

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