Table of Contents
Introduction
Yaron’s workshop began in an unconventional way. He opened by admitting that he had initially planned a straightforward walkthrough of his AI-based collaboration platform, imgn. However, recent conversations with working filmmakers have revealed a growing sense of hesitation and unease surrounding AI in the film industry. So instead, he dedicated a portion of his workshop to addressing his target demographic’s concerns.
Contextualizing Technology in Film
About twelve hours before the workshop, imgn’s promotional video played before the Opening Night Screening as a sponsor of the Hollyshorts Film Festival. As Yaron mentions in his presentation, when the words “AI-based” flashed across the screen, there was a spattering of “boos” in the audience.
In reaction to the distrust that many filmmakers have for AI, Yaron outlined the progression of film technology across history to counter the idea that innovation undermines artistic expression.
Beginning with the camera obscura and the cinematograph, through the arrival of sound and color, and onward to innovations like new film formats, virtual production, and CGI, we’ve seen technology advance art for over 100 years. However, where AI becomes polarizing is the line between advancing and creating, which brings our industry into entirely uncharted territory.
Yaron makes the point that the foreignness of a new technology should be harnessed and used as a tool, instead of swept aside out of fear. So how can filmmakers tap into AI and turn it into an asset rather than a threat? Yaron points to several key capabilities.
"AI in Film" Capabilities
- Development:
- Research
- Storyline
- Writing Assistance
- Adjusting the Text for a Specific Audience
- Pre Production:
- Budget Assessment & Department Cost Estimation
- Script Analysis
- Coverage & Breakdown
- Shooting Schedule Assistance
- Shotlist Generator
- Character Prototyping
- Casting Description
- Sourcing & Matching
- Location Scouting
- Wardrobe Design
- Sourcing & Virtual Fitting
- Set Dressing PreVis
- Production:
- AI-Driven Camera Placement & Lighting Optimization
- Virtual Assist Creation for Virtual Production
- On Set Real Time Troubleshooting
- Post Production:
- Editing Assistance
- Cut Suggestions
- Color Grading
- VFX
- Sound Design
- AI-Driven Foley & Sound Effects
- Dialogue Cleanup
- Background Music
Many of these capabilities overlap directly with the creative work of filmmaking. In fact, some of the AI applications Yaron lists correspond to entire professions—Foley, color grading, wardrobe design, and more. This raises the central concerns many hold about AI – stepping on the toes of the employed artist.
AI as an Assistant
Yaron offers a comfort for some filmmakers who fear that AI has already overstepped the creative process: AI is merely a suggestive assistant. It suggests. You decide. The goal is to eliminate the tedious tasks that stall progress and delay your creative work.
This is the first time that technology is more than utilitarian. For better or for worse, it has the ability to create. Yaron's solution? Take what you want from it, leave what you don’t.
To draw a comparison – cookbooks can suggest recipes and provide a step-by-step process, but that in no way prevents people from taking the recipe and making their own choices, or ignoring the recipe altogether.
Use AI for the tasks you lack the time or budget for, so you can dedicate your energy to what truly matters to you. This makes platforms like imgn beneficial specifically to the low-budget filmmaker.
Audience responses span intrigue, curiosity, concern, and even aversion, reflecting sentiments felt throughout the industry and beyond. Yaron summarizes that the main goal of AI is to increase productivity and decrease spending. Maybe a production company that makes 2-3 films a year without AI can grow to producing 5-6 films a year with AI assistance.
AI is here, so the only limitations are the ones we choose for ourselves. Limiting AI use to purely administrative or organizational functions is a choice that many creatives can get behind. But the difference is this: Now that AI is here, the possibilities are endless, and they are all at your fingertips, but the choice remains yours.
