Note: This article is based on Variety Intelligence Platform’s special report “Generative AI & Entertainment,” available only to subscribers.
Generative AI already surpasses human creative capabilities with existing tools in two key respects: speed and cost of production.
One of the first major benefits of introducing gen AI to production pipelines is its ability to unlock substantial new efficiencies for content creation, in effect translating to greater productivity, time saved and lower costs.
But there are also expected byproducts of improved efficiencies, including the potential for higher-quality work and more new creators able to create that high-quality work. Freedom from repetitive and labor-intensive tasks gives artists back time and money to develop, test and iterate ideas, thus theoretically improving their quality downstream. Reduced costs, resources and skills required to work with AI tools and create are also expected to lower barriers to content creation and bring a democratizing effect and a surge of creators.
“We’re at an inflection point where AI is beginning to change how we’re able to effectively produce digital content, especially in film,” said Victor Riparbelli, co-founder and CEO of AI video avatar generation platform Synthesia, whose mission is to empower creatives to make video content without cameras or studios. “While this technology is still in its early stages, I’m confident over the next few years we’ll start to see AI transforming the film industry for the better.”
Cristóbal Valenzuela is co-founder and CEO of Runway, the AI startup that also co-developed the Stable Diffusion AI model in partnership with LMU Munich. Runway builds generative AI models and offers a suite of over 30 AI-powered content creation and video editing tools already in use by major studios and productions, including “Everything Everywhere All at Once” and CBS’ “Late Show With Stephen Colbert.”
“Editors that have been working in filmmaking for a long time are working in very inefficient ways,” Valenzuela said. “With AI, an edit that could take hours, days or months of work can now translate to just minutes, hours or weeks.”
While there’s growing concern about AI eventually replacing segments of the workforce in Hollywood, there’s a more optimistic view to be had. “The best-case scenario is that AI takes on the work that’s repetitive and opens up human time for more creative and imaginative pursuits,” said Joanna Popper, chief metaverse officer at CAA, who leads the go-to-market strategy and core business priorities in the metaverse for the talent agency and its clients. “We work together with AI to create and collaborate for more and better stories than we can alone.”
Read more of VIP+’s AI assessments:
• Takeaways for diligence and risk mitigation
• Will gen AI supplant or supplement Hollywood workers?
• Coming April 28: Inside the virtual influencer/AI avatar trend
Plus, dive into the expansive special report …
