Artificial Intelligence can democratize filmmaking

Kevin Winter | Getty Images Artificial intelligence may seem like the Wild West with no clear rules — yet its potential lies in democratizing film industry long term according to Roger Allers (L) and Rob Minkoff’s directorship of “The Lion King. Rob Minkoff and Roger Allers co-directed the classic 1994 animated Disney film Aladdin with Artificial Intelligence as co-directors; according to CNBC reports he believes AI may democratize filmmaking by cutting costs associated with production by cutting down equipment costs associated with motion pictures production and direction.” AI will “democratize the process of producing content”, said Minkoff to CNBC. This should result in “an explosion of voices generating content”. Minkoff spoke with CNBC ahead of Reply AI Film Festival held by Italian tech firm Reply during Venice International Film Festival as a competition that awards filmmakers who employ artificial intelligence (AI) technology for short film creation and uses AI as part of its criteria to determine its winners; Minkoff serves on its jury that decides winners. Minkoff pointed out that new technologies often raise legitimate fears in film workers. When computer animation was introduced during the 90s, similar concerns surfaced about what effect its arrival might have on jobs. “Computer animation brought fear, as many were undoubtedly concerned with its implications and impact on jobs,” noted Minkoff – director of 1999’s Stuart Little and 2003’s “The Haunted Mansion” respectively – speaking exclusively to CNBC. Early on it became clear that in order for people to remain relevant in their industry it became necessary for them to adapt with technology changes,” according to his speech. We’re seeing something similar now with AI. Minkoff recalls using computers to recreate one of the iconic scenes from “The Lion King.” In it, several wildebeests can be seen stampeding after Simba (played by Ewan McGregor in the film). Minkoff remembers one scene where we rendered hundreds of wildebeests using an innovative rendering technique which blended very smoothly with the rest of the drawn animation.” People understandably become concerned when contemplating AI technology’s potential dangers,” Minkoff cautioned. However, Minkoff stated he did not think AI technology could fully replace all filmmakers at present, noting the current “hype” about AI capabilities. Minkoff indicated there should be legitimate concerns surrounding the application of AI to filmmaking including copyright protection issues as well as intellectual property usage to train AI models. Minkoff told CNBC he hopes technology can save humanity in some form or make our lives simpler or more prosperous, “But technology remains something of a wild west, where seemingly anything is possible and anything can happen. Minkoff noted there are “legitimate concerns” with AI when it comes to protecting media IP or fighting copyright theft, as well as guardrailing it to be extra safe. He acknowledged why some might wish to put limits or set backs in order to remain cautious when approaching these topics. But ultimately, he doesn’t see AI’s positive momentum waning anytime soon. Minkoff said his impression is that this trend likely won’t slow down because judges and courtrooms make the decisions as to what’s right and wrong.” On copyright matters, Minkoff suggested creating an independent body to protect filmmakers’ intellectual property while compensating them similarly to what American Society for Composers, Authors & Publishers or Broadcast Music Inc do in music production industries. “People always come first”The Reply AI Film Festival, held this week and featuring three winners as its awards ceremony, began as an internal competition among staff using artificial intelligence tools to produce movie-quality videos, according to Filippo Rizzante, CTO at Reply. He told CNBC this week about its launch as an international contest among employees utilizing Reply products for making such movies as well as how employees used these technologies as creative outlets in making those movies. Rizzante said in an interview last week: “There has been significant advancement with technology for producing creative work, impacting greatly upon both quantity and quality of what humanity produces.” However, Rizzante discounted claims AI will displace workers working within entertainment industries. As per him, this technology would transform how content delivery operates but wouldn’t result in changes to employment in the movie industry. At this year’s festival, one of the runners-up, “Gia Pham,” shows a woman looking at takeout menu before she is transported into an immersive, colorful 2D world accompanied by Japanese dialogue that begins speaking out of 3D reality and continues after going back into 2D space. This video begins speaking English but switches between both Japanese and English during its progression from 3D to 2D world. Alexander de Lukowicz, co-director of Gia Pham,” shared with CNBC how his and his team’s process for producing short films relies heavily on humans guiding AI tools such as DALL-E and Midjourney in creating “worlds we weren’t able to generate before.” According to de Lukowicz: it takes both “people behind technology as well as humans guiding it all for proper results – so in producing something like a film to explore what might be possible,” is essential in producing short film projects like Gia Pham.