Can AI unlock the creative power of humans? Views from film makers and Vice President of Creative

It's a fact, AI isn't going anywhere.

Although there's a valid conversation about whether or not AI could substitute editors, writers or concept art directors, a majority are accepting AI's inevitable nature and are now considering its potential to revolutionize the way work is done.
At Cannes, I heard the perspectives of creatives such as will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame discuss how AI will revolutionize the world in the coming 10 years. A lot of discussion centered around how AI has been rapidly unlocking the potential of people's dormant abilities and its effects on creative processes.

I've been a creative director for 20+ years, I wanted to express my thoughts and use this as an opportunity begin a dialogue with the people in our community.

What's the present situation? And where do we go in the future?

This is what AI can do now

"I was a magician before I started my film career. Very quickly, once you're a magician, you learn that any sufficiently modern technology can be compared to the art of. Magic can also be frightening in the event that you aren't sure of the way it works or what's going on. This is the way I'm feeling about AI being an artist or a person who's making money from sending something you've thought of inside your head onto the page, or onto the screen, AI is a scary issue because it may be able to replace you."   Ben Proudfoot, Oscar-winning short directories, found and CEO of Breakwater Studios

Creativity is a fundamental human characteristic, and one AI isn't able to replicate easily.

Midjourney launched in July of 2022, and ChatGPT followed close behind on November 1st of the same year. In the time since, we've seen self-identified "non-creatives" discover creativity that has gone under-utilized due to the lack of skills.

Certain of these inventions have been impressive, and the tools have developed in such rapid speed that you'd be forgiven if you've forgotten the fact that they're only a year older.

AI will help you to communicate ideas

Concepts that are complex for stories, images, movies, or music have been limited by the necessary techniques and the skills required for bringing these concepts to fruition.

But in the past year, pictures like this can be made with only a couple of keystrokes

Experienced creators such as the award-winning filmmaker Hashem Al-Ghaili the opportunity is much greater.

Think about his mostly artificially-generated short film " Last Stand," which depicts how humanity might react if extraterrestrials came into contact.

"AI is going to have us think about the world in a way we never thought to think of," says Crystal Edmonds, Head of Accounts as well as Events Activation of Magnet Media Films. "I think it's going to open our minds. It will teach us things that we never even thought we wanted to know about. It's likely that you'll discover that people are able to unlock an entirely new degree of creativeness through AI."

For instance, Staff Pick winner Paul Trillo's short film "Thank You for Not Answering."

Instead of trying to achieve realism He consciously focuses on the dream-like look that's inherent to Runway's Gen-2. "As an individual who leave a voicemail for someone from his past, he is flooded with fragments of his fading memories and imagining a future that might have been."

A true artist He's adjusted to the strengths and limitations of his medium in order to make something unique.

AI is a great tool to validate and market concepts

There is no doubt that while these are stunning examples of the ways in which AI is being utilized to communicate the artistic perspective, AI for commercial use is currently an unproven gimmick.

Have a look at this AI-generated beer commercial. It's a product of the moment, and could not be considered to be a legitimate advertisement if run as a legitimate ad.

However, it does offer more than sufficient information in order to convey an idea to executive more effectively than a moodboard sketch or elevator pitch has ever.

Through generative AI, you don't have to rely on your words alone to paint an appealing visual for ten or more individuals: instead, you can utilize a description prompt for the creation of the perfect sizzle film, animatics, or pre-visualizations to get people to buy into a vision.

What does that mean to creatives of today?

Learn to write a powerful prompt for AI.

"I believe that the next generation will be able to master the tools that we have available to us and start using generative AI for both visually and in written form," says Orlando Baeza chief marketing officer as well as Chief Revenue Officer of Flock Freight. "I believe there's actually lots of opportunities for job growth there, but it'll require upskilling our current force, and then this next generation of employees will be able to evolve it."

AI could save production time

Today, video production takes on average between two and three weeks to create from start to finish, but AI is speeding the process up, freeing filmmakers to think more freely and giving producers the time to work on projects which requires a focused effort.

"I believe that one of the biggest problems that the industry faces is how expensive it is making a film. The barriers to entry are high. making a film One of the special things about films is the fact that they are accessible to all," continues Baeza. "So when AI or machine learning are tools that can help someone who has very few resources reach a large audience, then that's an excellent thing, isn't it?"

AI has already made videos easier to produce by automating tasks like editing transcription, personalization and planning. Like, for instance the removal of objects from the background of videos was an arduous, lengthy process and now just requires using Adobe's Generative Fill tool.

"I believe organizations will perceive AI as productivity and efficiency improvements," says Baeza. "I think AI can be a great partner and will likely be a part of creative organizations."

This is what AI cannot assist you with.

AI will not help to make you viral.

Machine learning works by crunching previously-used data and analyzing the patterns it had previously eaten. In the example above, an machine learning or generative AI software can produce a gorgeous picture of a blue-colored cup, based on the many thousands of images it taken of blue cup.

However, creativity doesn't mean repeating previous successes It's about framing things differently and putting a fresh twist on an old idea and making connections which no one else done. As Steve Jobs famously said:

"Some folks say that you should give your clients what they want, however that's not what I do. The job of us is to figure out what they're going to want prior to giving them what they want. I think Henry Ford once said, "If I had asked customers what they wanted I would have gotten the fastest horse. The people don't really know what they're looking for until you present it to them. Our task is to read items that aren't in the paper."   Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple

Creativity is the result of art and science and AI excels when it comes to the science aspect of that equation.

There are certain formulaic, repeatable best practices that we use in the area and that AI can replicate, such as the rule of thirds or using a large red font in order to advertise a sale. However, to date, AI isn't able to be forward-looking: it can't account for virality or identify an innovative, new perspective which customers would love.

For creatives, that's good news. Make yourself stand out with innovative ideas, then use AI to assist in bringing your ideas to life.

AI cannot duplicate the artistic process.

One of the best benefits of creativity is that -- no matter how detailed your vision is, the idea takes on a life of its own as it is developed. Each person who comes in contact with your idea brings their own perception and vision to it, which means the finished result has a quality to it that you could not have imagined.

A film editor I worked with once said, "You might have shot your storyboard, but the storyboard has no value now -- I'm going to utilize the footage I've got." Even if everything was recorded as you had planned in the storyboard, a film editor could highlight certain details or edit the footage in a way that differed from your initial plan.

Currently, I don't see a way for AI to duplicate the creative process in such a method.

AI doesn't possess a distinct artistic perspective it can add to the process in the same way that an individual filmmaker or editor might. And so, even if AI is utilized in the creative process -- to speed up the process of ideation and editing humans are still integral to the process of creation itself.

Be curious and keep your mind open

The throughline is that AI will increase our capacity to share our ideas which is a catalyst to allow a new generation of creatives to come out and do feats you've only dreamed of. If I had to capture the experience in a single sentence, it would be anxious excitement since for the first time in a lengthy time, we're gazing at the unexplored.

In reality, I'm an individual with a single collection of ideas and thoughts. I think we should keep looking at possibilities using a playful curiosity, maintain an open-minded mind, and engage in a dialogue.

So, I'm curious -- where do you stand? What are your experiences with AI today, and in what direction do you see it taking us?