The Movie Minute with Madeline, Episode #6
Greetings all,
Madeline here, back with another entry in The Movie Minute, this time with a focus on a subject that’s often a point of contention in the filmmaking world, especially in recent times: the use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking!
Not too long ago, AI sounded more like a fictional technology straight out of a sci-fi movie. But in recent years, AI programs and software have become much more mainstream, especially with tools such as Stable Diffusion and ChatGPT among others being widely and easily accessible. Various uses can range from casual conversations to fun image and video generations, but have also been seen for more questionable and malicious purposes, such as deepfakes and inauthentic essay writing. There has also been concern about how the rise of AI affects the job security of many creative artists around the world.
Here at Poor Bear Stories, the way we handle AI usage is that we believe it’s intended to be a supplementary tool rather than as a complete replacement for human work. For example, ChatGPT helps us immensely with brainstorming ideas, determining the right stock b-roll or music to use for reels and other projects, or doing research for what content would be the best fit for our clients’ needs. In addition, Stable Diffusion and other AI image generators are a great help whenever we need to create mockups or storyboards. It’s also vital that we be transparent about how we leverage AI tools in our filmmaking process.
AI, however, is not a replacement for human creatives. We still need people to operate equipment, come up with ideas, edit footage, among other tasks. And it’s pretty well-known that no AI program is 100% perfect, and relying solely on AI without any human input or vetting will not be effective in producing high quality projects. It’ll be a long time before an AI program alone can produce a full-length video, and even then, the product would still lack the elements present in works that were made with human talent and skill.
I myself mainly used to use image generators and ChatGPT for fun, but lately I’ve been using those tools in ways that benefit our projects, and they have helped immensely, especially as someone who often struggles with creators’ block. Here’s what my fellow Poor Bear team members have to say about their experiences with AI in filmmaking:
“ChatGPT has been really helpful for me when I need to wear many hats. In video producing you often enter worlds you may have little to no expertise in but have to interview with some authority. Using language models to ingest research and put out plain English answers to questions I may have is absolutely invaluable and an enormous time saver.”
-Robert Chase, Senior Editor
“The usefulness of AI can range From using ChatGPT to assist me on scripting video ads to using AI influencers to UGC ads, and Generative AI to craft compelling visuals that I can’t find in stock. In addition, generative AI has saved my butt with podcasts lately as I can mask defects in the background or overexposed windows etc ( while filling it with properly exposed windows etc)
and it looks like I’ve spent 2-3 hours setting up the space to film, while it was only 15 mins…”
-Jhoel Flores, Producer
Bottom line: While AI can be an amazingly helpful and useful tool to supplement our work, it must be used responsibly and with transparency, and is not intended to be a replacement for working with people to bring creative ideas to life. Once you understand the ethics and ways of how these AI tools can be used, they can be a great tool that can help immensely on the ideation and production of your project.
That’s all for this week’s entry in The Movie Minute. Hope y’all had a happy Halloween and I will see you all in the next entry!
-Madeline