Does AI unleash creative potential? Perspectives from filmmakers and 's Vice President of Creative

No one can argue with that, AI isn't going anywhere.

While there is a legitimate discussion about whether AI will take over editors, writers, or concept art directors, a lot of people are accepting AI's inevitable nature and are now thinking about the potential for it to change how work is completed.
While at Cannes, I heard perspectives from creatives like will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame discuss the ways in which AI will transform the way we live in the next decade. A lot of discussion focused on how AI quickly unlocks the potential of people and their influence on creativity.

I've been a creative director for the past 20or more years, I decided to voice my opinions and use this as an opportunity to engage in a conversation with the community.

What's the current status of the game, and what's the next step to get there?

Here's the way AI can accomplish now

"I was a magician before I was a filmmaker. When you're a magician, you realize that any modern technology can be compared to magic. And magic can be scary when you're not sure how it's working or what's happening. The same way that I am with AI: as an artist or other businessperson who makes money sending something you've thought of on your mind, onto a page, or onto the display, AI is a scary issue because it may be able to replace you."   Ben Proudfoot, Oscar-winning short doc directory, Found as CEO of Breakwater Studios

Creativity is an inherently human trait that an AI can't easily replicate.

Midjourney launched in July of 2022, and ChatGPT came on November 1st of the same year. In the past, we've witnessed self-described "non-creatives" discover creative ideas that have been left under-utilized due to the lack of skills.

Certain of these inventions are impressive and the tools have developed in such rapid speed that you'd be forgiven if you've forgotten that these tools are only one year in age.

AI will help you to communicate concepts

Nuanced concepts for films, stories, images or even music are constrained by the methods and abilities required to bring those ideas into existence.

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

Experienced creators such as Oscar-winning filmmaker Hashem Al-Ghaili the opportunity is higher.

Take a look at his AI-generated short film " Last Stand," which depicts how humans would react if aliens were to make contact.

"AI will require us look at the world in a way we've never considered thinking of," says Crystal Edmonds the Head of Accounts as well as Event Activation of Magnet Media Films. "I think it's going to expand our thinking. We're going to learn things that we never even thought we wanted to learn about. It's likely that you'll discover that people are able to unlock an entirely new level of creativity through AI."

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

Instead of trying to achieve realism, he intentionally leans into the dream-like aesthetic inherent to Runway's Gen-2. "As the man who leave a voicemail for someone who is from the history, he's overwhelmed with fragments from his faded memory, and imagining the life that could have been."

As a true artist He's adjusted to the weaknesses and strengths of his medium in order to make something unique.

AI is a great tool to validate your concepts

Make no mistake, while the above are beautiful examples of the ways in which AI is utilized to communicate an artistic vision, AI for commercial use is currently, a gimmick.

Take a look at this AI-generated beer commercial. This is a product from its time and could not be considered to be a legitimate advertisement when it was viewed as a genuine advertisement.

The presentation does provide more than enough information in order to convey an idea to executives far more effectively than any mood board, sketch, or elevator pitch has ever.

With generative AI, you don't have to rely on your words alone to draw an appealing visual for ten or more people. Instead, you can use a descriptive prompt for the creation of the perfect sizzle movie, animatics or pre-visualizations, to convince viewers to buy into a vision.

What is that a signification for today's creatives?

Begin to learn how to create a strong AI-related prompt. AI.

"I think this generation will become more proficient with the technologies that are at our disposal and begin leveraging generative AI in both written and visual mediums," says Orlando Baeza chief marketing officer as well as Chief Revenue Officer at Flock Freight. "I actually think there's lots of opportunities for job growth here, but it will have to upskill our existing workforce, and then this next generation of employees will be able to evolve the process."

AI can save valuable production time

The current video-making process takes on average two to three weeks to produce from start to finish, but AI is speeding the process, allowing producers to create more original content and allowing production professionals the time to work on projects that demands a focussed approach.

"I consider that one of the greatest crises that the industry faces is how expensive it is to create a film. It's an extremely high bar of entry to make a movie -- one important aspect about films is the fact that they are accessible to all," continues Baeza. "So if AI as well as machine-learning are tools that will help a person who has very few resources reach a broad audience, it's certainly a good thing, right?"

AI is already making videos easier to produce through automation of processes such as editing transcription, personalization and planning. In particular adding or removing items from the background of videos has been a painstaking, time-intensive process -- but it does not require Adobe's Generative Fill tool.

"I think organizations will see AI as efficiency and productivity gains," says Baeza. "I believe AI will become a powerful partner and could be part of creative organizations."

Here's the thing AI cannot aid you in.

AI will not help when you become viral.

Machine learning is based on crunching previously-used data and analyzing the patterns of what it has previously consumed. For example, a generative AI tool can produce a gorgeous image of a blue mug from the many thousands of images it taken of blue cup.

However, creativity doesn't mean repeating what's worked before It's about seeing things in a new way or putting a fresh perspective on the old concepts, or making a connection no one else has previously done. In the words of Steve Jobs famously said:

"Some people say give the customers what they want, however, that's not how I think. The job of us is to know what they're likely to be looking for prior to granting them. I think Henry Ford once said, 'If I'd ask clients what they would like and they'd have told me a faster horse. The people don't really know what they're looking for until you present the item to them. Our task is to read the things that aren't yet in the paper."   Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple

Creativity is a mix of science and art, and AI excels when it comes to the science aspect of this equation.

Certain standard, reproducible best practices that we use in the area and that AI could duplicate, like the rule of threes or making use of large fonts in order to advertise a sale. Yet, AI isn't able to take a forward-looking view: it cannot detect virality or an innovative, new perspective that customers will love.

For creatives, that's good news. Differentiate yourself with creative concepts, and then utilize AI to bring the ideas into reality.

AI isn't able to replicate the creativity process.

One of the best benefits of creativity is that -- no regardless of how precise your idea is, the idea becomes a reality of its own as it is developed. Every person that touches your idea brings their own vision and perspective on it. This means that the final product has an appeal which you wouldn't have anticipated.

An editor from the film industry I worked with once stated, "You might have shot your storyboard, but your storyboard has no value now -- I'm going to utilize the footage I've got." Although everything was shot as planned within the storyboard, this film editor could highlight certain details or alter the footage in a way that differed from your initial plan.

Presently, I'm not able to see an avenue for AI to duplicate the process of creativity in this method.

It doesn't have a unique creative outlook that it can introduce into the process like the filmmaker or editor might. Therefore, even when AI is utilized in the creative process --for example, to help speed ideas or edits -- humans are still integral to the creative process itself.

Be curious and keep your mind open

The bottom line is that AI can increase our capacity to express our thoughts which is a catalyst to allow a new generation of creatives to come out capable of doing things you've only dreamed of. If I could capture the moment in a phrase, it would be excited and nervous since for the first time in a long while, we're looking towards the future.

In reality, I'm one man, with one opinion and set of thoughts. I think we should keep exploring the possibilities with playful interest, keep an open mind, and engage in a dialogue.

In the meantime, I'm interested to know -what do you think of where you are? How are you using AI today, and in what direction do you think it's taking us?