Are there ways to let AI unlock the creative power of humans? Perspectives from filmmakers and 's the VP of Creative

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

There is an ongoing discussion about whether AI can take over editors, writers, or concept art directors, a majority are accepting AI's inevitable nature and are now thinking about the potential for it to change how work is being completed.
While at Cannes I listened to the perspectives of creatives such as will.i.am of Black Eyed Peas fame discuss the way in which AI will change the way we live in the next decade. A lot of discussion centered around the ways in which AI quickly unlocks the potential of people and their impact on the creative process.

Being a creative director for the past 20plus years, I was looking to share my ideas and take this as an opportunity start an open dialogue with the people in our community.

What's the current state of affairs, and how do we move forward in the future?

Here's what AI is able to do now

"I was a magician before I started my film career. Pretty quickly, when you're a magician, learn that any sufficiently sophisticated technology can't be distinguished from magic. It can even be terrifying if you don't know the way it works or what's happening. The same way that I'm feeling about AI for artists or a person who's making money from putting something that's in your mind onto the screen or on the monitor, AI is a scary thing because it could take over your work."   Ben Proudfoot, Oscar-winning short doc directory, Found and the CEO of Breakwater Studios

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

Midjourney was launched in July 2022, and ChatGPT was launched on November 1st of the same year. In the past, we've observed self-described "non-creatives" discover the potential of their creativity, which has been largely inaccessible due to skill gaps.

The results of some of these projects 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 helps you convey concepts

The concepts of nuanced pictures, stories or even music are limited by the necessary techniques and skills needed to bring those ideas into existence.

But in the past year, images like this can be made with a few simple keystrokes:

If you have a proven creator, such as the award-winning filmmaker Hashem Al-Ghaili, the possibility is greater.

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

"AI will require us think about things in a way that you've never even thought of," says Crystal Edmonds the Head of Accounts as well as Events Activation of Magnet Media Films. "I think it's going to open our minds. We're going to learn things that we never even thought we wanted to learn about. I think you're going to discover that people are able to unlock an entirely new dimension of their creativity with AI."

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

Instead of shooting for realism He consciously focuses on the dream-like aesthetic inherent to Runway's Gen-2. "As an individual who sends a message to someone who is from the past, he is flooded with fragments of his fading memory and imagines a life that might have been."

Like a true artist, He's adjusted to the limitations and strengths of the medium, resulting in something unique.

AI will help you verify and market ideas

While the examples above are wonderful of how AI is employed to convey an artistic vision, AI for commercial use is currently, a gimmick.

Take a look at the AI-generated beer commercial. This commercial is from its time and isn't able to be considered a serious ad when it was viewed as a genuine advertisement.

However, it does offer more than sufficient information for a concept to executives far more effectively than any mood board, sketch, or elevator pitch ever could.

Through generative AI means that you no longer have to rely on your words alone to draw a visual for 10+ people. Instead, you can make use of a descriptive prompt in order for the creation of the perfect sizzle movie, animatics or pre-visualizations, to convince viewers to believe in a concept.

What do these mean to creatives of today?

Begin to learn how to create an effective request for AI.

"I think that this generation will upskill into the technologies that are available to us and start using generative AI for both visually and in written form," says Orlando Baeza the Chief Marketing Officer and Chief Revenue Officer of Flock Freight. "I am actually convinced that there is lots of opportunities for job growth there, but it'll require upskilling our current force before the next generation of employees will be able to evolve the process."

AI could save production time

Nowadays, videos take on average between two and three weeks to produce from beginning to end However, AI is speeding the procedure, which allows filmmakers to think more freely and giving production folks an extra time for tasks that requires focused craftsmanship.

"I think one of the biggest problems that the industry faces is the cost making a film. It's an extremely high bar of making a film -- one of the special things about is that it democratizes filmmaking," continues Baeza. "So If AI and 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 through automation of processes such as editing transcription, personalization and the scheduling. Like, for instance the removal of elements from background videos has been a painstaking, time-intensive process and does not require the Generative Fill tool.

"I think organizations will see AI as efficiency and productivity gains," says Baeza. "I think AI will be incredible partners and probably be embedded inside of creative organizations."

And here's what AI can't help you with

AI won't help you go viral

Machine learning works by crunching pre-existing data and following the pattern of what it has previously consumed. In the example above, an machine learning or generative AI tool could produce a gorgeous image of a blue cup, based on the many thousands of images it processed of blue cups.

However, creativity doesn't mean repeating the same thing that's been tried before but rather, it's about framing things in a new way and putting a fresh perspective on the old concepts or establishing a connection no one else has previously created. In the words of Steve Jobs famously said:

"Some individuals say to give customers what they want but that's not my approach. The job of us is to determine what customers are likely to need prior to granting them. It's my opinion that Henry Ford once said, "If I had asked the customers what they were looking for, they would've told me a faster horse. The people don't really know what they're looking for until you show the item to them. Our task is to read the things that aren't yet visible on a page."   Steve Jobs, Co-founder of Apple

Creativity can be described as a blend of art and science and AI excels when it comes to the science aspect of this equation.

There are some standard, reproducible best practices which we employ in the area and that AI is able to replicate, such as the rule of threes or using a large red font to promote a sale. Yet, AI isn't able to take a forward-looking view: it cannot account for virality or identify the new and innovative approach that consumers will appreciate.

For creatives, that's good news. Differentiate yourself with creative ideas, then use AI to assist in bringing the ideas into reality.

AI cannot duplicate the artistic process

One of the best benefits of creativity is that -- no whatever the level of detail your concept is, your concept becomes a reality that is its own when it's produced. Each person who comes in contact with your idea brings their own ideas and perspectives to the idea, and the final product has an aspect that you could not have imagined.

An editor from the film industry I worked with once told me, "You might have shot your storyboard, but your storyboard has no value now -- I'm going to make use of the footage I have." Even if all was done as per the storyboard, that film editor may highlight specifics or modify the footage in a way that differed from your original plan.

Currently, I don't see any way to use AI to mimic the process of creativity in this method.

AI doesn't possess a distinct artistic perspective it can introduce into the process like the filmmaker or editor might. So, even if AI can be used throughout the creative process --for example, to help speed the process of ideation and editing humans remain a part of the process of creation itself.

Be curious and keep an open mind

The bottom line is that AI will increase our capacity to share our ideas as well as a trigger for a new generation of creatives to come out and do feats that we'd never imagined. If I could capture this moment in words, it would be excited and nervous as unlike any other time for a lengthy time, we're gazing towards the future.

Really though, I'm just one man, with one opinion and set of thoughts. We should continue exploring the possibilities with 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?