Direct from the frontlines, “Minibots” producer and co-founder of Evolutionary Films Diane Shorthouse and AI filmmaker and founder of Amissa Studios Issa Sissoko (who has worked and consulted for the likes of Antoine Fuqua, Darren Aronofsky, and Doug Liman) discussed the practical realities of AI-assisted filmmaking with a focus on existential aspects of the work. Both panelists and their teams utilize tools from Kling AI’s AI creative productivity platform.
The fundamental job of a producer is still to serve the director’s creative vision, Shorthouse said, but the tools are different.
“The script is still the blueprint, so I’m not thinking about prompts, I’m thinking about shots,” she said. “Where does the camera need to go? What does the performance need to be? What does it need to cut to? What are the elements or the assets that we need to get there? Who has the best skills [and] where could be using AI artists to do that?
“We start with production designers to design what’s happening. We’ll generate 20 shots of something, and 19 are going to be wrong. But those 19 are important. It’s human judgment that you need to know what’s wrong.”
When pre-visualizing scripts with producers and directors, Sissoko is helping producers and directors not only identify potential problems but also make smart decisions on what needs to be filmed and where money needs to be spent.
In both animated and live-action film contexts, the panelists agreed that greater control in AI film workflow environments is what they’re looking forward to in the coming months. “I need them to obey me more,” Shorthouse said, prompting an amused reaction from the panel and audience. “So if I say, I want this character here in this costume in this environment but just change the eye line, I just want it to just change that not everything else.”
“Every 90 days there’s a huge improvement – I mean, if you’re going from three-second-generated videos to 15 seconds with more consistency across the board,” said Sissoko, who got into the industry making concept trailers, which he uses as an example. “If you can take a pitch deck, have a conversation with a producer and cut together a trailer that gets the story picked up, you are creating work for a lot of people, you’re helping make someone’s dream come true.”
Sissoko said he tells people who are starting to use AI in filmmaking that learning to write is the most crucial skill. “Before anything, learn how to write stories. [It] will help you with the prompts, as well.”
