AI & Filmmaking: Oscars Dreams for Young Directors

If the use of artificial intelligence (AI) is widely criticized in Hollywood, young directors see this technology as a way to shoot films at a lower cost.

When working on his short films at the USC School of Cinematic Arts, SiJia Zheng dreams of competing for the Oscars, like former graduate Ryan Coogler this year for Sinners. And with the advent of artificial intelligence, he sees a shortcut to satisfy his ambition.

This is a chance for beginners like me, who can use AI to make a film and show the world that they have what it takes to become a director.

This 29-year-old Chinese student deliberately chose an animation course at this Los Angeles university, where George Lucas and several talents from Pixar and DreamWorks trained, to refine his mastery of this new technology.

Teaching allowed him to realize Tormenta short film about a high school terrorized by a masked murderer.

Awarded at the LA Shorts festival, this short film was generated entirely by IAin just one week. The young man recorded himself on a green background and asked the software to modify his face to embody the different characters.

Technology also allowed him to set his plot in an Asian school and a swimming pool, avoiding the prohibitive costs of filming permits.

As a student, it’s impossible to have that much money to produce a film, recalls Mr. Zheng.

A tool for become better

Since 2023 and the strikes that paralyzed Hollywood, theIA crystallizes the tensions between studios and industry professionals.

However, the young filmmaker does not share the reluctance of his elders, like Guillermo del Toro, who recently gave a conference at his university.

The director of Frankensteinin the race Sunday for the Oscar for best film, is notoriously anti-IA. Last October, he still assured that he would rather die rather than resorting to it.

Open in full screen mode

Mr. Zheng enjoyed the film amazing of the Mexican, notably the opening scene where the monster attacks a completely reconstructed 19th century three-masted ship.

However, he couldn’t help but think that he might get a result very similar with theIApour much cheaper.

Given the rapid progress of this technology, the student refuses to cut himself off from it. L’IA is just a tool and people can use it to become betterhe believes.

The Academy of Oscars seems to be on the same line. Last year, it updated its rules to consider‘IA as a neutral technology, in the same way as special effects. Regardless of its use, films remain judged taking into account the degree to which a human was at the heart of the creative initiative.

Usage ethics

At the University of Southern California (USC), teachers like Debra Isaac are trying to navigate choppy waters.

Like the rest of Hollywood, this animation professor is shocked by the brazen plundering of Seedance – theIA from the parent company of TikTok – capable of generating a fight between Brad Pitt and Tom Cruise without compensation or consent from the two stars.

But AI isn’t just about: “I have an idea, I’m going to type a few words, get my image or my animation, and that’s it.”underlines the 47-year-old teacher, whose course will soon end due to lack of funding from USC.

Some of these tools are not ethically questionable at all. They are trained by people who use their own labor to train themshe explains.

Open in full screen mode

This is precisely what Xindi Zhang, recent graduate of the course and winner of a Student Oscar, did with her short film The Song of Drifters.

For this mini-documentary on the difficulty of feeling at home, the 29-year-old artist nourished theIA of around fifty of his drawings.

This database then served as graphic inspiration allowing the computer to stylize several sequences initially shot in live action. Enough to accelerate production, which would otherwise have taken yearsshe says.

Even with the help ofIAshe spent up to a month on perfecting some shots.

When you really delve into this field, it becomes a craftinsists this Chinese director, recruited by Amazon and Sony to join theIA in their production process. Combining quality, low cost and speed is impossible, no matter what tool you use.