Cinema & AI
Your weekly CogX newsletter on AI and content creation
🤝 Deal! The WGA’s historic 146-day strike comes to a tentative close.
The WGA reached a landmark deal with studios and streamers, ensuring meaningful gains and protection for writers industry-wide. Plus, actor Anil Kapoor triumphed in court, protecting his digital likeness against AI misuse. Are these victories indicative of a future of creative-AI compatibility?
Meanwhile, tech giants are now recruiting writers and poets to enhance AI’s creative essence, and HyperCinema – the first personalised cinema experience – could be the start of a new storytelling experience..
Explore these topics - and the latest on AI Hans Zimmer, Beyond Cinema, and Unity’s new pricing revamp - in the CogX Must Reads.
CogX Must Reads
Writers guild reach a ‘tentative’ agreement
After an historic 146-day strike, the WGA announced an exceptional deal, with gains and protections for writers in every sector. Writers still cannot return to work though - the deal still needs to be finalised and voted on.
Anil Kapoor wins AI likeness court battle
The court has ruled that the actor’s name, likeness, image, and voice cannot be used either for monetary gain, or otherwise. Kapoor notes this win is not just personal, but monumental for all actors in the industry, who have the right to protect themselves and their families.
Industry
AI Hans Zimmer still won’t beat the real thing
Gareth Edwards, director of anticipated sci-fi ‘The Creator’, initially employed AI Hans Zimmer to compose the film’s musical score. Yet, dissatisfied with an uninspiring output from the AI, Edwards enlisted the actual Hans Zimmer for the final composition.
Deadpool shuns greenscreen technology for authenticity
Shawn Levy is committed to realism in Deadpool 3 by avoiding the use of green screen technology, at all costs. With Deadpool joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Levy wanted to move away from the stereotype, not wanting ‘another Marvel movie shot on a green screen stage with digital set extensions’.
Culture
Silicon Valley are hiring authors to write their training data
Ask AI to write anything, chances are it’ll be uninspired, or entirely nonsensical. In an attempt to combat this, Silicon Valley are hiring writers and poets to write, and feed their work directly into their models, to improve the quality of their output
HyperCinema - New Zealand’s personalised AI cinema experience
This AI cinema experience, coined the ‘digital equivalent of Ayahuasca’ is nearly real enough to trigger an existential crisis - but won’t win an Oscar anytime soon. The process generates a unique AI biopic from a series of your headshots, and a personality quiz.
Gaming
Unity revamp pricing model post gaming community outcry
Last week Unity announced a new controversial pricing model, which demanded royalties from all products built on their platform. Post immense outcry from the gaming community, Unity have now placed a $200,000 cap on their revenue, and repealed fees for companies with less than 1m annual revenue.
Attention Fortnite users - are you owed a refund?
EpicGames have set aside $245m for refunds, after accusations of manipulating users into making unwanted purchases. EpicGames made it easy for children to purchase without parental consent and locked the accounts of consumers who disputed these charges.
Quote of the Week
Tim Burton on AI:
‘They had AI do my versions of Disney characters. I can’t describe the feeling it gives you. It reminded me of when other cultures say, ‘Don’t take my picture because it is taking away your soul’
Top Stories
In case you missed it
Beyond Cinema: Hear about the new frontier storytelling tools that will be affecting the creative entertainment industries:
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