Cinema & AI

This week it’s bad press for AI as A24's "Civil War" causes controversy with its ‘unnatural’ AI posters while the first fully AI-generated film trailer’s debut isn't winning hearts either, with critics branding it more tacky than techy.

This week a new bill passed mandating AI companies to reveal their use of copyrighted art in training data, winning strong support from artists. Meanwhile, the Runway AI Film Festival is set press-on in Los Angeles and New York despite industry concerns… is post-strike Hollywood ready for an AI film fest?

This week, the spotlight is on the clash between AI and the creative industry, with Billie Eilish, Nicki Minaj, and Stevie Wonder leading over 200 artists in a call for protection against AI's 'predatory' advances. Sam Altman, meanwhile, is in Hollywood arguing that AI will enhance rather than endanger the filmmaking process — will big tech ever listen?

This week, OpenAI makes a bold stride into Hollywood — actively courting film studios, directors, and talent agencies, to embed its tool Sora into filmmaking. Post CEO Sam Altman attending all the major award’s seasons parties, could AI be in the game for an Oscar nom?

This week, the AI image generation world is abuzz with Midjourney's rollout of its 'Character Reference' feature, a revolutionary new tool for fine-tuning character creations with professional-level precision. Is AI art transitioning from a playful gimmick into a serious creative tool?

This week, the glitz and the glamour of the 96th Academy Awards is just enough to sidestep — if only for a night — the recent industry anxieties brought along by OpenAI’s Sora. However, the Gen-AI cloud looming above can’t be ignored for long, as a disconcerting study reveals people frequently struggle to differentiate between real scenes, and those crafted by Sora. In light of this, how will our ability to trust in film evolve?

This week, the world of audio editing is experiencing a seismic shift with the arrival of Adobe's Project Music GenAI Control. This experimental tool, dubbed the "Photoshop for audio," lets users conjure up music using simple text descriptions, and then fine-tune the results within the same user-friendly interface. Is this the future of music creation?

This week, the buzz was all about AI shaking up the filmmaking scene with the release of OpenAI’s Sora — a sophisticated AI model capable of producing hyper-realistic videos from text. The tech has both wowed and unsettled creators, sparking a heated debate on the future of creativity and the ethical boundaries of AI in filmmaking. Is this filmmaking’s watershed moment?

This week, AI's impact on creativity spans filmmaking and fashion, with technologies like video diffusion models and neural radiance fields revolutionising movie production and AI-generated designs making waves at London Fashion Week. Is this controversial tech finally being welcomed into the arts?

This week, Hollywood agency WME and tech firm Vermillio joined forces to launch platform Trace ID to protect celebrities from AI misuse. Meanwhile, studies suggest that 204,000 Hollywood jobs will be displaced from AI within the next 3 years, the majority affecting post-production roles… Whilst stars are being protected against AI, who's looking out for Hollywood's behind-the-scenes crew?

This week AI-love is in the air with Sundance's 'Love Me', starring Kristen Stewart, and sci-fi short 'Safe Space’ (check out our ‘In case you missed it’ section) taking us into the complex world of tech and artificial emotions. These films beg the burning question: What can AI teach us about love?

This week AI is the hot topic at Sundance 2024. Two docs, "Love Machina" and “Eternal You” delve into a dystopian future of digital consciousness and immortality, flirting with the edges of sci-fi and reality. Plus Brian Eno muses on AI’s role in creativity and the use of gen-AI in the “Eno” documentary — also featured at this year's Sundance film festival.

This week, Hollywood studios are grappling with AI’s replication of film scenes. Should they sue AI companies or work with them? Meanwhile, the industry examines AI's potential in enhancing scriptwriting. Will we see human-machine interaction boosting the creative sector or is this a first step to full automation?

Despite a troubling year for streaming, Netflix reigns supreme, with new monetisation schemes doubling their new UK subscribers, despite competitors facing significant losses. Meanwhile, camera titans Canon, Nikon and Sony are joining forces to fight deepfakes through firmware; will this move inspire other tech sectors to take AI safety into their own hands?

This week, Midjourney made headlines on two fronts. Firstly, CEO David Holz announced plans to move from text-to-image to text-to-video, with training to start later in Jan and an expected release set in a few months. However, the company is also facing controversy as news broke that their state-of-the-art model was trained on the works of 16,000 non-consenting artists, including a 6-year-old artist named Hyan Tran.

Are you using AI to get ahead at work? If not, your job may be vulnerable — that’s according to a new report exploring how GenAI will change film and TV. One university is teaching its students to do just that with a new course on how to harness AI in music composition, filmmaking and more.

AI in music and video made waves this week. Stability AI unveiled its first open-source foundational model for video generation, while Ringo Starr shot down rumours of AI mimicking John Lennon's voice in their brand new Beatles track. Meanwhile, SAG-AFTRA published its post-strike deal highlighting over $1bn in new compensation and AI protections.

This week's news is dominated by cutting edge AI, and brewing copyright debates. WMG are using AI to recreate Édith Piaf's voice for a biopic, and Meta unveiled their text-to-animation tool Emu Video. Meanwhile, artists across all industries are calling for urgent copyright reforms to safeguard against AI's unchecked use of copyrighted content.

After 118-days of striking, SAG-AFTRA has reached a tentative deal with Hollywood studios. The agreement includes new compensation for streaming, wage increases and AI usage protections.

US Senators have begun drafting the “NO FAKES Act,” designed to safeguard performers from unauthorised AI duplications of their likeness and voice. Meanwhile, Scarlett Johansson is suing the AI application Lisa AI for using her likeness without permission in its advertising. Will this legislation pass quickly enough to help her case?

Talks between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP wrapped up this weekend without a final agreement, but hope remains on both sides. Amidst warnings from studios about potential summer 2024 movie disruptions if no settlement is reached soon, union members — including renowned actors — have rallied behind SAG-AFTRA, urging for continued dialogue.

SAG-AFTRA is now back at the negotiating table in an attempt to conclude an agreement for actors. Could the Writers Guild agreement form a template for the deal? 

Negotiations between SAG-AFTRA and AMPTP picked up pace this week and both sides strive for a resolution. Meanwhile, the rising fear that AI might eclipse human creativity has driven digital rights group Fight for the Future to initiate the #AIdayofaction campaign.