When I wrote my script, "Fawkes Studio," last year I did it as a tongue-in-cheek take on a possible future film industry based on AI actors and directors. Here's the logline:
"A down-on-his-luck mechanic is lured to Hollywood with the promise of instant movie stardom, only to discover that he has sold his soul to an AI devil and must beat him at his own game."
Little did I realize that the future I had imagined is becoming reality in just over a year. Hollywood is abuzz with stories about the AI actor, Tilly Norwood, the creation of the Dutch actor and comedian, Alen Van der Feld, who is in negotiations for film projects and social media campaigns with real studios. Dismissed as a PR stunt, it appears to be a very sincere business proposition and licensing model that could open the floodgates for AI personalities in short format video like ads and micro-dramas on Tik Tok.
Not to be outdone, the Italian producer Andrea Vololino has announced what he claims is the first feature film directed by an AI filmmaker unveiling, "The Sweet Idleness," a satirical look at how the world will look when no one works anymore. He calls his company, Fellinai.
The backlash from SAG-AFTRA and several human actors was quick and fierce. Having seen the clips from both Tilly's and Andrea's productions, they don't have much to worry about at this point. The "uncanny valley" is still alive and well in generative AI for the time being. Even with the stunning release of Sora 2.0, significant issues with artifacts and morphing are still evident, and the short clips don't consistently scale to the needs of a full length narrative film.
The real money will be in ads, trailers, VFX, and the emerging micro-drama episodic films shot in 9:18 aspect ratio for phones. These "shorts" are written and shot in 90 second clips with a clever hook that keeps the viewer coming back for the next hit. They leverage AI technology and romantic soap-opera tropes to maximize screen time. The pay-per-episode model can generate $30 per film multiplied by millions of viewers at a production cost of less than $200,000. What is the biggest bottleneck for these micro-dramas according to a leading producer ? Finding good stories.
Public rejection of AI performers was the central theme of my "Fawkes Studios" script. Their solution was to hire real people to live the lives of AI generated screen actors providing the illusion of humanity and emotional connection to an adoring public. Will this be the future of AI production? A perfect irony would be to have "Fawkes Studio" produced as the first AI generated feature starring Tilly Norwood and directed by Fellinai's AI director.
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Wait until this time in 5 years - the industry will barely be recognizable to someone from 2010.......