AI began to make blockbuster movies, and the first batch of actors have been laid off

Original source: Nanfengchuang

Author: Hangou

Image source: Generated by Unbounded AI‌

Perhaps in this day and age, it’s no longer surprising that AI creates anything — but what if it’s a movie?

Since July, 160,000 actors in Hollywood are still on strike, and the studio obviously has no intention of making concessions. On July 13, the Union of Motion Picture and Television Producers unveiled an AI proposal that would require actors to agree to create and use digital replicas based on themselves or digitally alter their performances.

On July 27, 2023 local time, Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the scene of the SAG-AFTRA strike

This proposal is not as simple as it sounds. The Screen Actors Guild of America (SAG-AFTRA) pointed out that the studio is trying to replace background actors with artificial intelligence. Duncan Crabtree Ireland, the lead negotiator for the Screen Actors Guild of America, said at a news conference that this means studios can scan actors so that, as long as they are paid a day's wages, they can be directly used AI inserts them into other parts of the movie.

In other words, these ordinary actors will become one-time "daily end jobs". As a result, the situation of Hollywood actors has undoubtedly worsened.

It sounds like some kind of whimsical blueprint, but in fact, people have basically achieved this technically. For example, Runway, a Google-backed AI generation company, and Stability AI, founded in 2019, have released products that allow filmmakers to create realistic-looking videos based on written prompts.

A screenshot of a video generated by Runway using text-to-generate video technology

Artificial intelligence experts say film studios could use AI to create backgrounds that include people -- and it's far cheaper than hiring dozens of extras.

AI has the potential to revolutionize the way movies are made today, producing stunning visuals at a fraction of the cost. "Captain America: Brave New World" and "Murder in the White House" have already experimented with using artificial intelligence technology to render background characters. Some experts predict that in the next few years, artificial intelligence may also be able to create entire movies.

Cheaper "blockbusters"

With a snap of the fingers, the British aristocratic man in the video transformed into an upright walking ape; with another snap of the fingers, the ape turned into a professional female fighter. The identity of the protagonist is different, and the scene of the video changes accordingly.

It's not magic, but a video that Berlin-based director Martin Haerlin spent three days or so making with Runway and Elevenlabs' AI products. Haierlin's usual job is to direct commercials and music videos, but because of the sharp drop in advertising budget this year, he began to use artificial intelligence tools.

He shoots a few shots of himself at home, feeds it into Runway, and asks the AI to convert it into various historical or sci-fi scenes. He not only used AI to realize the "transformation" of the protagonist, but also completed the replacement of the background, and in terms of picture quality, it is also more realistic.

This post aroused the interest of many people. Some production companies have already hired him to use artificial intelligence to produce videos to reduce the number of actors and reduce costs. Martin Haierlin said: "They all feel that artificial intelligence is like a magic wand, which can complete a video very easily." For him, this is not only an exploration of a new technology, but also means that he No more pressure from producers, clients or advertising agencies.

From the perspective of economy and labor cost, this technology naturally brings great convenience to production companies.

At the end of 2017, in "Star Wars: The Last Jedi" released in North America, the special effects team used CGI technology to make Carrie Fisher, who died in 2016, "play" the role of Princess Leia again. Nikolai Todorovich, CEO and co-founder of Wonder Dynamics, said that in order to complete Carrie Fisher's "appearance", a visual effects studio must be equipped, coupled with a huge budget and a lot of work. Technical personnel, "are more expensive than hiring actors themselves."

Princess Leia in Star Wars: The Last Jedi

In terms of visual effects, Spielberg's 2018 sci-fi film "Ready Player One" is one of the pioneers. Whether it is the makeup of the actors in the game or the "Metaverse" world it creates, it greatly satisfies the audience's imagination of the virtual world.

When making this movie, Spielberg also put his money down. According to public information, the production cost of "Ready Player One" is as high as 175 million US dollars. It is said that the special effects cost nearly 100 million US dollars. Lead actor Tye Sheridan recalled that in order to complete the shooting of the film, he wore a motion capture suit for a full eight weeks, and in the end dozens of technicians were required to process the data.

In contrast, AI can greatly reduce the cost and requirements of shooting.

In 2017, Tye Sheridan and Nikolai Todorovich founded Wonder Dynamics to provide low-cost technical support for small-scale film production teams. With Wonder Dynamics’ AI software, users can replace the actor on the camera with another character after shooting a scene, and this replacement character can imitate the original actor’s movements and even facial expressions.

AI technology shown in Wonder Dynamics promotional video

Wonder Dynamics hopes that independent filmmakers working on sci-fi films will have more opportunities to create "blockbusters" like "Avatar" or "Ready Player One" on a limited budget.

Todorovich said: "We don't know where the next Spielberg is, he may be a kid in a village. We hope this technology can provide opportunities for people around the world so that they don't have to come to to Los Angeles."

He believes that the regulation of AI technology should be more relaxed than that of CGI technology, so that its cost will become lower and lower, and its application will become more and more extensive.

**Actors facing "unemployment"? **

According to US media reports, as early as a few years ago, film companies have begun to use artificial intelligence technology to render background characters, including the upcoming Marvel movie "Captain America: Brave New World" and Netflix's new series "White House". Murder.

Not long ago, foreign filmmakers also used artificial intelligence to produce the first AI movie - "Frost". The film is only 12 minutes long. At first glance, the scenes and characters are almost "disgusting the real ones", but after a little closer observation, it can be found that the close-ups of the characters in the film are still somewhat distorted. When making actions such as opening the mouth to speak, the essence of AI behind the character is fully exposed.

The first AI movie "Frost" made with artificial intelligence

Los Angeles-based filmmaker Jahmel Reynolds, who is also experimenting with artificial intelligence products, believes that the rendering technology of generative artificial intelligence, although advanced, is not yet realistic enough.

However, Marvel director Joe Russo has previously predicted that within two years, artificial intelligence will have the ability to create a full-fledged movie.

It seems that most filmmakers are looking forward to the innovation of new technology. The actors, however, sense a crisis looming.

The trend of "artificial intelligence production" threatens the livelihood of many ordinary actors. Some well-known actors may also be able to negotiate with the producer based on their previous reputation and get a more ideal salary. But those little-known little actors mostly make a living as extras. The proposal would likely "buy out" Hollywood producers' entire careers—even their livelihoods.

On July 27, 2023 local time, in Las Vegas, Nevada, USA, the strike slogan on the back of SAG-AFTRA member Paul Forest: "AI Cannibal" (AI, cannibals)

According to US media reports, among the 160,000 members of the Screen Actors Guild of America, 86% of the actors do not earn enough money to pay for medical insurance - 26,000 US dollars.

The turbulence brought by artificial intelligence to the film industry is inevitable. Helling predicts: "In the next few months and years, the film industry will lose a lot of jobs."

Wages are falling, job security is deteriorating, and the threat of artificial intelligence is looming, Hollywood's 160,000 actors have to take to the streets.

On July 28, 2023 local time, in Los Angeles, USA, actor Jane Fonda spoke at the Hollywood Screenwriters Guild joint strike event outside the Netflix studio

On July 13, the Alliance of Film and Television Producers (AMPTP), a coalition of studios and streaming services, pledged the biggest increases in minimum wages, pension and health insurance contribution caps, and proposed a "groundbreaking The AI Proposal, which requires the approval of actors before making any digital reproductions or altering their performances, is not satisfied by the actors' union, which does not think it does enough to protect the rights of actors.

Hollywood Shock

At present, the former "movie paradise" Hollywood has fallen into an embarrassing situation. On July 13, local time, one of the three major Hollywood unions with 160,000 actors, the Screen Actors Union-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA) announced a strike, and the Hollywood film and television industry began to shut down.

Some well-known actors also stood up. According to the "Hollywood Reporter", "Mission: Impossible" series star and producer, "Tang Ge" Tom Cruise began to put pressure on the producer. "Barbie" actress and producer, Margot Robbie, recently attended the premiere in London, also expressed to the media, absolutely support the strike action.

The strike stipulates that actors are not allowed to appear in public to promote their own works, interviews with podcasts and print media are not allowed, they are not allowed to do any production work, and they are not allowed to conduct any interviews, publicity or attend awards related to awards.

Coupled with the previous collective strike of Hollywood screenwriters, the progress of a large number of film and television programs has stagnated. According to reports, Disney has postponed the release dates of many films in the "Avatar" and "Star Wars" series; Warner's remake "Purple" and the DC superhero sequel "Aquaman 2: The Lost Kingdom" may all be postponed.

At present, it seems that this wave of strikes may cause at least billions of dollars in losses. There is no doubt that the cost is huge for both actors and producers.

Some people may think that this is just another "unemployment anxiety" brought about by artificial intelligence technology. But it should not be overlooked that it is not AI that people cannot trust. As James Cameron said in an interview: "One of the two major crises of AI is that humans will teach AI to be greedy in order to obtain bottomless benefits."

As artificial intelligence continues to touch the boundaries of human work and life, people can no longer turn a blind eye to the logic of "reducing costs" behind it.

In addition, while people are excited about the convenience of artificial intelligence, they might as well think about it: To what extent can a movie sacrifice its authenticity and integrity for this?

After all, acting is not only a technique, but also an art.