The use of AI in this part of the production cycle could significantly reduce costs, particularly if the costs to produce an initial sizzle reel or pitch document is lowered through reducing the time to create images, or reducing the amount of time it takes to create initial ideas.
Stages of the development process that AI might impact initially currently include:
- Storyboarding
- Script editing/copyrighting script treatments (ChatGPT)
- Final casting
- Image creation for initial ideation for an episode outline
- Temp track if you need to edit a doc and you need a voice over to time to guide the edit
- To test audio and further augment any pitch material you intend to send to commissioners
Risks
- Copyright infringement is a real risk, especially if said tool will collect user inputted data for training or any other purpose.
- Copyright of images/scripts created (i.e. the output) may be granted to the developer of the AI tool in perpetuity depending on the terms of service/conditions.
- Without an upfront agreement on AI, talent may be less likely to collaborate with producers who have no clear framework as to how they work with AI tools.
- There is no way to control whether the inputs you make will be fed into the AI tool and incorporated into any third party outputs created for other users, especially if you use tools that are not isolated.
- Using AI to determine final casting could be contractually difficult with actors with whom terms are already agreed as they may not want you to use their name or other personally identifiable information to perform analysis.
- Predictions/recommendations for casting may be conservative and will not take into account cultural change or what may happen in the future. The AI tool relies upon past activity and training data only. This could then contribute to AI bias in any casting recommendations. There has been claims that algorithms/technology can discriminate against women and people from ethnic minority backgrounds, so this is something to be aware of.
Opportunities
- Speed of creating professional-looking images reduces costs and time spent creating pitch documents and sizzle reels within a relatively low risk environment, especially if all parties understand that images are only to be utilised during the initial development stage and not in connection with the final product, provided, in any event, that a legal basis is met for processing those images containing identifiable individuals.
- Reducing time and expenditure if working to a tight turnaround.
- Enables the producer to play around with possibilities and experiment with different options quickly by changing different elements of a film, for example actor, budget level.
Questions to Ask
- Depending on what kind of AI tool you have used for development and pitching, are you certain that copyright in the outputs is cleared for use?
- How is the AI tool trained, i.e. - what inputs are used and who do they belong to? Are they from licenced stock content like Adobe Firefly?
- Are there any contractual restrictions imposed by a commissioner regarding use of AI to help develop initial images/scripts and have you complied with these?
- What is the impact on talent pipeline and development jobs for the future: are you happy with that?
- When attaching talent to a script, are both parties in agreement as to whether AI can be used in different parts of the production cycle? Is there full understanding of the different types of AI tool being used?
- If you are using images of an actor within an AI tool, are you confident that the image is and will be protected and that the actor has granted permission for you to input the image into the AI tool for training purposes?
Case Study
Runway ML
An AI tool for artists to create video production using machine learning.
Examples include turning a human actor into a 3D model animation without the need for hiring expensive motion capture equipment. Or editing out objects that shouldn’t be within shot without the need for painting it out by hand. The tool enables filmmakers and creators to complete edits in a matter of hours or minutes (rather than days), sometimes halving the length of time to complete tasks. Runway may use producer inputs and outputs to train the AI tool, algorithms and technology. When a producer uses the tool, it grants Runway a licence to use any inputs and outputs made available to producer or generated in connection with producer's use of Runway's services.
Any copyright infringement claims for either materials created by you or uploaded by you are brought against you personally. No acknowledgement is made as to where the training data came from - meaning that as you have already accepted in the standard terms that you are personally liable for generated content, should it be determined that you have made outputs that have benefitted from illegally sourced training data, you can be personally liable.