AI and the future of movies

The use of artificial intelligence in filmmaking has become a global focal point, taking center stage at the recently concluded 28th Shanghai International Film Festival, China's only A-list film festival accredited by the International Federation of Film Producers Associations.

At the SIFForum held in mid-June, the festival's premier platform for industry discourse, AI was a dominant subject. Industry insiders, optimistic or skeptical, agreed that the fast-evolving technology is bringing drastic changes to the industry.

From script generators and automated editing tools to trailer generators, industry insiders observed that AI is extensively permeating visual creation, reshaping how stories are told, visually presented, and marketed.

In China, AI-generated micro-dramas are rapidly gaining traction, and AI technology is already playing a pivotal role in the postproduction of feature films.

Yet there are still reservations and mistrust about the role of AI in filmmaking. Some, such as Quji Xiaojiang, head of Bona Film Group's AIGMS production center, were worried that AI might strip films of their long-cherished human emotional touch.

Her sentiments were echoed by Tony Leung Chiu-wai, president of the jury for the Golden Goblet Awards, the top honor of the SIFF. Leung pointed out that AI operates strictly within human-defined parameters and existing reference materials, so it "has no soul".

Speaking at the SIFForum session Smart Tech, Immersive Worlds: The Next Film Revolution, Quji emphasized the gap between short-form AI content and cinematic standards, saying that "the current technology still can't meet the public's expectations for the standards of high-quality movies".

Although some AI-generated content claims to be movie-level quality, she said, "AI-generated short videos on mobile phones and cinema-level feature films are fundamentally different in terms of storytelling and production.

"A movie screen is over 8,000 times bigger than a regular phone. Just because you find a great AI-generated short video on your phone doesn't mean you can sit through two hours of it in a movie theater."

Wang Changtian, chairman of Beijing Enlight Media, an entertainment conglomerate and producer of a series of hit TV shows and movies, also questioned the power of AI in reshaping the filmmaking industry.

"I think at the middle to lower levels, for basic entertainment products and content, AI can probably get more involved," he said. "But for high-end content, where we demand a masterwork that brings together all kinds of artistic forms, I think technology is just one of many factors."

Eventually, it is always the people — those involved in the creation, and the public demand for visual products — that actually affect the industry, he added.