AI and the future of movies

Meanwhile, the report found that prompts are playing a vital part. They don't replace the script, but transform characters, situations and emotions into audiovisual conditions that the computer can understand. "In the AI era, precise, expressive text is still the key to human-machine collaboration," the report said.

Yi Zhongtian, a renowned academic and adviser to the AI Backlot initiative, echoed that while AI has lowered the technological barrier to visual expression, in the era of AI, judgment, imagination and creativity — three abilities exclusively human — will be more crucial than ever.

The Decisive Moment, a film that combines live-action footage with computer-generated imagery and used AI technology in the postproduction phase, premiered at the closing ceremony of the SIFF on June 20.

Huang Jianxin, a veteran director, served as the producer of the movie. He is optimistic about the emergence of purely AI-generated films.

In the future, he said, four major categories could probably be developed in the movie industry: live-action features, animations, documentaries, and AI movies. "From a creative standpoint, AI has advantages in visualizing legendary and supernatural subjects that are hard to match with live-action filming," he said.

He said that the whole industry will be reconstructed in this new scenario. Each type of movie will develop its distinctive aesthetic system, and AI creation will develop an exclusive vocabulary, which will largely expand the artistic boundaries of movies.