The move is part of a growing trend where content brands, from movie studios to independent journalists, are building bespoke AI tools that can be used to leverage specific styles, rather than the kitchen sink model in which they are currently designed. Such efforts allow for more customized output, but skeptics question whether they contain enough data to be as useful as traditional generative models.
Belsky tried to make the case for this customized approach in a social post. “There are still better ways to use storytelling techniques that maintain creative control and support creative risk-taking,” he writes, seeming to contrast his approach with a more comprehensive model for video in general. “While these workflows are still being determined, we look forward to our research team collaborating with the DeepMind team on this research partnership. Sharing curiosity and asking the right questions will lead us to better ways of doing things.”
He said the studio is already prototyping a storyboard tool, after director Martin Scorsese announced a few weeks ago that he was doing the same. Storyboarding is an increasingly popular use case for AI, allowing creatives to plan and iterate with human-driven consumer releases.
Still, this partnership is sure to accelerate the introduction of AI into the movies and television we watch, while also deepening the conversation about how directors should, or should, use these weighting models as part of their workflows. While some prominent writers are adamantly opposed to that stance, a group of A-listers at least seem willing to embrace it.
This announcement is in keeping with A24’s brand as a forward-thinking entertainment company and, interestingly, echoes the work of Caine Parsons, A24’s biggest theatrical success in history. back roomreleased last month. Of course, this film was directed by a filmmaker who has honed his craft and built an audience on the Google/YouTube platform, but we can expect influencers themselves to use more AI tools next year.
But Parsons himself has voiced far more criticism of AI, recently telling The Australian: “If I could snap my fingers and make generative AI disappear forever, I probably would. Creatively, I don’t enjoy using those tools. It completely defeats the purpose for me.”
