Director Dave Clark, left, reviews videos created by participants at the BIFAN+AI filmmaking workshop held on July 3 and discusses areas for improvement. Courtesy of Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
AI filmmaking tools: Game changer or novelty?
From KTimes
Ahn Yong-jin, CEO of Movie Photo, was working on a film at the Webtoon Fusion Center in Wonmi-gu, Bucheon, on July 3. “I didn't know that AI could produce images of this quality. I was skeptical about AI films at first, but now I see great potential,” Ahn said.
“I went in to criticise but my perspective has completely changed,” he added.
This was part of the BIFAN+AI filmmaking workshop at the 28th Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival, which began on July 2, with Ahn working alongside three colleagues.
Titled “The Last Train,” the team created a film about giant insects attacking humans due to global warming, with survivors trying to catch the last train to a colder climate.
The script and casting for the film, titled “Snowpiercer: The Last Train,” was completed the day before, and the film was “shot” on the third day at a desk using the just-released AI video production program “Runway G3.”
The workshop attracted about 600 applicants, doubling the original 30 spots to 60.
Participants included many young people in their 20s and 30s, including students from the Korea National University of Arts and mid-career film directors like Ahn.
Director Jeong Ji-yeon (78), known for “Broken Arrow” (2012) and “The Boys” (2023), also participated.
The 60 participants were divided into 16 teams and used AI technology to create short films in 48 hours. The 16 films produced will be screened at the Bucheon Art Bunker B39 until July 14.
A scene from the AI film “Snowpiercer: The Last Train,” produced at the BIFAN+AI filmmaking workshop / Courtesy of Ahn Yongjin
The film industry has changed dramatically in just five years
AI movies have the potential to revolutionize the film industry. The production of the two-minute sci-fi movie “Snowpiercer” without extensive human labor or hours of CGI work highlights the efficiencies that AI can bring, potentially reducing costs and production times.
Dave Clark, an American AI film director and instructor at the workshop, said that the young Tom Hanks in Robert Zemeckis' new film “Here” was created entirely with AI, marking the beginning of a transformation in Hollywood. Clark is the only AI film director affiliated with the Directors Guild of America.
Director Kang Je-gyu also said, “AI brings both great opportunities and risks,” predicting that the film industry will see major changes within the next five years.
But AI film remains a challenge: generated scenes are limited, and the “uncanny valley” effect — that eerie feeling that humanoid objects look almost human, but not quite — remains a major obstacle.
Director Jeong Ji-yeon said, “AI still has errors so it cannot be completely trusted. It can be used as an auxiliary tool to generate scenes instead of additional shooting.”
A scene from “One More Pumpkin,” an AI film directed by Kwon Han-sel, which won the Grand Prix at the inaugural Dubai International AI Film Festival this year. Courtesy of the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival
The real challenge is not AI but humans
AI films will not only change the structure of the film industry, but also raise legal and ethical questions.
The BIFAN+AI International Conference, held at the Bucheon Arts Center from July 5 to 7, addressed these concerns through 22 talks and discussions, all of which attracted sellout attendance.
A notable session on July 6th titled “How will AI change the film industry?” focused on the legal and ethical issues of AI films.
Anna Braff, ethics officer at Ukrainian AI speech synthesis software company Respeecher, emphasized that three words are important when dealing with AI: trust, control, and creativity.
“It's important to create an environment where we can control AI to produce creative content while protecting portrait and intellectual property rights,” she said.
Oh Sang-jun, CEO of Dreamers, an AI webtoon production platform, also said, “AI can help us imagine a more diverse and rich world. The misuse of data and the unauthorized use of audio are not AI mistakes, but human mistakes.”
This article was provided by The Korea Times' sister publication, Hankook Ilbo, translated by generative AI and edited by The Korea Times staff.
