Check out the amazing results you can achieve with Google's new AI video tool, VEO 3. Otherwise, the short version means that you can generate fake video clips that are indistinguishable from the real thing simply by entering a text prompt. And if you're working in filmmaking, it should scare you quite a bit.
Don't hit around the bushes. This kind of AI technology undoubtedly leads to unemployment in filmmaking. And I'm not here to sugarcoat this or feed it. It's like beloved nonsense, where technology elopes every time it steams the whole profession.
But it's here. While everyone is busy having a panic attack about our Silicon Overlord, they are completely lacking the main thing that is killing filmmaking. AI is not a problem. That's the case with bad filmmaking.
The real crisis
Step into the cinema now and find what? The franchise's number 7 sequel should have died three times before. A remake of a movie that was hardly worth making for the first time. A superhero film that feels framed by a committee of people who have never experienced joy.
Over the past decade, we have seen executive green light projects based on algorithms, market research and international box office revenue and know if the story is actually worth telling.
The studio has used artificial intelligence to guide decisions over the years. They called it “data analysis” and pretended to be sophisticated.
Even Disney fell into this. Their recent focus has been on creating live-action versions of their animated classics. This earned a new low point in the terrifying remake of Snow White in 2025.
What viewers want
He often says that audiences are hungry for good stories. They are desperate for characters that care, dialogues that sound like they've written by real people, and plots that don't sham their intelligence. These are not expensive bars to clear, but somehow they continue to do limbo dancing anyway.
In short, the problem isn't that we need more technology. The problem is that you forget how to use technology that already has to provide a story (not other ways).
To be fair, if you watch hard enough, there are still great movies. There are currently four great releases. I urge everyone to check out: Surfer, Shiva Baby, Good One, Harrow Road. Unfortunately, they are exceptions that prove the rules. And if the average person is disappointed with the past three multiplex visits, it's unlikely to take the risk on another boring night.
Myth of democratization
“But AI will democratize filmmaking!” shouts the technological evangelist. “Everyone can make a movie now!” Certainly, anyone can already write a novel using Microsoft Word. How does it work for the quality of literature?
The tool was not a barrier to good storytelling. You can shoot fascinating movies on your phone – people have proven this for years. (If you don't believe me, beware of Unsane (2018) or Tangerine (2015).) Certainly, you can get an impressive pro camera like the Red Komodo 6K, not more than the cost of the iPhone 16 Pro Max.
In short, the barriers to great filmmaking have never been technical. It has the skill to say something interesting and say it well.
Yes, AI may make it easier to generate clean photos and smooth out rough edges. But it can't give you a perspective. You cannot inject souls into materials that have no souls. You can't turn a boring person into an interesting storyteller.
What AI does and already does is amplify anything you give it. Give mediocre ideas and get mediocre results. Supplies the derived concept and retrieves the derived output. Give it the same tired ratios that have been recycled Hollywood for decades. congratulations. We have automated production of film landfills.
The real fear is not that AI will replace human creativity. It replaces human creativity with the exact same level of uninspired trash we already own, faster and cheaper.
This is the silver lining. AI plays 1000 variations on the theme, but you can write a dialogue that doesn't sound like a creator who understands the character, a chatbot. They will stand out like fireworks in the gray sky.
If you are a filmmaker who follows the formula where the main skills are established, yes, you need to worry. But if you're someone who actually has something to say, or who understands why some stories resonate, and who can find the difference between content and art, whether other stories are flattened or what makes them different to content. You are becoming essential.
