Hi Community!
Here’s an interesting piece from the No Film School Clan.
I think the conclusion is rather too bleak, mainly because I believe that this is the time to take up the baton and run the race for independent films.
We may see a divergence between studios/streamers and indie productions and platforms, if these giant entities continue with developing AI instead of human talent. Then there will be the need to distribute independent stories to people who want real human drama and refuse artificially generated productions.
I just wonder if these international corporations would be so pro AI, if we were talking about replacing Executives with this technology?
Can t you see it? Executives striking for a fair wage? Forming a picket line with their Bentleys and Lamborghinis? Now that would have me rolling in the aisles!
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Technology is changing everything and will continue in that path. Not just the film industry. Look at fast food restaurants. There are now McDonald's that don't have people. Eventually, grocery stores will be almost void of employees.
Creatives will either need to adapt or be left behind. In the article, it says 87% of SAG-AFTRA earn less than 26k. I think that's because not everyone has what it takes to be a successful actor.
Regarding actors not getting their fair pay, actors really need to read what they are signing up for before they do something for the sake of 'exposure.' Granted, some projects (smaller scale / student stuff) is a great learning curve / way to build credits, people need to read the dotted line. As a filmmaker, I wish people would go on strike against most distributors, as they don't pay their fair share to producers who may have spent years developing a project.
At the end of the day, it's all about adapting or getting left behind. It's not always fair...but if something can't be stopped...what's the alternative?
Just my 2 useful / useless cents....
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Stephen Folker adapting or being left behind? I suppose my answer to that would be adapting to what? Being devalued or dehumanised?
Perhaps with technological change what needs to happen, is the system and not people to accommodate that system? The industry is desperate for a paradigm shift, methinks.
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Hey, my friend! Long time, no see! Thanks for getting this conversation started! Well, you must know by now that I'm biased and tend to agree with your statement, "I believe that this is the time to take up the baton and run the race for independent films."
BUT... ask yourselves, how often do I _watch_ independent films? If we want the independent space to be more successful, then we need to pay it more attention so it can earn the money it needs to keep going. Furthermore, no one is really investigating the process and how to improve upon it before attempting to replacing it. For example, Hallmark has a remarkable machine that churns out a regular dose of moderate-to-low budget features throughout the year. Part of their system includes having normal working hours, even during production, so they can retain talent one year to the next. Without that consistency, people are likely to drop off because they can't have family time until the production is over. When you make little adjustments like this, you retain talent. When you make giant, sweeping changes, like asking AI to take over certain jobs, then you lose talent.
All that said, I think the question isn't whether or not AI will take over our jobs but whether or not the humans in the filmmaking machine will engage with other humans in order to make working conditions more equitable for all. Because if they are not willing to have hard conversations, then yes, they'll turn to AI and other technology-based solutions to avoid the friction.
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Karen "Kay" Ross Hi Kay, actually I watch Independent films quite a lot. I’m not really tempted by tentpole films from the studios. My DVD collection (or maybe it’s an archive!) are full of indie films and the vast majority are films from Japan, Germany, France and Scandinavian productions.
I love your Hallmark example. At first I was wondering why a superstore was in to filmmaking, but then realised I had mistaken your reference. Haha! Oy vey! What Hallmark films have you been watching, Kay? Have you approached them for your films?
Maybe this re-education could start on Stage32? We need to generate awareness of the indie sector after all, perhaps giving more of a balanced diet from the popular streamers.
And yes, it’s been a while, but then I’ve always been around, but not so much of late, due to family pressures. How are you doing?
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Hi Geoff, that's definitely been a strong focus here on Stage 32 this summer. A lot of our recent blogs, education services, etc. have been geared towards indie production and encouraging everyone to pick up a camera and jump in to do it your way. The change begins with us taking the risk on ourselves to create and set new standards while doing so.
You should check out today's great blog about making your first indie film- https://www.stage32.com/blog/7-steps-to-making-your-first-film-3444
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I also think there'll be a divergence between studios/streamers and indie productions and platforms if studios and companies continue developing AI instead of human talent, Geoff Hall. I definitely don't wanna see AI actors. I'll stick with the real thing.
This is a street fight. Not the first. But a big one. Perhaps in the end there will be an audience for AI created content that comes with a disclaimer like cigarettes. I mean, there is an audience for people who play video games - people watch that. But the craft of making art about the human condition will belong to humans and there will business models to support that as there always have been. Dare to dream.