TLDR: Hollywood is increasingly embracing artificial intelligence tools to enhance various aspects of movie production, including voice cloning, de-aging visual effects, and world-building. Companies like Respeecher are using AI to make actors sound more authentic in foreign languages, while Netflix has utilized AI for de-aging in ‘Pedro Páramo’ at a fraction of previous costs and for creating intricate visual effects in ‘El Eternauta’. This adoption comes two years after major Hollywood strikes, with ongoing discussions about AI guardrails and its impact on job security, as industry leaders like Microsoft President Brad Smith and Respeecher VP Margarita Grubina emphasize navigating this technological journey collaboratively.
Hollywood is undergoing a significant transformation as artificial intelligence tools are increasingly integrated into various facets of movie magic, from enhancing vocal performances to creating stunning visual effects. This shift comes two years after major strikes in the industry, which partly addressed the implications of AI on job security and creative processes.
Generative Artificial Intelligence, capable of producing lifelike imaging and audio, is rapidly being adopted by film studios to streamline special effects. David Sacks, White House A.I. and Crypto Czar, noted the contrast between popular dystopian portrayals of AI in films like ‘The Terminator’ and a more collaborative vision akin to ‘Star Trek Enterprise,’ where AI serves as a supervised tool to assist human creativity.
Following six months of negotiations, SAG-AFTRA members approved a three-year contract that included crucial AI guardrails, addressing pay models and job protections. Microsoft President Brad Smith acknowledged the inevitability of AI-driven job changes, stating, ‘We all have to navigate through this together. We’re all on a journey together to find a way to make it work as well as possible.’
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, after considering disclosure requirements for AI use in Oscar-contending films, ultimately ruled that AI’s presence would neither boost nor hinder a film’s nomination chances. Margarita Grubina, Vice President of Business Growth at voice cloning firm Respeecher, highlighted the industry’s evolution: ‘Two years ago, the question was whether they would use A.I. in the processes at all. Now the question is, how do we use AI?’
Ukraine-based Respeecher specializes in using real human voices to enhance actor performances. Their technology was notably employed in two Oscar-nominated films this year. In ‘The Brutalist,’ AI helped actors Adrien Brody and Felicity Jones achieve more authentic Hungarian accents, a language notoriously difficult for non-native speakers. Grubina explained that Respeecher trains its system with native speakers, then replicates the actor’s voice, ensuring ‘You still keep the actors and the humans, because humans are best at performing. Their voice changed but their performance didn’t change.’ The company also contributed to the musical performances in ‘Emilia Perez.’ Respeecher advocates for transparency, encouraging clients not to conceal AI usage to avoid audience backlash.
Beyond voice work, AI is proving instrumental in visual effects, particularly for de-aging or aging actors. Netflix Mexico’s ‘Pedro Páramo’ utilized AI-powered de-aging effects, with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos revealing that the cost was a mere fraction of the de-aging effects used in Martin Scorsese’s 2019 film ‘The Irishman.’ Sarandos remarked on Netflix’s April Earnings Call, ‘The entire budget of the film was about the VFX cost on The Irishman. So same creator using new tools, new better tools to do something that would have been impossible to do just 5 years ago. That’s incredibly exciting.’
Netflix is also leveraging AI for ambitious world-building. In the new Argentinian series ‘El Eternauta,’ AI-powered visual effects were crucial in reconstructing Buenos Aires amidst a deadly toxic snowfall. The production employed scanning and drone technology to capture 3D models of real city neighborhoods, including cars, graffiti, and people. This marked a significant milestone as it was the first time Netflix used AI-generated shots as final footage in a global title, completing the sequence ten times faster with generative AI.
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Despite these advancements, concerns persist. Some actors expressed dissatisfaction with the initial SAG-AFTRA AI guardrails, and video game actors recently concluded a year-long strike over AI protections, arguing against the treatment of motion capture actors as data rather than performers. Gregory Allen, senior advisor with the Wadhwani A.I. center at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, emphasized the widespread and growing use of AI, stating, ‘The reality is, is that this is something the economy does need.’
