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\u201cilm Production and AI: New Tools, New Possibilities,\u201d at the Busan International Film Festival.<\/p>\nKimball Thurston\u2019s work as chief technology officer at eight-time Oscar-winning W\u0113t\u0101 FX has put him at the cutting edge of filmmaking technology and in a unique position to assess the pros and cons of Artificial Intelligence.<\/p>\n
Speaking at Netflix\u2019s annual Creative Asia event, co-hosted by the Motion Picture Association in partnership with the Busan International Film Festival, Thurston went to some lengths to explain how his team was currently using and exploring AI in their productions. But he was also quick to explain how the New Zealand-based W\u0113t\u0101 FX sets a \u201cpeople-first\u201d parameter.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the human touch is critical and necessary,\u201d Thurston explained.<\/p>\n
It was a common theme at this year\u2019s panel \u2013 titled \u201cFilm Production and AI: New Tools, New Possibilities\u201d \u2013 where Thurston was joined by Sung Q Lee, Netflix\u2019s senior director of production for Asia-Pacific, and Korean filmmaker Kang Yun-sung, the director of The Outlaws and a front-runner in terms of adapting AI tools for filmmaking.<\/p>\n
\u201cilm Production and AI: New Tools, New Possibilities,\u201d at the Busan International Film Festival.<\/p>\n
Much of the noise about AI\u2019s use in film has so far focused on staggering amounts of money, with recent industry reports suggesting media companies\u2019 AI spending would rise to $12.5 billion annually by 2029, up from $2.6 billion in 2024.<\/p>\n
But, as the panel showed, most film companies have already either adopted or at least explored (or both) the technology.<\/p>\n
All three panelists explained how their work now incorporated it, with Netflix\u2019s Lee revealing his company had already tapped AI in around 300 titles.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201c[AI] is being used in previsualization, production design, working out set-dressing concepts ahead of time, in editing and of course in VFX,\u201d he said. \u201cThe question that matters to me isn\u2019t \u2018How much AI can we put into this title?\u2019 but \u2018What more can this title do with AI\u2019s help?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBy utilizing AI tools, we can give more opportunities and chances to the creative. And by fully unlocking its potential, we\u2019ll be able to help them to achieve something that they could not have done in the past.\u201d <\/p>\n
Lee said AI was helping rathern than creating.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these technological changes and new tools have helped a great deal with the how\u2014how we make what we make better. But they never decided the why\u2014why we have to tell this story,\u201d he said. \u201cAI is the same. But when it comes to conveying emotion ultimately, a human has to touch it. AI can get many jobs done, but does it touch human emotion? The human touch is critical and necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n
Lee showed reels to show how AI had advanced, including one from Netflix\u2019s VFX studio Eyeline that mashed up live action, VFX, and generative tools. There was also a crowd scene clip from Netflix India\u2019s Glory.<\/p>\n
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Kang, meanwhile, brought a test clip for The Gulf of Aden, an action film made entirely with AI, using China\u2019s Kling AI software. Last year, he collaborated with fellow Korean Kwon Han-seul to co-direct Run to the West, which they billed as Korea\u2019s first fully AI-assisted feature film. The filmmaker believes the film was hampered because, by the time of its release, its tech already looked outdated, given AI\u2019s rapid development.<\/p>\n
\u201cAt the time, AI technology was at a really rudimentary, low level, so we mainly used it for compositing and making creatures,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd back then, even the creatures didn\u2019t blend well with the footage we\u2019d shot.\u201d \u201cIn just a year, AI\u2019s quality has reached the point where using it commercially is no problem at all.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Gulf of Aden is currently in production and will include scenes that, in a normal production, would have one day been curtailed, the filmmaker claimed. Going with AI for this one cut costs by around 40 percent, he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen we calculated how much we\u2019d save on The Gulf of Aden for financing, it came to a reduction of around 40 percent,\u201d Kang said. \u201cThat\u2019s not just from replacing CG and VFX. The shoot itself was streamlined, and that cut down our production time to some extent. Ideas that had been buried due to budgetary issues were able to be put back on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
Thurston took some time to deal with specifics, explaining how W\u0113t\u0101 FX\u2019s \u201cassistive AI\u201d work \u201cis basically not allowed to change the creative intent in any way.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt touches pixels, but it only fixes them,\u201d he said. \u201cIt provides us very quickly with the visual images and visualizations. From the director\u2019s or cinematographer\u2019s perspective, it\u2019s easy to spot errors and correct them. Our goal is to reduce simple, repetitive tasks.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Kang and Thurston refuted any suggestion that AI imagery might one day replace actors. \u201cNo matter how much AI technology advances, actors are creators who deliver emotion and move the audience,\u201d said Kang. \u201cEven if AI acting becomes very sophisticated and imitates very precisely, emotion doesn\u2019t come through because of its mechanical coldness.\u201d <\/p>\n
Thurston was more succinct. \u201cReplace actors? No way,\u201d he said. \u201cWe are audiovisual storytellers, and storytelling is studying the human condition.<\/p>\n
In the end, Lee said, all technology needed human hands and minds to guide it.<\/p>\n
\u00a0\u201cWhen we talk about human-centric, it\u2019s not about substituting creativity, but ultimately it\u2019s about supporting the creative,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen it comes to conveying emotion, ultimately a human has to touch it once more. I strongly agree that a human touch is absolutely essential.\u201d<\/p>\n
For more interviews with filmmakers and producers taking big swings in Asia, check out these interviews:<\/p>\n
From Busan to the World: Hollywood and Korea Celebrate the Power of Global Storytelling<\/a><\/p>\n Local Stories, Global Audiences: Jon Wax\u2019s Vision for Disney+ in Asia<\/a><\/p>\n