Creativity Can be Augmented... Not Artificial

Creativity Can be Augmented ... Not Artificial posted: 27/08/2019

For every decision we make there are consequences.

Okay were stoked!

We learned that a new Matrix is in the works.

We had to revisit the first one when film aficionado friends told us that it was a landmark piece of transgender art created by two trans women and perfectly captured the experience of being a closeted trans person.

Totally missed it.

But that was 20 years ago and this go-around well try to pay closer attention.

Technology has so dramatically changed film/show/video content development, production and distribution well probably again be overwhelmed by the parallel, intertwined plots and special effects.

Still dont believe AI could understand how to deliver the intricacy, intimacy and complexity of something like Matrix.

That requires the human touch.

Of course, that wont stop folks at this years IBC Future Zone telling us how their AI tools will improve - revolutionize - the M&E industry...even if they dont know what it is or even use the technology.

The truth is...AI in the M&E industry sucks!

Techies love it - artificial - meaning you can simply sit back, drink mojitos and the money rolls in.

However, we believe IBMs Ginni Romettys has a better grasp of AI - augmented - it enhances what we do.

AI/machine learning wont replace creatives because machines dont know zip about emotion. Its not willing/able to base a decision on a fire in the gut feeling.

Feelings - If there are clear rules to follow, machines do just fine until they make a decision that isnt black or white but grey; and then, is it a dark grey or light grey or depends. It can be an outpouring of emotion - good or bad - and that requires a human touch because often, if a person sees that one shade of emotion doesnt quite work, they can shift until things are handled (i.e., feeling bad for your car that was in an accident).

However, technology does help creatives do things better/faster, and provides more creative options to consider.

AI does a helluva job of handling the boring, tedious, mind-numbing stuff that is a huge part of what makes a project work.

Since the demand for decent/good/great video content seems to be almost insatiable, creatives and channel folks need every edge possible to keep pace.

In fact, AI will have a profound impact on how content is created, produced, delivered and consumed in ways we can hardly imagine.

Oversight or Social Buzz - A modern day coffee cup sitting prominently on the set during the shooting of Crown of Thrones or water bottles casually slipped under peoples chairs were either something that the crew of 100 plus missed or a well-planned way to build social media buzz and interest in the final segment of the show. We vote for planned OMG, rather like leaked images of the next iPhone.

AI couldnt think hey got a great idea, lets put a present-day coffee cup in the scene of a fictitious series of eons ago.

In fact, AI probably kept telling everyone who would listen, and may have even asked if it could remove it. But a good gag is a good gag.

Still, exhibitors in this years IBC Future Zone will give attendees an idea of how they can refine and use AI in every M&E area from creation through viewer satisfaction.

Sure, a few filmmakers shed tears over the conversion from film to digital but that move paved the way for the industry to create and deliver what folks really want ... a personalized experience.

Netflix used machine learning algorithms and AI to determine the plot and actors for their first big hit series House of Cards and theyve only gotten better with it in each new project.

And so has everyone else because we all want that extra edge.

AI will slowly evolve and become one of the most valuable, in-demand tools the content creation and delivery markets have because it is able to quickly see patterns in huge volumes of data, automate certain business practices and free up people to push the creative boundary.

Scripts have already been written collaboratively by AI and humans. The results are a long way from being Oscar contenders; but if we decide to let technology take over judging, who knows.

AI Plot - Dump all of the data possible from a ton of different shows into a system, let it mix, stir, extract the best from all of them and then let the machine write the perfect script. The result? Humorous sci-fi, but real substance? Not yet!

Sunspring, which was written entirely by AI including the films music track, was funny weird.

Featuring romance, murder, intrigue and set sometime in the future, it took the actors - Thomas Middleditch, Elisabeth Gray, Humphrey Ker - a lot time/work to interpret the totally incoherent plot.

The authors name doesnt exactly roll off your tongue. Its a recurrent neural network called long short-term memory, or LSTM - which is probably why it preferred to be called Benjamin.

While AI for a script may still be a work in progress, it has made excellent progress in determining what projects get green lighted because of the rich data available with digital creation.

Data reveals patterns, trends, and user preferences; and the content industry has been around long enough to produce a rich pool of data to reduce production costs and expand/improve audience response.

Investors are already using ScriptBooks AI (probably others as well) to read scripts, to determine MPAA rating, character analysis, target audience profile and box office predictions. In other words, everything investors need to know before they lay their money down.

While its pretty easy to declare a winner after the fact, ScriptBook said their AI analysis would have saved Sony a ton of money by telling them not to make 22 flops.

Actually, we think we liked 10-12 of those flops!

AI is becoming a mainstay of content production.

Automated camera technology is improving creative o

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