Hollywood’s biggest films in 2024 foray into AI technology
In the medium of cinema, animated CGI or computer-generated imagery has provided stunning visuals that enhance the viewing experience of moviegoers. Well, those in SocMed are still images minus the movement but they are fast-becoming intriguing attractions the way CGIs have captured the viewers’ imagination.
Hollywood is no stranger to technology. Some of the most iconic moments in cinema have only been made possible thanks to greenscreens and computer-generated imagery, or CGI. But that’s different from AI, which doesn’t require manual human inputs to create images or operate like CGI does. The ability of AI to supplant so many parts of the creative process was central to the 2023 actors’ and writers’ strikes — schisms that divided the entertainment industry.
“AI” has become a two-letter dirty word in Hollywood in recent years, provoking pushback from creative types who believe that movie magic should be the product of primarily human — not digital — brains. That extends across everything from scriptwriting to voice dubbing. The results of the March 2 Oscars ceremony could also further the industry’s embrace — or distrust — of artificial intelligence.
Several big-ticket movies which won in the Oscars this year were created in part with AI, sometimes provoking fierce criticism online. Even their historic efforts to put parameters around AI’s use, however, haven’t been enough to halt its march. So long as investors, financiers, and production companies see money-making potential, Hollywood probably isn’t going to say farewell to AI.
According to multiple reports, AI enhanced Karla Sofía Gascón’s voice in “Emilia Pérez.” An advanced form of machine learning is said to have helped give the Fremen their glowy, hypnotic blue eyes in “Dune: Part Two.” AI was also involved in the post-production of “A Complete Unknown.”
In January, Dávid Jancsó, the editor of “The Brutalist” — which follows a Hungarian-Jewish architect and Holocaust survivor — said that AI helped perfect the lead actors’ accents in the film. “I am a native Hungarian speaker, and I know that it is one of the most difficult languages to learn to pronounce,” Jancsó told RedShark News, a publisher focused on film and television.
His admission prompted scrutiny and online chatter, forcing the director to later clarify that AI was “used in Hungarian language dialogue editing only” and that the filmmakers strived to “preserve the authenticity” of the actors’ performances. These instances have generated enough noise that even the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences — the group behind the awards ceremony — is reportedly considering adding a requirement for filmmakers to disclose the use of such tools to its Oscars submission guidelines.
Reference: Oscars win for films like ‘The Brutalist’ could accelerate AI’s march on Hollywood
