Is AI going to replace the Director in Video Production? (Guest blog by Tin Pan Media)

As technology continues to advance, it’s no surprise that artificial intelligence (AI) is making its way into the video production industry. With the ability to streamline pre-production processes, automate editing, and enhance visual effects, AI is changing the way videos are created. But what does this mean for the future of video production? We decided to put the current AI video production tools to the test, creating a short video entirely with AI.

A number of our clients are legal firms, so we decided to test AI video production by creating a film based on the subject, "How will AI affect lawyers in the future?"

We started by using Chat GPT to generate a 1-minute script (the final video came out at 2 mins !). After trying various prompts, we finally found a script with good content. We then asked it to convert the script into a standard video script format, with text in one column and visuals in another.

This is where we ran into some issues. The format ChatGBT delivered was a little different to the regular format and lacked real detail on where the visuals would go. Also the visuals suggestions were generic and lacked creativity, but they did provide us with a starting point for structuring the video and incorporating stock footage.

We then explored the use of AI-generated voiceover and talking heads, using an AI system to create an avatar and select a voice. While the lip-syncing was acceptable, there was no body language or emotion from the avatar. As AI becomes more sophisticated, it is likely that emotional prompts will be able to be added at key moments in the script. In the medium term I have a feeling this will be the hardest thing for AI to overcome in corporate and feature film creation - creating a script which has a degree of emotion and then converting this emotion to AI generated characters.

Where AI will have the most profound and immediate effect will be in post-production. Editing the AI-generated avatar was much easier than with sophisticated software such as Adobe, but less precise. The AI editing process allowed us to cut the script and this automatically edited the corresponding video footage. The app also allowed us to easily select the b-roll from a library and place it into the video. However, the creative process of selecting the appropriate b-roll, along with choosing colors, graphics, logos, and fonts appropriate for individual clients still lies very much with the editor or director.

One area where AI has shown significant promise is in the creation of original background music for videos. We were able to use an AI system to generate a piece of music that fit the desired style, length, and mood of the video.

AI is going to revolutionise the video production, but it is important to note that AI is still in its infancy. At this stage the need for an editor or director’s creative decision still necessary, and AI technology has a long way to go before it can completely eliminate this need, if ever.

Despite this, the industry's adoption of AI will continue to grow as new applications and tools emerge to further improve video production processes. As a video production agency we have quickly realised that it  will be essential that we adapt and embrace the power of AI in order to stay competitive. Hopefully it will become a tool that allows us to be more efficient and creative, rather than creating, printing and sending us our redundancies notices !

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