AI Won't Cut Production Costs
AI may streamline filmmaking processes, but industry leaders argue that it will not reduce costs or eliminate jobs in Hollywood production.
Matt Nix, showrunner for "Burn Notice" and "True Lies," shared an analogy during the AI on the Lot conference at Los Angeles Center Studios. Before digital tools enabled composers to simulate any instrument on a laptop, musical scores for TV were simple melodies performed by a handful of session musicians. The advent of newer technology led to job losses for these musicians and the score transcribers. However, this shift didn't result in a reduced number of people required or a decrease in production costs. Today, even the smallest TV shows employ full orchestras, and while technology has made the process easier, it has also increased the costs of producing scores for film and TV. With greater possibilities, more advanced roles have replaced those that were lost.
Nix dismissed the notion that artificial intelligence (AI) will lead to cheaper filmmaking and TV production with fewer people involved, despite studios hoping for such an outcome. “In the arms race of Hollywood, studios are very excited about saving money and firing a bunch of people, but I think what they’re forgetting is that has literally never worked in the history of mankind”, said Nix at a panel. He believes AI will enable Hollywood to do much more easily and quickly, but the industry will continue investing to create bigger and better productions, much like FX-heavy superhero and fantasy shows that were made possible with advanced technologies but have only made production more expensive.
While AI does have the potential to eliminate jobs and disrupt Hollywood's workflow, the reality is more nuanced. During last summer's WGA strike, writers demanded that AI-generated material cannot replace the act of writing or be handed to a writer for refinement; actors on strike sought protection and compensation for using digital replicas. However, Renard Jenkins, president of the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE), argued that wholesale anxiety is misplaced. In his keynote presentation at AI on the Lot, Jenkins challenged studio executives to consider the costs of integrating AI into their infrastructure at scale, making the idea of AI replacing everyone and everything unrealistic.
Mark Hoffman, an executive producer on “Bull” and “The Umbrella Academy,” mentioned a very “hushed tone” around which writers and creators are experimenting with AI. The new labor contract requires both writers and studios to seek permission before using AI and to sign forms limiting studio liability. Due to inherent issues with title and copyright, the blanket policy among studios has been “it's not allowed.” Hoffman believes AI will reinvent the process and act of screenwriting, similar to how talkies reinvented movie writing. “If this is a marathon, the first mile and the last mile are the hardest,” he said, referring to the fact that coming up with an inspiration or concept for AI to work with and fine-turning the script are the two crucial steps that still and will always need people.