How Industry Insiders Think AI Will Change Film Production Work

Note: This article is about the June 2024 VIP+ special report “Generative AI in Film & TV,” available exclusively to subscribers.

Generative AI has been controversial among Hollywood workers and was a key issue during last year’s writers’ and actors’ strikes, as well as the recent IATSE negotiations over its potential impact on jobs and wages.

Among other impacts on workers, the implementation of generative AI in entertainment content production will bring about changes in the skills of creative workers, according to an online survey of 150 media and entertainment decision-makers conducted by HarrisX between May 2 and 13, 2024.

For almost every role listed, most M&E employees expected the role to see either a high or low impact—meaning any change in how the role is currently performed—from gen AI over the next two years. Animators, visual effects artists, game designers, voice actors, and concept or storyboard artists were the top roles expected to see a high impact.

Generative AI has the potential to create new efficiencies in content creation processes across the media and entertainment industry. As discussed in a separate VIP+ post, most M&E decision makers say they are implementing or considering the technology in some business area of ​​their companies.

For Hollywood, adopting gen AI is possible but complicated. As gen AI education advances in the industry, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the technology can create new efficiencies and promising growth opportunities.

Increased productivity is the top benefit that M&E decision makers expect from gen AI. A similar percentage of respondents predict that gen AI will enable faster turnaround of some projects, further suggesting efficiency benefits.

In addition to efficiency, decision makers are also anticipating professionalproductivity gains, with 27% expecting gen AI to improve work quality. Whether these expectations are realistic depends on the willingness of gen AI tools to meet the high standards of premium content production, particularly in Hollywood.

However, ethical implementation is key for M&E companies to avoid further liabilities resulting from the use of AI gen. While the nuances apply equally to actors, artists and writers, the basic requirement of consent, control and compensation (“3 Cs”) is commonly invoked in relation to training, creating and using AI models to replicate their likeness (face, voice) or style (visual arts, music or writing).

The vast majority of M&E professionals and consumers agree that permission should be required in typical situations where next-generation AI is used to train AI and create style or likeness replicas.

“Generative AI represents a transformative opportunity for the media and entertainment industry, promising increased efficiencies and new avenues for growth. Our collaboration with Variety Intelligence Platform highlights the evolving AI landscape as decision makers increasingly integrate these new technologies into their operations,” said Dritan Nesho, Principal Researcher and CEO of HarrisX.

“At the same time, while this technology has the potential to increase productivity and speed project turnaround, its impact on creative standards and workforce dynamics must be carefully navigated. Our findings underscore the importance of ethical considerations and consent frameworks as integral to the responsible use of AI in content production.”

VIP+ Diversity Explores Generation AI from All Sides – Choose Your Story

Click below for additional survey data and an in-depth look at how generative AI is being used and considered in film and television production. The full 31-page report includes a six-page charting section from the original quantitative surveys of 1,001 U.S. consumers, 308 media and entertainment professionals, and 150 M&E decision makers.

Now take a look at the VIP+ subscriber report…