Why Skills Versatility Matters in the AI Era

A really interesting observation is that with generative AI tools, the animation production process is taking on features of live-action filmmaking. Creators end up with footage based on the AI model's capabilities, then make it work in the edit - similar to film days when "fix it in post" wasn't always an option. You had what you had – or as we say in Finnish, "näillä mennään mitkä on".

Chad Nelson's "SWITCH": Where Methods Converge

A perfect illustration is Chad Nelson's "SWITCH," created using OpenAI's Sora. The entire visual foundation comes from a single photograph of downtown San Francisco, transformed through various AI prompts. Chad requested different styles, camera angles, and subject matter - completing the visual development in just two days, plus half a day for audio.

What's particularly interesting is how this workflow blurs traditional production methods. As Chad noted in our exchange in the comments: "You are editing as you are making the shots... and the moment you need a new piece of coverage in the edit, you just make it."

I responded that this approach resembles creating an animatic in traditional animation, "where the director and editor can request missing shots from the story boarder." We're witnessing a fascinating convergence of different production methodologies.

The Value of Versatility

This merger of workflows suggests something important for all audiovisual professionals: the more styles of working you know and master, the better equipped you'll be to navigate these new and strange tides.

Understanding traditional animation pipelines, live-action production methods, and the emerging AI-assisted workflows gives creators a much broader toolkit to draw from. Each approach has its strengths and constraints, and the ability to move fluidly between them may become an increasingly valuable skill.

The AI-driven "happy accidents" often lead to unexpected creative directions and significantly compressed production timelines. For studios and production companies, this represents both adaptation challenges (how flexible is your creative vision on a given project?) and opportunities for innovation.

What's your experience?

Have you found yourself adapting techniques from different production methods when working with AI tools? Which traditional skills have proved most valuable in this new landscape? I'd love to hear your thoughts – just hit reply to this email!

Have a great day!

- Nick

Nick Dorra

Say hi 👋 on Linkedin​
🤝 Book a meeting via video or f2f to chat more