Why we need to see past the AI hype and discover what already works

If someone told you that online payments are useless, because crypto is over-hyped and there are environmental issues with its energy usage, would you go back to bank transfers?

Probably not.

You’d know that there are different kinds of tools to get the job done, and you’d choose the one(s) you a) trust and b) think will work for your usage context.

When it comes to AI tools in animation and filmmaking, the conversation can be quite different. People are quick to dismiss ”AI” for myriad reasons. But I fear they are throwing out the baby with the bath water.

The thing is, there are many tools out there that are machine learning or AI powered which,

• are not trained on scraped data, so they don’t infringe on copyrights,
• can be run locally on your own computer(s), so they don’t contribute to global warming more than your existing render farm,
• provide you with control and consistency, so you’ll get high-quality outputs,
• render the right amount of fingers (and toes) on your characters.

It is understandable that people don’t have the same discerning view when it comes to AI tools, as they have with online payment options. The tools are new and it is very tough keeping up with all the developments, let alone separating the signal from the noise.

But I argue that whether you are a producer or a creative, this is an area you need to get on top of. Whether you start doing your own testing, or hire professionals to help kickstart your R&D in this area, you simply cannot afford to cede the playing field to the 15 year olds in their bedrooms currently hacking away at this. Because those kids will come and eat your lunch.

PS: Here’s something to chew on: an 87 minute feature animated film made with AI tools for $700.000.

PPS: I’ve teamed up with three AI animation pioneers to offer help in designing AI-enabled animation pipelines. Our pitch to studios is ”Do you have a show that is 80% financed but you can’t get the rest together? Let us take a look at your pipeline and we might find you savings of 20-30% and get you into production on a show that otherwise might never get made”.

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Have a great day!
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- Nick

Nick Dorra

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