Can AI replace filmmakers?

A few years ago it seemed unimaginable, but with the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), a crucial question arises: Can AI completely replace filmmakers?

In this post I want to give my opinion on this topic, which, at the very least, deserves a little reflection.

AI, help or problem for filmmakers?

AI… help or problem for filmmakers? This is possibly one of the questions that we content creators ask ourselves most in our heads. And I think the answer is it depends on how you approach it and it depends on the content you make. Without a doubt, the ability of AI to generate realistic and convincing videos has been a revelation for the industry and is already a reality, however, there is something that AI (yet, at least) can’t make and filmmakers can. And that something is that essence and that personal touch that content creators can give you. For example, this video of our trip to Madeira.

Most of the time, people follow you or hire you because of your way of doing things and capturing specific moments. AI can make a video showing landscapes or people, but not landscapes or specific people that you want at that moment. For example, people want to see each other on their wedding day, they want to have incredible photographs of their restaurant or they want to see how the block of buildings they are building evolves, and an AI cannot do that at the moment. The real value is that you are capturing moments they want and moments where they or their products are seen of value. Another example, people want to see you walking through Iceland or Madeira, with your vision and sensitivity, not just a video of the place with random people.

Beyond the place, what is important are the people and what is transmitted. And that, at least today, is very difficult for AI to replicate. In my specific case, in every video I make I try to tell a story or send a message. In the end, the videos that we filmmakers make reflect the diversity and complexity of the world around us.

AI

AI in stock platforms and generic videos

Another different topic is the role of Artificial Intelligence in generic videos or on stock platforms like Adobe Stock or Getty Images. For example, we enter a stock platform to look for a video of a timelapse with clouds or we need a photograph of a sunrise on the beach. In these specific cases, AI can help us or play an important role because it’ is’s capable of generating these resources automatically.

Pre- and post-production

A topic that I find interesting and where I believe AI has a lot to say is in pre-production and post-production. In pre-production, AI can help us speed up project planning and script generation. I think that in this case it can help us pour out and organize all the ideas we have in our heads, and there is nothing wrong with it.

In post-production, AI can also help us optimize our time much more. Automatic subject selection, color correction, generative filling… I think all of this can help us a lot to optimize our work and as content creators we have to adapt to it. In my case, for example, it can help me program my color LUTs more quickly and perfect them.

In summary, technology should serve as an aid and as an extra to speed up projects and make our time more efficient, but not to make us angry and see it as a problem.