SXSW Highlights Divide Between AI Optimists and Skeptical Filmmakers
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There was a stark contrast between the AI optimism at the SXSW Conference and the skepticism from filmmakers at the SXSW Film Festival. Films like "The Fall Guy" represent old-school filmmaking that can't be replicated by AI.
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Oscar winners Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert ("Everything Everywhere All at Once") voiced concerns about AI's threat to original filmmaking during their SXSW keynote.
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VFX artists are more open to AI advancements that can enhance their craft, but much of Hollywood has developed an "anti-CGI religion" that misses how films are actually made today.
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We lack the language to properly discuss generative AI and its potential film applications. Dismissing it entirely risks making filmmakers technologically irrelevant.
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Just as smartphone cameras have been transformed by AI to improve photo quality, AI will increasingly become a standard filmmaking tool - but that doesn't negate the need for human vision and storytelling.