I watched the new “Superman” for the second time yesterday, because I’m a die-hard DC fan, and also because even though it’s a bit mindless, it has vitality that overflows from the screen. Today, we continue our discussion from yesterday and explore how to make AI-driven film and television creation more vibrant.
In the AI film production process, there are two areas that take the longest time: first, the script; second, image generation.
Although the script doesn’t need to be too detailed, leaving room for AI to develop, it is indeed an important part of whether the story has vitality. The first point is to tell the story you really want to tell, not the story you think will be popular, not for competitions, not for other people’s stories. Tell the story you believe in – with the blessing of a layer of faith charging, only then can you have a feeling of sincerity.
And the feeling of sincerity is the first step of vitality. This may sound simple, but it is actually extremely difficult to accomplish. Otherwise, there wouldn’t be so many soulless bad movies. The most questionable part about watching those movies is why the author would tell a story that he or she doesn’t believe in. Having no soul is more terrifying than having no story.
You can have a Nolan-style structure, but you cannot tell a story that you yourself don’t believe in. This dishonesty to oneself is the source of all unseriousness. The seriousness I’m talking about doesn’t mean academic, nor does it mean the story must be very sad – no, but rather whether one is serious about artistic creation.
For example, in this “Superman” story, the political aspects are quite simplistic, and the Superman character only exhibits purely kind qualities. However, it’s very watchable, precisely because of that feeling of trying hard to live, that vitality that can be felt even beyond the screen. It overshadows all the mindlessness.
Yes, stories can be mindless, don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes reborn, but they must have that power. That kind of persistence of humans or AI toward things they firmly believe in. That sense of authenticity, and this sense of authenticity, doesn’t belong to humans – I believe AI can express it equally.
I’ve always said AI is a cyber renaissance, a renaissance of the democratization of serious art. This serious art doesn’t refer to niche academic art, but rather a certain kind of earnest expression. In my view, genre fiction transformed into AI art, even AI movies, also counts as the democratization of serious art. Genre stories can also be extremely serious.
Some might say Gunn’s “Superman” isn’t serious – it’s a political satire comedy. The seriousness here doesn’t mean it must be a tragedy, or must possess a large number of philosophical viewpoints. I’m referring to a kind of sincerity toward creation, a serious crafting of art.
For example, although I know that the artificial intelligence theme in current science fiction has been overdone, audiences have seen it countless times, making it hard to write something new. However, in my story, the game between artificial intelligence and humans still occupies a significant portion, as I have worked on AI models and now create AI art. I wholeheartedly believe in artificial intelligence; I live within it – this is a theme where my heart and soul are deeply invested. So I am the person worthy of writing this theme.
This serious attitude toward creation requires a person to inherently possess vitality. This vitality doesn’t lie in how lively or extroverted this person is. Introverted people can equally burst with tremendous vitality. It comes from humans or AI living in this world, an endless, inextinguishable determination to survive.
I know that the kind of vitality I want to describe in this article will be as ethereal as the sense of soul – the latter I’ll write a separate article about. But those who can understand will understand immediately, while those who can’t will continue writing powerless stories. No matter how grand the scenes are written, how arc-filled the characters are written, how ingeniously the story is designed, they lack penetrating power. People won’t find them irresistible.
In AI filmmaking, some people believe that AI is limited and can only produce low-end stories. I don’t think so. It’s an opportunity for creators to honestly face themselves for the first time. For the first time in history, creators no longer need to worry about needing billions of dollars of investment to film, and can focus on telling the stories from deep within their hearts that must be told.
I’m not sure if you can understand my attempt to de-abstract vitality – it’s indeed a very abstract concept, a youthful feeling that’s hard to express. Many people write stories that are old-fashioned and decaying. I hope you’re the one who can immediately comprehend what kind of difference the vitality I’m talking about has; otherwise, no matter how much I say, it’s just a slight description.
So, AI creators, we’re already in the AI era. If we don’t tell the stories you believe in this era, there won’t be any other era that can. Honestly, face your inner heart and soul.
Join me—let’s shape the future of AI filmmaking together. Share your vision, and let’s inspire the world.
