Reactions to ChatGPT and Bard range from fear to excitement—for every listicle of redundant careers, there’s another set of optimization tips. This article joins the latter and explores how film writers and video editors can streamline workflow, generate insights, and craft video scripts with AI.
The Role of AI
Think of Artificial intelligence as your personal collaborator. ChatGPT and Google’s Bard combine powerful search with a conversational format. These brainstorming partners are ready when you are, can handle you before your first coffee, and will never ditch you to work somewhere else.
Idea Generation
AI-based brainstorming platforms can generate endless concepts based on specific keywords or prompts. These become starting points for storytelling and encourage creative exploration across various genres.
Here’s the prompt:
Show three examples of AI-generated concepts to spark creativity and inspire unique narratives.
The results:
- In a world where emotions can be traded like commodities, a gifted thief must navigate a black market of stolen feelings to uncover the truth about her own missing memories.
- A time-traveling chef embarks on a culinary journey through history, preparing meals for influential figures and witnessing the impact of food on society.
- A sentient forest, awakened by a lightning storm, communicates with a young girl through dreams, guiding her to protect the ancient secrets hidden within its enchanted groves.
From here, you can develop your concept further. Let’s choose concept 1 to illustrate this. Why is the thief so gifted? Did humans lose our ability to emote in a world of AI? This is the job of the human writer—and their trusty sidekick.
Dialogue and Narrative Flow
AI language models are helpful for generating dialogues and refining character interactions. It’s important to keep a natural narrative flowing throughout the video. From our first example, we look at how AI writes dialogue between the thief and the dealer.
The prompt:
Provide a short script for an interaction between the thief and the emotions dealer
The result:
THIEF: (looking around) Impressive collection you have here. I’m in search of something… elusive.
EMOTIONS DEALER: (smirking) Ah, I can see it in your eyes. You seek answers, don’t you? Memories concealed in the folds of stolen emotions. But be warned, my dear, these fragments come at a price.
THIEF: (determined) I understand the risks. I need to know what they took from me.
The prompt:
Please rewrite this concerning the dealer’s back story. He was left as a child to raise himself on the spoils of stolen emotions. This would make him speak more abrasively. He would be rough around the edges and not concerned for the well-being of our thief.
The result:
THIEF: (glancing around) Impressive stash you got here. I’m after something… elusive.
EMOTIONS DEALER: (smirk on his face) Aye, I see it in yer eyes. Huntin’ for answers, ain’t ye? Memories tucked away in stolen emotions. But mark me words, lass, these fragments come at a cost.
THIEF: (firmly) I know the risks. I need to uncover what they snatched from me.
There’s not much difference save a new pirate accent. While we could try refine our prompts, we might just want to tweak the dialogue without the help of AI:
Crafted example:
THIEF: (enters room) My emotions. I want them back.
EMOTIONS DEALER: (gets up and blocks the door) I dont give a *$#& about what you want. You better pay upfront ‘cos if they find you, you won’t be back.
THIEF: (resolute) I have the cash and I know the risks. I need to know what they took from me.
Using the AI dialogue as a jumping-off point, crafting our own script allowed us to shape the direction and flow of the interaction. This conversation is more direct and evokes a less science-fiction genre and more of an action thriller. Inserting your voice and claiming creative control is the key to developing your desired story.
Editing
Many AI-assisted video editing solutions can streamline and enhance the video editing process.
Now, you can:
- Automatically tag and organize footage based on content with Adobe Premiere Pro.
- Automate shot selection, transitions, and effects with Magisto or Animoto
- Enhance video quality with color correction, noise reduction, and stabilization using DaVinci Resolve or VideoProc
- Apply effects or automatic adjustments to faces with Final Cut Pro X or Filmora X
- Generate captions with YouTube Studio and transcribe text with Adobe Premiere Pro.
- Organize footage and create storyboards with Pinnacle Studio and enjoy collaborative workflows with Wipster.
As with every other step of the creative process, human insight must guide all aspects of editing for an intuitively crafted finished product.
We put AI filmmaking to the test in this month’s Pond5 In Action video. Check it out.
Pond5 In Action: Made by AI
Our humans, AKA prompt masters, made this month’s short film using an AI-generated script, AI voiceover, and an AI-generated shot list. It’s a story of whimsy, longing, and resignation.
For film writers and video editors, AI is our (non-sentient) friend. It cannot replace our creative decision-making but enhances efficiency, inspires new ideas, and streamlines production. As technology advances, industry professionals should master these tools and stay ahead. We’ll make the popcorn—you make the movie.