Inside the AI Film Festival. Interview With Fowkes, Member

by Alexandra Mansilla

Inside the AI Film Festival. Interview With Megan Fowkes, Jury Member

27 Feb 2024

Back in September last year, Expo City’s AI Film Festival was announced as the region's first AI film fest. Since then, the jury has meticulously reviewed over 500 films from 89 countries, narrowing them down to the top 10. On February 29th, the winners will be revealed across four exciting categories: Audience Choice, Best Film, Best Director, and AI Choice.

We had the chance to catch up with one of the jury members, Megan Fowkes, and got all the inside scoop on the festival. We delved into discussions about AI's primary perils and even guessed whether AI might one day snatch an Oscar.

— It is the first AI film festival. How did the audience react?

— Overall, the audience was positive about Expo City’s AI film festival. It allowed people not necessarily in the creative industry to tell their unique stories. Regardless of what others may think, I believe everyone is creative and this was an opportunity for those with a curious mind to get involved. We saw a lot of quirky and creative entries, some great and some not so great, but what was palpable was that everyone who entered a film enjoyed making it.

— Which AI technologies did the authors use in creating their movies?

— Several tools were used, ranging from script writing in ChatGPT to image and video creation in Stable Diffusion, Runway, Midjourney and Kaiber.

— Which AI tools do you personally like the most? Why?

— Personally, I am a big fan of Midjourney for my image creation, as there are quite a few tricks to get you prompted like a champion to generate truly captivating images. As for video creation, I find Kaiber easiest to use as it is pretty user-friendly, and there isn’t too much of a barrier to entry. I also like Runway because its new Motion Brush tool gives more control.

“One More Pumpkin” by Hansl Von Kwon (Film Still)

— The films cover a wide range of topics, from ecology to the story of an old Korean couple. The question is: Why did the jury choose these 10 movies for the shortlist? What were the criteria, apart from technical considerations?

— When it really came down to it, these chosen films were the ones that had the most interesting or captivating stories. At the end of the day, AI is just a tool we use to tell a story; no matter how spectacular the visuals are, a good story will always come out on top.

— The timeless debate: AI vs humans. What do you think AI will never truly grasp in filmmaking?

— This is a valid question, and when we created the AI+U campaign for Expo City’s AI Film Festival, we were very aware of it. I’m not sure it will ever fully grasp the essence of filmmaking. AI is a tool, and it won’t be creating things on its own; it needs your input and ideas as well as a good eye to tell if something is good or not. I don’t think it will be replacing us. If anything, it will make us more discerning. Art direction and good ideas will become ever more important as AI can’t do it alone.

— Do you think AI could win an Oscar for Best Director? Or for Best Scriptwriter?

— It is not going to be winning any awards anytime soon. When left to its own devices, the scripts become generic, and the visuals go astray. The films miss the magic that true human creativity brings to the table.

“Buyer Beware” by Christian Fleischer (Film Still)

— Let's discuss a bit. In today's world, we have grown accustomed to perfection and speed. Even minor internet hiccups can throw off our entire experience. We are used to watching movies with live actors whose lips perfectly synced with their dialogue. But with AI-generated films, even with human input, there can be glitches – like faces morphing unexpectedly. Do you reckon audiences are ready for this kind of content, or do you think we still need to wait it out?

— On a commercial scale, audiences aren’t prepared for it, and I don’t see them watching this type of content as feature films. I think it will be more prevalent on social media and in personalised content. However, this depends on how and where it is used. For a few years now, AI has been used in traditional animation to create filler frames, so animators are now only drawing the key frames, and the AI is filling in the rest. As you mentioned, though, the AI is not perfect, but you don’t really notice the imperfect frames in the content, and it is still enjoyable to watch.

However, having said this, a new tool called Sora by OpenAI was recently released, which can generate video from text. I think this will disrupt the industry totally. It is exceptionally realistic, and we will start seeing films made with this technology, so the wait could be shorter than we think…

— What is the danger of AI?

— The danger of AI comes with a lack of regulation and quality control. I think it will be very important for moderators to be set in place to ensure that content is safe for both viewers and those it is portraying. AI isn’t “conscious” of what it is making, as it is merely a product of its inputs. You will always have unsavoury people out there who create inappropriate content. That is why the human element is so important.

AI is a double-edged sword. It makes beautiful and believable content; sometimes, these are better than the real thing, leading to unrealistic expectations. The world of AI is moving astronomically fast, with news tools being released daily.

Having said this, I would also like to touch upon ethics. It would be great if we could create AIs to help us regulate how and what is being created since so much is being generated that it would be impossible for humans to regulate it all.

Additionally, for those in the creative sector, it has expanded the scope of work, meaning more pressure and faster turnarounds for crafted work and less time for ideation and creativity. I don’t think AI will replace humans; I think humans using AI will replace those not using it. It would be great if AI could be used to help protect creators.

“The Enfilade Of Worlds” by Artem Golenkov (Film Still)

— What do you like the most about AI?

— I like how AI allows for opportunities to think experimentally and makes experiences more immersive and believable. It allows me to visualise better and explain my ideas. It encourages you to stay creative and open to new trends because there is always something new to play with.

— Is there something you wish AI could create?

— I wish it could create more security and ownership for artists; I hope this happens in the future. AI has more to do with ethics and the rights as well as proper accreditation of art, people’s likeness and performances.

— One of AIFF’s awards is “the unique AI Choice Award, decided by Expo City’s proprietary AI model”. Could you please describe this AI?

— I don’t know too much about how this particular AI works, but I think it is highly innovative, and I applaud Expo City for the initiative. It is interesting to see how AI can be utilised not only for creating but also for assessing creative works and how it will play a part in the future of entertainment.

— How do you envision the intersection of AI and filmmaking evolving?

— Expo City’s AI Film Festival demonstrates how it will be transformative and involved in every stage of the process, so finding a balance will be necessary. I believe it is going to level the playing field, and this is why talent is going to play a bigger role than ever before. Human ingenuity and originality are what will set things apart rather than craft to connect and create culture.

— Do you have plans for future editions of the AI film festival? If so, what changes or expansions might we expect?

— I’m really excited to see what next year’s films will be like and to see how much the overall quality will improve. With the recent release of Sora, storytellers now have a powerful new tool to use to create their films, and this makes it very exciting indeed.

by Alexandra Mansilla

Inside the AI Film Festival. Interview With Megan Fowkes, Jury Member

27 Feb 2024

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27 Feb 2024

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