Movies

OpenAI takes its pitch to Hollywood creatives after launching controversial video tool

BBG News

In just a few short months following the public release of OpenAI’s debated text-to-video AI tool, Sora, the company has now aimed its marketing strategy at Los Angeles’ filmmakers and digital content creators.

This week, the creators of ChatGPT presented 11 short films produced with Sora in a public screening at Brain Dead Studios, located on Fairfax Avenue. The event, titled “Sora Selects,” served as both a platform to highlight filmmakers utilizing Sora and a promotional opportunity for the technology. Their initial event took place in New York in January, then L.A., with Tokyo being the next destination.

On Wednesdays, the screened films showcased a diverse range of subjects and artificial intelligence-created settings, such as medieval eras, dreams, and sunsets. Scenes included depictions of AI-generated people, creatures, and scenery.

The movies played on Wednesday had different stories and special effects made by AI, like medieval life, dreams, and sunset scenes. They showed people, animals, and landscapes that were created using AI.

Souki Mansoor, the Sora artist program lead for OpenAI, expressed his eagerness, saying, “I can’t wait for folks to leave feeling, ‘Wow! These people are incredibly creative. There’s so much potential in Sora!’ I hope they go home inspired and eager to explore it themselves.

Ever since its debut, creators have utilized Sora for a variety of purposes such as music video production, animation, advertisements, and numerous other projects. Some independent filmmakers have lauded it for providing a platform to experiment with ideas without worrying about financial limitations. However, there has been debate in the entertainment industry regarding the potential impact of tools like Sora and AI, which could lead to job displacement for actors, special effects artists, and other professionals.

Hollywood Inc.

On Monday, OpenAI announced plans to make their disputed video-generation tool accessible to the general public, offering multiple subscription options.

Recently, over 400 artists in Hollywood, such as Ben Stiller and Ava DuVernay, penned a letter urging the government to maintain and enforce current copyright regulations regarding artificial intelligence. Previously, the Writers Guild of America had written letters to production companies, advising them to pursue legal action against AI firms that have utilized writers’ material to train AI systems without their explicit consent.

Tech leaders argue that it’s reasonable for them to educate AI systems using publicly accessible content, following the principle of “fair use.” This rule permits the replication of works, within certain limits, without requiring explicit consent from the original copyright owner.

2023 saw a work stoppage by writers and performers who aimed to secure additional safeguards against AI within their agreements with leading production companies.

35-year-old filmmaker Ryan Turner expressed that he personally grappled with the ethical aspects of artificial intelligence during the production of his movie “Wi-Fi Kingdom,” which was distributed by Sora Selects. The movie offers a satirical take on smartphone and tablet addiction, using AI-generated creatures as its subject matter.

Turner, the co-founder of Echobend Pictures based in LA, shared, ‘I wanted to maintain my true self while creating something that doesn’t feel intimidating. So I asked myself, how can I do that?’

At “Wi-Fi Kingdom,” Turner debuted his AI movie for the first time in front of a live audience of 160 individuals. They shared laughter as the mockumentary depicted a disgruntled lioness frustrated by her mate’s excessive smartphone scrolling.

Turner mentioned, “This brief film is essentially an idea jotted down in my Notebook. It’s akin to thinking, ‘That could be amusing,’ but with the help of this creative tool, I can transform that thought into reality.

OpenAI expressed satisfaction with the high volume of users joining Sora ever since its debut in December, though they chose not to disclose specific user count figures.

In the interview, Rohan Sahai, the head of Sora’s product team, remarked, “It exceeded our expectations significantly.

Hollywood Inc.

Many screenwriters find it alarming when they discover that their scripts are being utilized, without consent, by technology firms for training artificial intelligence systems. They’re urging production studios to initiate lawsuits to address this issue.

At the busiest times, a new Sora video is created every second. The leading four cities utilizing Sora are located overseas: Seoul, Paris, Tokyo, and Madrid, as stated by OpenAI. However, it’s New York that comes in fifth place.

Users with a ChatGPT+ or Pro subscription can utilize Sora. As mentioned by Sahai, there’s some overlap between the user base of ChatGPT and Sora. However, at this moment, a free version of Sora has not been released to the public.

AI firms have held talks with significant movie studios regarding their technology, however, only a limited number of agreements related to content have been made public. This is partly because of legal complexities and apprehensions raised among the talent.

Hollywood Inc.

With the rapid progress of artificial intelligence (AI), it’s anticipated that there will be an increase in partnerships between tech firms and studios or individual talents. However, significant hurdles persist.

Sahai mentioned that numerous production studios are expressing significant curiosity towards Sora, with some individuals in the industry resorting to using their private accounts or seeking approval from their legal and IT departments to experiment with it.

Sahai mentioned that they need to obtain legal clearance, as it’s a sensitive matter regarding the materials they can employ. They’ve been engaged in discussions for some time now, and have conducted a few trial runs with individuals willing to participate, primarily seeking their opinions.

Attendees expressed their amazement at the advancements in the technology, and were given a complimentary one-month pass for Sora.

Following the screenings, Universal Pictures film executive Holly Goline expressed a mix of emotions – excitement, doubt, inspiration, but predominantly, a strong sense of curiosity.

“We’re here now, right?” Goline said. “Let’s go.”

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2025-03-21 13:31

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