Romain Gavras Is Bummed About Those AI Versions of “Storm”

Romain Gavras, the director behind Yung Lean's "Storm" music video, expressed disappointment over the proliferation of AI-generated versions of his creation. These unauthorized recreations have replaced Yung Lean and the video's cast of young male dancers with various subjects such as dogs, babies, grandmothers, Elon Musk, Jeffrey Epstein, and even Adolf Hitler.

For Gavras, who worked on the project for free with a very low budget, the AI copies have made him sad for the efforts of everyone involved. The original video took 15 attempts to perfect and was captured on 16-mm film, with Gavras spending about three days rehearsing with choreographer Damien Jalet. Initially not intended as a commentary on AI, Gavras felt that the tech community took the video's complex practical effects as a challenge.

They attempted to replicate the video, seemingly seeing it as a dare. Gavras is currently considering legal actions to stop the unauthorized recreations, but the process appears challenging due to the large number of anonymous creators involved. Despite reaching out to a few AI companies for licensing, Gavras declined, stating that the economic model behind these projects is not what he initially envisioned.

Gavras presented "Storm" at the MTV VMAs, where it received four nominations, emphasizing the video's unique swagger and the imperfections of human nature that AI struggles to replicate.