Ava DuVernay invites you to make up your own mind about AI in her new doc
Ava DuVernay's 14th , about the 14th Amendment, uses AI to animate old photos that are in the public domain, and the filmmaker wants people to see the documentary for themselves before deciding how they feel about it.
Ava DuVernay, the director of the new documentary 14th, is one of the Hollywood creatives embracing the use of AI in filmmaking. In her follow-up to her 2016 documentary 13th, DuVernay utilizes AI to animate archival photos in the public domain. DuVernay stated that they did not use AI to fabricate a person or make an avatar or approximate someone's voice, but rather to animate photos to bring history to life, which was their goal.
At AFI Fest, DuVernay explained that post-production tools gave the photos a 3D quality, resembling the stereoscope device used to view images. She defended the use of AI during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, emphasizing the importance of being sober about the technology's use across the filmmaking workflow. DuVernay is not alone in integrating AI into filmmaking; Danny Boyle and Ben Affleck have also used AI to animate old photos in their respective works.
Moreover, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos reported that the company used generative AI in 300 projects. While there are concerns about recent issues at Netflix, there remains a strong case for using human artistry in making movies.
Written by urgent.news from The A.V. Club's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
