The Cannes Film Festival has witnessed a shift in attitude among filmmakers towards artificial intelligence. Far from outright rejection, a cautious acceptance is now prevailing. Director Xavier Gens, responsible for the Netflix hit Under Paris, stated that using AI in his production would have halved the visual effects budget and reduced production time from one year to just three months.
Generative AI: the new post-production assistant 🎬
Gens explained that generative AI tools could handle complex water and particle simulations, processes that currently require significant computing power and hours of rendering. The cost reduction does not imply a loss of quality, but rather an optimization of workflows. The challenge lies in integrating these solutions without the final result losing the director's artistic control. The industry is exploring how AI can be an ally, not a substitute.
The filmmaker's dilemma: shoot or ask ChatGPT to do it? 🤖
While Gens calculates how much money would have been saved, producers are already dreaming of asking an AI to film the next action scene while they grab a coffee. Of course, the machine still doesn't know how to manage actors' egos or justify why the shoot was extended by three weeks. For now, AI saves time and money, but human drama remains a human affair.