Welcome to Today’s AIography!

Get ready to dive into this week's updates on how AI is reshaping Hollywood! From Netflix's bold strategies to new industry contracts, here's everything you need to know about AI's role in the film world.

In today’s AIography:

• Netflix Sarandos talks AI enhanced filmmaking

• IATSE ratifies contract, improves work conditions

• AI Enhances Hollywood creativity, not a threat

• Generative AI reshaping film, TV jobs significantly

• Leonardo.Ai excels in user-directed AI image creation

• Essential Tools

• Short Takes

• One More Thing…

Read time: About 5 minutes

THE LATEST NEWS

STUDIOS
Netflix Sarandos talks AI enhanced filmmaking🎥

TL;DR: Netflix's co-CEO Ted Sarandos discussed generative AI as a tool to elevate film storytelling and viewer engagement, emphasizing its integration to enhance rather than replace human creativity.

Key Takeaways:

• Ted Sarandos emphasized generative AI's role in enhancing film storytelling, not just reducing costs.

• AI integration in Netflix aims to enrich storytelling and push creative boundaries, not to cut financial overheads.

• Sarandos compared AI's impact on filmmaking to historical shifts like CGI, highlighting improvements without replacing human creativity.

• With AI, Netflix seeks to bolster viewer engagement and personalize content, ensuring AI complements rather than replaces human roles.

Why it’s important: Ted Sarandos' focus on using generative AI to enhance, not replace, human creativity in filmmaking signals a transformative shift in content creation, potentially setting a precedent for how the entire industry approaches AI—not as a threat, but as an invaluable asset for innovation.

LABOR
IATSE ratifies contracts, improves crew work conditions 🎬

TL;DR: IATSE members ratified major contracts improving wages, working conditions, and AI regulations for 70,000 Hollywood crew members, marking a significant shift in industry labor relations.

Key Takeaways:

• IATSE members ratified two major three-year contracts, improving wages, health benefits, and work conditions for 70,000 crew members.

• The Basic Agreement and Area Standards Agreement were approved by 85.9% and 87.2% of members, signaling strong support for the new terms.

• New contracts include significant wage increases, $700 million for health and pension plans, and regulations on AI use to protect jobs.

• These agreements represent a shift towards better work-life balance, setting a precedent for future industry negotiations.

Why it’s important: The overwhelming approval of IATSE's new contracts showcases a unified front in Hollywood, adapting to technological advancements and improving labor conditions. This could pave the way for other industries to integrate AI safely while securing rights and benefits for workers in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

OPINION
AI enhances Hollywood creativity, not a threat 🎥

TL;DR: At the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference, industry leaders, including Cristobal Valenzuela, the co-founder and CEO of RunwayML, advocated for AI as a transformative tool in Hollywood, emphasizing its role in enhancing creativity, not replacing artists.

Key Takeaways:

• Valenzuela and television producer Jake Aust discussed AI's positive role in Hollywood's creative processes at the Fortune Brainstorm Tech conference.

• Valenzuela demonstrated how Runway's AI models help produce cinematic video clips, showcasing AI as a creativity enhancer.

• Discussions emphasized adjusting the narrative around AI in Hollywood, highlighting historical adaptability to technological advances.

• The speakers encouraged viewing AI as a beneficial tool in artistry, potentially redefining creator roles and intellectual property rights.

Why it’s important: Hollywood is on the verge of a new era where AI is seen not just as a tool, but as a collaborator in creativity, reshaping roles, workflows, and the fundamental understanding of intellectual property in the industry.

TOOLS
Leonardo.Ai excels in user-directed AI image creation 🎨

TL;DR: Leonardo.Ai, launched in 2022, specializes in AI image generation with a focus on user control, recently raising $31 million and expanding into enterprise solutions for various industries.

Key Takeaways:

• Leonardo.Ai launched in October 2022, introducing a generative AI platform for creating images with precise user control.

• Their proprietary model, Phoenix, enhances image relevance by generating detailed visuals from elaborate descriptions.

• With a user base of 17 million, Leonardo.Ai influences diverse sectors and recently raised $31 million in funding.

• The platform is expanding into enterprise solutions, allowing businesses to train AI with proprietary data, boosting productivity.

Why it’s important: Leonardo.Ai is rapidly shaping the AI image generation market with user-centric features and a growing influence across various sectors. The focus on personalized enterprise solutions paves the way for widespread incorporation of tailored AI in creative and business processes, marking a significant evolution in AI-driven industries.

TOOLS
Luma AI's "Loops" enhances AI video creation 🎥

TL;DR: Luma AI introduced "Loops," a feature in Dream Machine that enables creation of endless, smooth video loops from text or images, promising to revolutionize digital marketing and content creation.

Key Takeaways:

• Luma AI's new "Loops" feature in Dream Machine creates infinite, seamless video loops, enhancing AI-driven media creation.

• "Loops" resolves issues of choppy AI-generated videos, expanding applications in digital marketing and artistic installations.

• Loops democratizes video production, potentially transforming digital marketing by increasing access to sophisticated video tools.

• Luma AI enhances ethical use of AI media by integrating watermarking and attribution systems to address authenticity concerns.

Why it’s important: Luma AI's "Loops" feature not only advances AI in video production by ensuring seamless outputs, but it also democratizes high-quality content creation. Such innovation could redefine digital marketing landscapes and artistic expression, while integrated ethical measures aim to preserve authenticity and trust.

ESSENTIAL TOOLS

Tools to Check Out

Essential tools page/database still under construction. Until then, check out and bookmark the following pages.

• AI Cheat Cheat - Keep this list of terms handy

• ChatGPT “mini” - OpenAI’s new cost-efficient small model

• Immersity AI - Convert 2D images and videos into 3D

• Microsoft VASA-1 - Lifelike audio-driven talking faces
  generated in real time (Microsoft Research-Not available yet)

• RunwayML - The first mover and leading vendor of AI Video-gen and editing tools. Look at their new Gen-3 feature

• Claude 3.5 Sonnet - Claude’s new model that’s taking the chatbot world by storm.

• ChatGPT - Well, you probably already know and are using this one

• PikaLabs - The closest competitor to Runway but coming on fast

• Midjourney - Leader in still image generation.

• Pixverse - Another good video generator. Simple to use.

• Hedra - Generate expressive and controllable human characters

• ElevenLabs - Powerful AI voice generator

• Suno - Currently considered the best AI music generator

SHORT TAKES

• 📲 Anthropic just released a Claude.ai app for iOS and Android

• ⚖️ AI training uses unauthorized YouTube data

• 🎨 Valuing human creativity over AI

• 🤖 AI ethics in media, Transparency Encouraged

• 🎥 Hollywood adapts to AI, streaming, global shifts

• 🎬 Raindance Festival class on Adobe FireFly AI and Premiere Pro

• 🎭 Best Free AI Video Generators

• 📺 Peacock deploys AI in coverage of Paris Olympics

ONE MORE THING…

This week's AI-generated video is from Interdimensional TV and features world leaders and celebrities strutting (and rolling) down a runway in outrageous outfits, blending the absurd with the familiar in startling fashion. I got a good laugh at this mind-bending catwalk!

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