Hong Kong filmmakers using AI count savings in time and money; others fear loss of creativity and human touch Roger Proeis is in Tseung Kwan O, in Hong Kong’s New Territories, and walking around a cavernous railway station unlike any in the city. The station, complete with ticketing machines, escalators, seating areas and advertising billboards, is fake. The video producer created the whole set-up within his 5,000 sq ft studio using artificial intelligence (AI). Proeis, 44, the Norwegian CEO of film production firm Votion Studios, is convinced that new technology is shaking up the industry, changing the way traditional filmmakers work and trimming costs too. “Training AI models on extensive real-world data sets can save time and resources in creating accurate and immersive countless environments and production workflows,” he said. “AI can also automate tasks like video editing, colour grading and visual effects composting.” Hollywood filmmakers have already begun using AI to tweak scripts, select cast members, shorten the time taken to choose locations and even predict the financial success of their films. In Hong Kong, some filmmakers have embraced technology, but others are sceptical that AI can make a difference to the city’s stagnant industry, which has struggled to break from stale formulas and rely on the same group of ageing actors. Film editor Wong Hoi, 56, who has won multiple awards for his work, said he believed AI could improve film production in many ways. He estimated that using AI could at least halve the cost and time needed to create film locations. ‘Using AI puts the cart before the horse’ Filmmaker Norman Chan Hok-yan, associate director of Baptist University’s film academy, said AI and technology could not fix the most pressing issues in Hong Kong’s film industry. “Nobody has the time to be preoccupied with the use of AI. We are more concerned about making breakthroughs with our storytelling, presentations, scriptwriting and how to attract viewers and tap different markets,” he said. “Many industry players won’t put the horse before the cart. The script comes first, then we’ll see if technology can complement the script and provide value for money. We won’t write a script to cater to a specific technology,” he said. ‘Fusion of art, creativity and tech’ Video producer Proeis said that as the trend of technological advancement flourished globally, Hong Kong could establish itself as a leading production hub tapping into the market of the Greater Bay Area, which connects the city, Macau and nine cities in neighbouring Guangdong province. Hong Kong, with its established infrastructure, international approach to production quality and global connectivity, had a competitive advantage as an ideal location to attract production projects and cater to the needs of local and international content creators. He said AI models could be trained by using existing films and cinematographic principles, and virtual cameras could be programmed to capture shots that mimicked the style and techniques of renowned cinematographers. “While some argue that AI will eventually replace humans, I believe it may struggle to replicate the human creative mind and make nuanced creative decisions.” A boon or bane for the industry? With the advances in AI, Baptist University has established five art technology start-ups, with two research projects adopting text-to-prompt technologies. “MotionGPT” allows users to input text prompts and transform them into a video for BuVatar, an AI-powered digital avatar, to perform programmed actions and behaviour. The avatar can be of a human or animal, and costumes, background settings, framing and camera angles are all flexible. He said the two projects complemented each other, with MotionGPT specialising in motion generation and BuVatar used for virtual character creation. “Combining them offers a low-budget production solution for the film industry and those in academia,” he said. Veteran producer and actor Tenky Tin Kai-man, 62, former chairman of the Federation of Hong Kong Filmmakers, said the local industry’s use of AI was still in its infancy, and cautioned against over-reliance on technology for filmmaking. “Movies need originality, creativity and the human touch,” he said. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/hong-kong-economy/article/3261247/hong-kong-filmmakers-using-ai-count-savings-time-and-money-others-fear-loss-creativity-and-human (ICE HONG KONG)

Fonte notizia: South China Morning Post