The AI movie making machine

When I have a well-defined film idea in my mind, I can often project that movie in my inner theater. Once I’ve convinced enough people to help me bring it to life, production begins: the shoot happens, editing and post-production take place, the soundtrack is laid over it, and the final images are projected onto a screen. You can then see something that closely resembles the movie I first imagined.

All the moving parts needed for this incredible miracle to happen — which vary in complexity and scale depending on the film — are what we at TANTÚ films call the movie-making machine.

Although we love shooting real image with real actors, there are several reasons why we are now using AI for most steps in the process. The first and most obvious — though not the only — reason is budget. The budget required to shoot Foreverness is far beyond our means. We need to replace an impossible team of artists and experts with a hopefully possible AI system, supported by a reduced number of professionals.

As the story progresses, the reality we aim to depict increasingly relies on computer-generated imagery. Down the line, artificial intelligence will be the only viable solution — so we might as well start with it from the beginning.

Generative AI has become popular in the past year or two, but its potential has been on the horizon for much longer. Even when the novel was just a draft, I dreamed of creating a series based on it. Foreverness is a fitting theme for one of the first series fully generated by AI.

Back then, I knew it wasn’t yet possible — and I know now there are still technical obstacles in our way. However, quite fortunately, the first part of the novel takes place in almost-familiar settings, which is exactly what AI currently does best. We believe we can begin producing it while generative AI continues to evolve, allowing us to dream our way into outer space — all the way to Tantú and beyond.

PJ