Studio executives tell Georgia lawmakers AI could play a starring role in film productions – WABE

Georgia can be seen on the big screen, portraying locations from Hawkins, Indiana, in “Stranger Things,” to Wakanda, home of Marvel’s Black Panther.

And as AI technology continues to expand into the entertainment business, Georgia productions could see new techniques that filmmakers of the past could only dream of.

AI systems could automatically translate an actor’s dialogue into other languages, modifying their mouth movements to match the speech but preserving their original voice and vocal performance. Directors could even use AI to re-release classic films without the expense of hiring an entirely new crew, Frank Patterson, chief executive of Trilith Studios in Atlanta, said at a hearing of the Georgia Senate Artificial Intelligence Committee.

“When I was younger, my son didn’t want to watch a black-and-white movie and he didn’t like the old language and tone,” she said. “Now we can fix all that with these new AI tools. For studios that have libraries of content, I didn’t want a remake of ‘Willy Wonka,’ the 1960s version. But they remade it. We should have used AI technologies to update the story, right?”

Creating or altering a movie in these ways could bring a flood of problems related to copyright and privacy laws.

Sen. Ed Setzler, R-Acworth, questioned what all-digital casts and sets could mean for mega-franchises like the Marvel Cinematic Universe and “The Lord of the Rings.”

“Think about the salaries of the actors compared to what they would have paid if they had decided, ‘Hey, you know what, we’re going to release the entire MCU with no actors at all. We’re not going to deal with their schedules, their problems, they like to have Diet Pepsi on set. ’ All of those things for people could just go away because we’re just going to manufacture them.”

“Then there’s the issue of going to the set, I think of the Lord of the Rings films,” he added. “They went to New Zealand, they had an incredible environment. If you said there’s no talent, there’s no New Zealand, we’re going to create it entirely in the studio today. What’s the cost?”

Filmmakers are already using a process called virtual production to create virtual environments that rival real-world locations, Patterson said, but AI is still far from matching the brain of a talented actor.

“The reason Robert Downey Jr. gets paid the money he gets is because there’s something going on in his brain, God help him, there’s something going on in his brain that makes him respond the way he does, that makes us really want him and love him and connect with him, and we’re a long way from that,” he said. “I’d love to tell you I can save X a million dollars, but that’s not going to happen.”

But while ChatGPT may not be playing a starring role anytime soon, directors have long used the technology to create large crowds in sports films or massive armies in battle scenes. Studios have libraries of nondescript faces based on real people, raising questions about supporting actors or extras.

“We’re going to create human beings that don’t exist,” Patterson said. “So I’m also stuck in this situation where I want the extras and all these great Georgians that are in the movies to be able to make $100 and come see a movie and enjoy it, and we’re actually showing real Georgians. If the cost gets too high, we can just put a bunch of human beings that don’t exist digitally in the background and we’re not infringing on anyone’s rights, but we’re harming actors in general. So this is a fight that we don’t have an answer for right now, but I think there (should be) clear protections by the state on how the image and likeness can be used publicly and licensed accordingly.”

Committee Chairman John Albers expressed interest in a Tennessee law as a possible model for Georgia legislation. The ELVIS Act (short for Ensuring Likeness Voice and Image Security) seeks to protect a person’s voice from misuse and adds liability to companies that provide tools that could be used to reproduce someone’s voice or image.

Members of Congress from both parties have proposed legislation aimed at protecting people from nonconsensual digital streaming, but there is plenty of room for state regulation and Georgia’s film industry could benefit if it outpaces other states, said Julie Feagin, chief executive of Atlanta-based FilmBook Media.

He cited as an example a proposed law in New York that would exclude from the state’s film tax credit productions that use AI in a way that displaces a live worker.

Georgia’s film tax credit is one of the most generous in the country.

“I can give you an example. They say they want to have a synthetic actor as a stunt double because they are afraid that a stunt double or a real actor will be harmed or injured during the creation of the scene,” he said. “They want a synthetic actor. But then people will argue that no, they have done this in the past. They can use a stunt double. Then they will lose the tax credit even though they are trying to protect their talent.”

“So there’s an opportunity because studios are saying they want to leave New York,” he added. “They could come to Atlanta. So there’s an opportunity that legislation could be passed that says, okay, you can use a synthetic double or you can use acting or you can use a digital double, but then you’re going to license the use of a real person here in Georgia, so the money stays here in Georgia.”

The Senate Artificial Intelligence Committee is scheduled to continue holding meetings throughout December, before the legislative session begins in January. A House subcommittee on artificial intelligence is scheduled to meet Thursday at the state Capitol.

This story was provided by WABE’s content partner, the Georgia Recorder.