Filmmakers have been bringing monsters to the screen for over a century. The real bogeyman looks exactly like us in 2023.
Since June, Hollywood studios and artists have debated its use. artificial intelligence In Film and Television. One reason was the inability to agree on terms related to AI SAG-AFTRA The union representing actors and media professionals last Friday joined the Writers Guild in the first simultaneous strike in 63 years.
Actors’ biggest fear? synthetic artist.
While the two sides have negotiated issues ranging from using images and performances as training data for AI systems to digitally altering performances in the editing room, actors are concerned that fully AI-generated actors, or “metahumans,” will steal their roles.
“If it wasn’t a big deal to plan to use AI to replace actors, it wouldn’t be a big deal to get into a contract and let us sleep in peace of mind,” actress Carly Turow, who has worked on television series like “Homeland,” said at a protest this week. “When you think about the future of arts and entertainment as careers the fact that they won’t be doing it is frightening.”
One issue is to create artificial actors from a mixture of actors’ images. Studio sources said that hasn’t happened yet, though they aim to secure that right as part of the contract negotiations.
SAG-AFTRA’s chief negotiator, Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, said AI poses an “existential crisis” for actors who are concerned that their past, present and future work will be used “to generate synthetic actors who could replace them.”
Crabtree-Ireland said the union is not calling for an outright ban on AI, but rather that companies consult with it and seek approval before casting a synthetic performer in place of an actor.
According to sources familiar with the matter, leading film and television producers say they have addressed the union’s concerns on the issue in their latest resolution. However, studio sources say that the union has not responded to their offer.
According to sources familiar with the producers’ situation, the studio, eager to preserve creative options, agreed to provide notice to SAG if they planned to use a synthetic performer to replace a human actor who would otherwise have been hired for the role, and to give the union a chance to negotiate.
digital reproductions
Another important point in the conversation is the creation of digital replicas of background artists.
Major Studio, represented by Alliance Movies According to sources familiar with the proposal, the producers and television producers said they would obtain the actor’s permission to use his digital replica in any motion picture outside the production for which the performer was hired.
The producers said they would negotiate payment with the actors if digital duplicates were used – and stipulated that the virtual version of the actor could not stand in for the minimum number of background actors required as part of the SAG agreement.
SAG says the studios have agreed to obtain consent at the time of initial employment, which they argue is contrary to the idea of additional compensation.
Crabtree-Ireland said, “What it really means is that those companies will say to background artists, ‘If you don’t give us the consent that we ask for, we’re not going to hire you and replace you with someone else. ‘” “This is not a meaningful agreement.”
Studios are also considering continuing the long-standing practice of 3D body scans to get an actor’s appearance, in this case to create AI-generated digital replicas. Such images would be used in post-production, said a person familiar with the filmmaking methodology, to accurately morph an actor’s face or create an on-screen double.
Sources say that the makers have promised to take the artist’s consent and strike a separate deal for the latter’s use of the actor’s lookalike.
Studios can now do so with proper consent and compensation, Crabtree-Ireland said. The issue for the union is the desire to retain the rights to the digital replicas for future works, effectively taking ownership of the virtual persona.
Similarly, studios seek the right to digitally alter a performance in post-production to suit the character, script and director’s vision. The ability to change a word or two of dialogue, or make quick digital wardrobe changes, could save hundreds of thousands of dollars in the cost of re-shooting a scene, said one of the studio sources.
Sources say that the makers offered to take the artist’s consent for any changes beyond the normal ones made in post-production.
SAG interprets this as AI overreach, and seeks permission before any changes are made to an actor’s image, likeness or voice.
Crabtree-Ireland said, “Traditional editing methods cannot create a new scene that never existed before.”
© Thomson Reuters 2023