The Future of Movie Making: A Seamless AI-Enhanced Workflow

John Negoita
7 min readFeb 17, 2024

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We are on the brink of a cinematic revolution! The way we experience movies and TV shows is on the verge of an extraordinary transformation.

Picture this:

Services like Netflix, already synonymous with on-demand entertainment, are gearing up for a seismic shift. We’re not just talking about customizable TV shows; we’re talking about the potential for entire TV shows generated from scratch, all thanks to the incredible power of artificial intelligence.

And guess what?

This change is looming on the horizon, much closer than you might think.

In this blog post, we’ll take you on a journey through the exciting intersection of AI and the entertainment industry, focusing on how platforms like Netflix could soon be offering tailor-made TV shows, or even crafting entire narratives from the ground up. Buckle up; the future of on-demand TV is not just around the corner — it’s practically knocking on our screens! 🚀✨

The Movie-Making Workflow: A Symphony of Creativity and Technology

The process of making a movie involves a complex interplay of creativity, collaboration, and technology.

Traditionally, it encompasses several key stages, each demanding meticulous attention to detail and a keen understanding of storytelling. As we delve into these stages, let’s explore how AI can seamlessly integrate into the workflow, enhancing efficiency and expanding creative possibilities.

  • Ideation and Scriptwriting — AI, like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, aids in generating unique story ideas, dialogues, and plot twists, acting as a collaborative partner in the scriptwriting process.
  • Pre-production Planning - AI-driven analytics tools optimize budget allocation, assist in casting decisions, and suggest shooting locations based on historical data and visual parameters. In the age of AI, most of this are optional, as everything can be taken care of inside the computer.
  • Storyboarding and Visualization — AI image generators (DALL-E, MidJourney, Stable Diffusion) swiftly transform textual descriptions into vivid storyboards, providing visual references for planning shots and sequences. There are even open source tools like Automatic1111 or online free AI image generators and photo editors like MockoFun.
  • Production with AI Image to Video Synthesis — AI video synthesis tools (Gen2 RunwayML, Pika Labs, PixVerse and OpenAI Sora) convert text descriptions or static storyboard images into dynamic video sequences, facilitating real-time visualization and editing during filming.
  • Post-production and Editing — AI-driven tools automate routine editing tasks, suggest visual effects enhancements, and dynamically adapt soundtracks to match the emotional beats of the story.
  • Audio Enhancements with TTS and AI Composers — Text to Speech (TTS) models (Eleven Labs and Suno Bark) provide natural-sounding voiceovers, while AI composers (AIVA, Suno AI) generate original soundtracks.
  • Feedback and Iteration — AI analyzes audience reactions and feedback throughout the process, offering insights that influence creative decisions, allowing for continuous adaptation and refinement.

And, because a picture is worth a thousand words, this means that a video is worth:

24fps * 1000 words/frame = 24.000 words per second 😊

In the not-so-distant future, envision a service akin to Netflix, leveraging an advanced AI-powered workflow to generate unique TV shows on demand. This revolutionary approach combines cutting-edge technologies to streamline the content creation process.

So, let’s see how AI video generation would work to create the next custom Netflix TV show.

Here’s the list of tools I’ll use to demonstrate how things could work:

1. Dynamic Ideation with AI Creative Writing

So, you turn on Netflix in the near future and speak into your remote:

I want to see a sci-fi TV show about two men, space explorers, that explore a frozen planet. One of them has a red knitted hat.

In the background, the workflow begins by passing this to ChatGPT. And, here’s what ChatGPT comes back with:

Episode 1: Frozen Frontier

Teaser:

The Frostbound Odyssey spacecraft descends through the icy atmosphere of an uncharted frozen planet. As the team prepares for landing, Captain Hale stoically reviews the mission objectives, while Red eagerly dons his red knitted hat, symbolic of his determination to face the unknown with warmth and enthusiasm.

Character Moments:

  1. Marcus and Red’s Dynamic: The crew establishes their camaraderie as they navigate the harsh icy landscape. Marcus’s leadership is tested when they encounter unforeseen challenges, showcasing his resilience and tactical skills. Red’s humor and optimism act as a counterbalance, creating a synergy that defines their partnership.
  2. Unearthly Discoveries: The explorers stumble upon an ancient alien metalic structure on top of the ice, triggering a series of questions about the planet’s history. Red’s scientific curiosity is piqued, while Marcus remains vigilant, sensing the potential dangers that lie ahead.

Cliffhanger:

As the team investigates the alien structure, they inadvertently activate a dormant technology, revealing a message hinting at a greater cosmic threat that could endanger the entire galaxy.

2. Personalized Story and Character Development

ChatGPT also creates a background story for the characters:

Character Development:

Captain Marcus Hale:

Captain Marcus Hale is a seasoned space explorer with a stoic demeanor and a passion for discovery. His background includes years of service in the intergalactic fleet, where he earned a reputation for his strategic thinking and unwavering leadership. However, beneath the tough exterior lies a man haunted by a mysterious incident from his past. As the leader of the Frostbound Odyssey mission, Marcus is determined to prove himself and overcome the ghosts that still linger.

Lieutenant Adrian “Red” O’Connor:

Lieutenant Adrian O’Connor, commonly known as “Red” due to his distinctive red knitted hat, is the heart of the Frostbound Odyssey team. With a background in astrophysics and a penchant for quirky humor, Red brings a light-hearted and optimistic energy to the crew. His past is marked by a series of groundbreaking discoveries, but he harbors a secret fascination with the unknown. Red’s genuine curiosity and affinity for the mysteries of the cosmos make him an invaluable asset to the mission.

3. Adaptive Storyboard Creation:

First, let’s create the characters. We’ll use MockoFun to generate Lt. Adrian O’Connor and his distinctive red knitted hat.

Images created with MockoFun AI Image Generator

Here’s the prompt:

closeup shot of astronaut Adrian O’Connor, red beard, wearing a red knitted hat, frozen planet background digital artwork

As for the planet where the action takes place, here’s a prompt that could work:

flat plain landscape, frozen alien planet, clear blue skies cinematic photo

Image generated with AI Image Generator
Images created with MockoFun AI Image Generator

Prompt for the alien spaceship:

an alien aluminium metallic craft landed on a flat plain landscape, frozen alien planet, clear blue skies cinematic photo

Images created with MockoFun AI Image Generator

4. Real-time Video Synthesis for Instant Gratification

AI Video Generator — OpenAI Sora

The new OpenAI Sora text to video app rendered this video using this prompt:

A movie trailer featuring the adventures of the 30 year old space man wearing a red wool knitted motorcycle helmet, blue sky, salt desert, cinematic style, shot on 35mm film, vivid colors.more

5. Tailored Text to Speech Narration:

Text to Speech (TTS) models like ElevenLabs personalized voiceovers, ensuring that characters speak with the desired tone and style according to user preferences. This adds an extra layer of customization to the viewing experience. The dialogs are imagined by ChatGPT which ensures consistency with the story.

Choosing one of the preset voices named “Josh” and playing with the “stability” settings renders a very realistic voiceover for our video:

There’s more at stake than you realize… Much more! We’ve got to get this message back home

6. Dynamic Soundscapes and AI-Generated Music:

As a final touch, we create the music score for the video using Suno AI. This is such a cool tool and so easy to use. Here are the “lyrics” and the music style instructions:

Lyrics: [INTRO]

Style of Music: movie score, scifi, epic drama, frozen planet

The Final Result

Made with MockoFun Netflix Template

And the final AI generated video:

In Conclusion

In this visionary scenario, the convergence of AI technologies enables a streaming service to offer an unparalleled level of personalization. Subscribers become active participants in the creative process, shaping the content they consume and redefining the future landscape of on-demand television.

Is this the end of traditional movie making, or just a whole new age of movie making creativity?

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