AInsights: Your executive-level insights making sense of the latest in generative AI…

OpenAI released its initial version of Sora, a text-to-video AI model that generates high-quality video clips based on your text prompts.

Text-to-Video Generation: Sora enables you to produce videos by simply inputting descriptive text, facilitating rapid content development without the need for extensive technical expertise. But, Sora doesn’t work like you might imagine using ChatGPT. Your movie is comprised of storyboards, where each scene is then described with as much detail as you can provide, allowing you to craft the story from beginning to end.

Asset Integration: You can customize your videos by incorporating your own images and video clips.

Storyboard Tool: Storyboards are the foundation of any good storyteller. This feature allows precise control over each frame, aiding in the creation of detailed and structured narratives.

Resolution and Format Options: Sora supports video outputs up to 1080p resolution and offers various aspect ratios, including widescreen, vertical, and square formats, catering to diverse platform requirements.

Subscriptions: If you have a subscription to ChatGPT Plus, Sora is included at no additional cost. You can generate up to 50 videos per month at 480p resolution, with options for 720p. If you subscribe to ChatGPT Pro, you gain access to high-volume workflows. With this plan, you can generate videos with higher resolutions up to 1080p up to 20 seconds. You can also download videos without watermarks.

While Sora represents a significant advancement in AI video generation, it still has limitations. There’s a big difference between the promotional videos we’ve watched and what’s possible today. For example, the current version of Sora faces difficulties with complex scene generation, physics simulations and maintaining image quality and spatial details. OpenAI is actively addressing these issues similar to its approach to its ChatGPT and o1 models.

Here’s an example of Sora at work…

OpenAI Sora – Quick and Dirty Prompt:

An AI movie in there parts…

Please create a video that shows a business executive reading the digital version of AInsights newsletter published by Brian Solis. Start with the executive looking confused and overwhelmed with information overload about AI, but her team is looking for her guidance and leadership. Then she reads AInsights, and all the answers are clear toward innovation!

Storyboard 1: A business executive sits at her polished office desk, surrounded by stacks of papers, open devices, and charts depicting complex AI data. Her expression is one of confusion and overwhelm, as she holds her head in her hands. Her team peers through the glass office door, looking expectantly at her for guidance.

Storyboard 2: The executive picks up a tablet displaying a digital newsletter focused on AI insights. Her eyes scan the screen, and her face lights up with clarity and understanding.

Storyboard 3: The executive stands confidently, addressing her team with newfound insights and innovative ideas, the stress replaced by a calm assurance.

Google Veo 2

Not to be outdone, Google also introduced Veo 2, its advanced ‘state-of-the-art’ AI video generation tool. It’s not widely available yet, but you can join the waitlist over at Google’s VideoFX Lab.

Like Sora, Veo 2 excels in generating realistic videos from text prompts.  What sets Veo 2 apart is, for now, the following…

Cinematic Quality: Veo 2 delivers ultra-high-quality videos up to 4K resolution, with the ability to produce extended scenes lasting several minutes. This level of quality promises to meet the demands of professional-grade storytelling and high-end brand campaigns.

Realism and Detail: By understanding real-world physics and the nuances of human movement and expression, Veo 2 creates lifelike videos that resonate with viewers. This makes it ideal for industries where authenticity is critical, such as healthcare, education, and luxury goods. I’m sure Sora will also offer these capabilities, if it doesn’t already by the time I publish this.

Cinematography Intelligence: Veo 2 interprets detailed creative prompts, enabling users to specify cinematic elements such as:

1) Lens Types: For example, “18mm lens” produces a wide-angle perspective

2) Camera Angles: Prompts like “low-angle tracking shot” deliver dynamic, immersive visuals.

3) Effects: Instructions such as “shallow depth of field” create professional focus and framing.

4) Wide Range of Styles: From technical demonstrations to emotive storytelling, Veo 2 adapts seamlessly to diverse subjects and genres.

This is an example I found online, since I don’t have access to VideoFX yet. It’s an elephant drawing an elephant!

AInsights

For executives, Sora and Veo 2 Veo 2 represent a new class of AI tools that allow teams to create strategic assets that empower your organization to communicate more effectively. They offer the ability to differentiate your brand and transform your content strategy, build deeper connections with your audience, and maintain a competitive edge in an increasingly visual and digital-first marketplace.

But with it, will come the need for vision and imagination, creativity, expertise and skills, and the ability to tell a story that people will watch, feel, and share. While any one can create a high quality video, like with any form of content, audiences are never guaranteed.

Hollywood vs. Sorawood vs. Veowood

The impact of OpenAI’s Sora and Google’s Veo 2 on Hollywood is profound, potentially reshaping the entire filmmaking process and industry dynamics.

Studios

For studios, AI video generation tools offer both opportunities and challenges:

Cost Reduction: AI can significantly lower production costs, especially in areas like visual effects and post-production.

Rapid Prototyping: Studios can quickly generate concept art, storyboards, and even rough cuts of scenes, streamlining the pre-production process.

Expanded Creative Possibilities: AI enables the creation of complex scenes and effects that might have been prohibitively expensive or technically challenging before.

Disruption Risk: While major studios have the resources to adopt AI, they may face disruption from smaller, more agile competitors who can now produce high-quality content at lower costs.

Directors

Directors will find their role evolving with AI:

Enhanced Visualization: AI tools can help directors better communicate their vision by quickly generating visual representations of scenes2.

Workflow Efficiency: Directors can iterate faster, experimenting with different visual styles and effects in real-time.

Creative Augmentation: AI serves as a tool to enhance, rather than replace, a director’s creativity.

Skill Adaptation: Directors will need to develop new skills to effectively leverage AI tools in their workflow.

Actors

The impact on actors is potentially significant:

Digital Doubles: AI-generated versions of actors could be used for dangerous stunts, reshoots, or even to extend an actor’s career beyond their physical limitations.

Performance Enhancement: AI could be used to refine or alter performances in post-production.

Job Concerns: There are fears that AI could eventually replace background actors or even lead roles in some productions. I need to think more deeply about this…

New Opportunities: Actors may find new roles in voicing or motion-capturing for AI-generated characters.

Screenwriters

Screenwriters face both opportunities and challenges:

Ideation Assistance: AI can help generate plot ideas, character backgrounds, or even dialogue options.

Script Analysis: AI tools can analyze scripts for pacing, structure, and marketability.

Adaptation Concerns: There are worries about AI potentially writing entire scripts, though current technology is far from this capability.

Collaborative Tool: AI is more likely to become a tool that enhances the screenwriter’s process rather than replacing them entirely.

Industry-Wide Implications

Democratization of Filmmaking: AI tools could lower barriers to entry, allowing more creators to produce high-quality content.

Ethical and Legal Challenges: The industry will need to grapple with issues of copyright, actor likeness rights, and the ethical use of AI-generated content.

Job Transformation: While some roles may be at risk, new jobs focused on AI integration and management are likely to emerge.

Creative Boundaries: As AI capabilities expand, the definition of creativity and authorship in filmmaking may need to be reevaluated.

While AI tools like Sora and Veo 2 present challenges to traditional filmmaking roles, they also offer unprecedented opportunities for innovation and creativity. Before disruption takes over an industry, professional and personal growth comes from those willing to first disrupt themselves. The key for Hollywood will be to adapt to this new technology, finding ways to integrate AI that enhance human creativity rather than replace it. As the technology evolves, we can expect a period of significant transformation in how films are conceived, produced, and distributed.

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Please read, Mindshift: Transform Leadership, Drive Innovation, and Reshape the Future. Visit Mindshift.ing to learn more!

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