AI in Film: The Changing Relationship between Filmmakers and Audiences
With the introduction and rapid development of generative AI, such that the tools of disinformation are available to everyone, questions of what is real, reliable information have become more valid than ever. Most people cannot distinguish between deepfakes and real images and this technology is developing at high speed. Traditionally, audiences have been able to place their trust in documentary films and journalism as carriers of true, authentic, reliable stories. Documentary audiences do not want to be manipulated. However, filmmakers too have an increasing choice of AI tools available to them, and these can be used not just to speed up the filmmaking process but also to generate ideas, and to create images and audio. How can we ensure that audiences can still trust documentary filmmakers in the age of AI? What kinds of measures and procedures should be in place to ensure transparency and credibility? Is there something for audiences to be excited about, like personalised content? Join us for a discussion about the changing relationship between filmmakers and their audiences in the age of generative AI.
SPEAKERS
DOMINIC LEES
Associate Professor of Filmmaking, University of Reading / UK
PETR SALABA
Film Director, Artificial Intelligence Center / CZ
EREC BREHMER
Film Director, Kolf Agency / DE
MODERATED BY
DONATA VON PERFALL
Managing Director, Documentary Campus / DE
TIME
Sunday, August 18th, 2024
12:00 – 13:00 (CET)
LOCATION
Swissotel Sarajevo / CineLink Talks Conference Room
Dominic Lees
Dominic Lees is an experienced film and television drama director and an Associate Professor in Filmmaking at the University of Reading. He leads the Synthetic Media Research Network, which explores the potential of Generative AI in film and the ethical implications of the technology. His 2019 experimental work with deepfakes in film drama was groundbreaking; he speaks and publishes regularly on the impact of AI on the creative industries. Lees is the lead writer on AI for the British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound magazine. He has also worked as a Specialist Advisor on the film industry for the UK Parliament.
Petr Salaba
Petr Salaba is a Prague based documentary filmmaker, creative technologist, and science communicator. He graduated from FAMU in Prague. His film "Scalespace" (2023) features AI-generated visuals, exploring evolution in different time scales. His latest project, "Anamnesis" (2024), a chatbot installation exploring human-machine empathy, premiered at CPH: DOX. Petr also has a passion for ethology, focusing on natural communication with horses.
Erec Brehmer
Born in 1987. Living in Munich, Germany. Vocational training as an editor at the Second German Television (ZDF). Studied directing at the University of Television and Film Munich (HFF) afterwards. Graduated with diploma in 2018.
Erecs films have been screened and awarded nationally and internationally at renowned festivals such as the Max Ophüls Preis Film Festival, HotDocs, DOK.fest Munich and CamerImage.
Erec is a graduate of the 31st Drehbuchwerkstatt München 2019/2020, as well as the talent development programs "ZFF Academy" (Zurich Film Festival 2020) and "Berlinale Talents" (Berlinale 2021). He is a scholarship holder of the "Munich Film Up!" mentoring & residential Lab 2021/2022, as well as the "Young Art and New Ways" scholarship of the Free State of Bavaria 2022. In 2022 he also won the Starter Film Award of the City of Munich.
Since 2023, he has been working intensively on the use and effects of generative artificial intelligence in film production.
Donata von Perfall
Donata von Perfall is Managing Director of Documentary Campus, an international training and networking program for factual professionals. She has also initiated the SILBERSALZ Science & Media Festival in partnership with the Robert Bosch Foundation, which takes place annually in Halle (Saale), Germany. Her latest projects are the establishment of the SILBERSALZ Institute and the partnership on the World Congress of Science & Factual Producers (WCSFP) annual international Congress.