Efficiency Could Be AI’s Greatest Strength in Post-Production
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There was never a doubt that AI would be the hottest topic at last week’s National Association of Broadcasters show. That’s where notable content creation software developers large and small shared their AI insights, including startup Strada, which last fall announced it had raised $1.9 million in pre-seed funding.
The company is developing an AI-driven cloud platform for creatives, with a straightforward interface and toolset to handle tasks such as syncing, tagging, transcribing, translating, copying and transcoding. Expected to enter beta by the end of the year, it’s being developed to work alongside editing, color grading and other such creative tools.
Co-founder Michael Cioni believes utilitarian tools such as Strada could be of the greatest value to filmmakers. “The longer time goes on and we see Soras and we see Midjourneys, I actually think we’re seeing less use cases, even though they’re the headlines,” he tells VIP+.
Postproduction giant Avid — acquired in November by an affiliate of private equity firm STG in a deal valued at approximately $1.4 billion — aims to bring efficiencies to its core products, which include Media Composer, Pro Tools and Media Central systems. (A speech-to-text feature is already available in Media Composer for uses such as translation and transcription.)
Meanwhile, Avid CTO Kevin Riley says the company is previewing prototype tech designed to use AI to “understand the intent” of a user and make recommendations from, for instance, dailies or archival footage.
Of its developing AI assistant Ada, he says, “Once that assistant gives you tips ... it can then carry out the task. So we’re moving to a model that we call conversational creation.”
Riley contends Avid is not planning to integrate Sora in its products, saying that professionals would use their dailies and other existing assets in content creation.
All of this has the potential to make up a large user base if embraced by creative professionals. NRG research suggests that 51% of creatives interviewed for its March gen AI report believe AI will make people more productive and efficient.
Still, technology is developing quickly, and the same survey also highlights concerns. Some 54% believe AI will lead to fewer job opportunities for humans, and 63% say regulations are needed to address IP rights.
The topic is a closely watched subject amid the current contract negotiations between IATSE and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers.
Some of these developing tools, depending on how they are used, will require changes to the traditional workflows used in Hollywood. For instance, Avid is underway on a feature that would enable dubbing to be accomplished in its Media Composer editing system.
This has the potential to simplify the process over time — even potentially make the content more secure, as each supplier is another point where piracy can occur.
But it is understood that, at least at first, this may not make things easier for studios; it could actually create more work as they implement a new workflow. Over time, what would that mean at suppliers, such as dubbing facilities?
Hollywood may have to stomach some short-term pain for long-term gain.
