Imagine a world where storytellers are able to create slick, Hollywood-esque movies without needing to rent an expensive studio, pay millions of dollars to hire actors, or go through an endless number of re-shoots until they get the scene just right. Instead, we can turn to digital actors, who are always available, extremely adaptable and far more consistent, and pair them with AI-generated backdrops to bring creative ideas to life with a few, simple clicks.
With the rise of AI and digital actors, filmmaking is no longer restricted to elite directors and producers who can easily access multi-million dollar budgets. Moreover, these technologies are already available right now. AI-powered actors aren’t just a concept. In fact, they’re fast becoming a necessity as content creation races towards full democratization.
But what does this mean for human actors? Should they fear losing their livelihoods? Or will the reality be more nuanced, with room for both to co-exist in harmony, broadening the horizons for creators of every ilk?
How is AI being used in filmmaking now?
Digital actors represent a new paradigm in how content is created and delivered, and they’re already being put into action in the world of advertising, where brands like Coca Cola, McDonald’s and Volvo have already experimented with AI-generated commercials. They’re among the first to recognize AI’s ability to streamline content production, reduce costs and enhance creativity.
At the forefront of this push are a number of innovative AI startups. Platforms like Midjourney and Stability AI captured the imagination by generating high-quality images from simple text prompts. Then there’s the likes of OpenAI’s Sora and Runway AI, which generate entire videos based on a combination of a prompt and script,
Taking it further, Antix is a Web3 innovator that enables anyone to use its Avagen platform to create highly detailed and lifelike digital humans that display real emotions, with the flexibility to perform in almost any kind of setting.
Antix’s digital humans have a lot of versatility, being employed as more human customer support staff, with the ability to respond to almost any question someone might have in a more empathetic manner. What’s different is that they use AI to understand the context of their interactions, and this allows them to interact and respond to users in such a way that they feel as if they’re talking to a real human. It’s a big step up from the usual, robotic responses of first-generation AI support bots.
They support other use cases too, such as reminding people to take their medicine and booking tables at a restaurant. And because they look and sound just like real humans, they can also play the role of digital actors, breaking new ground for content creators.
Their realistic nature stems from the use of Unreal Engine 5 at the heart of the Avagen platform, which enables the creation of ultra-realistic digital humans. Creators can pay meticulous attention to detail to get the looks and mannerisms of their AI humans just right. They’re also backed by powerful large language models like OpenAI’s GPT LLMs, which allows them to understand human language and context, so they can respond as humans would.
Actors can also use AI themselves, most especially as a tool that supports the auditioning process. For instance, Slatable’s AI can assist in making self-tapes more efficiently, while TryItOAI is a great tool for making quick headshots. Then there are tools like Descript, which make it quick and easy to edit demo reels and self-tapes, and add different backdrops and effects.
Should human actors be worried?
This technology is still quite nascent, and no one has yet made a full-length feature film using entirely digital actors, but we are heading in that direction. In the recent Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny movie, Lucasfilm used AI algorithms to de-age the 82-year old Harrison Ford, making him appear much younger.
AI rapidly speeds up production processes. With AI-powered virtual effects, what once took dozens of hours of rendering can now be done in seconds. It opens the doors to new possibilities, such as replacing the face of a stunt double with that of the actor they’re portraying.
This progress is what scares some human actors, who are increasingly worried about being replaced by AI, but most believe that filmmakers are unlikely to go that far.
We asked Google’s AI chatbot Bard for its opinion on whether or not AI will entirely replace human actors, and in its opinion the future of filmmaking is likely to be a lot more nuanced.
That assessment seems realistic enough, and right now, even with technology such as Antix’s, we’re not yet at the stage where we can create AI clones with the kind of realism that Hollywood movies demand.
But actors are worried that the technology will only get better and better, and some are already pushing for regulation to try and protect their livelihoods. In 2023, the well-publicized strike by SAG-AFTRA, one of the largest unions for human performers in the U.S., insisted that actors must be guaranteed fair compensation should any AI algorithms use their likeness, or footage of their acting, as the basis of a digital actor.
Such fears are justified, and so is the need for compensation, but for now at least, actors can be reassured that the challenge of making digital actors appear as human as real humans will likely limit their use. Also on the side of human actors is the question of popularity. There has been a certain amount of backlash regarding AI, and digital actors will never garner the kind of popularity that human actors receive. After all, actors are appreciated not just for their skills in front of the camera, but also for their personalities in real-life.
Human actors can make AI work for them
It remains to be seen how widespread digital actors will become in the filmmaking industry, but there are some clear advantages to the technology. Should they ever become realistic enough, they will certainly provide a more affordable option to filmmakers working with limited budgets. They also provide advantages in terms of postproduction, once the actual filming has been done.
For instance if a director wants to alter an actor’s facial expression in a particular scene, they wouldn’t have to go back to the studio and film it again. Instead, they can just replace the human actor’s face with their digital actor’s likeness, and get the facial expressions just right.
This idea, of human actors creating their own digital versions of themselves, has a lot of merit. For instance, an actor could use their digital twin in auditions, making it much easier for them to land new roles. We could also see the emergence of scenarios where well-known actors rent out a digital avatar that represents their image and voice for projects they don’t have time to work on physically. Such a scenario has already been envisaged by Antix, which makes it possible to create digital twins that live on the blockchain, with a crypto-based payment mechanism that ensures actors would always have royalty rights over any use of their likeness.
This could actually be beneficial to actors, allowing them and their descendants to derive recurring revenue long after they’ve stopped making movies.
More opportunities for human actors
Digital actors are a technology tool that’s designed to make it easier to tell stories, and we’re going to see a lot more of it, especially in indie productions with lower budgets.
But at the same time, the availability of these tools suggests that a lot more movies will be made, and that will lead to more opportunities for real actors who decide to embrace this technology and use it to their advantage. They’ll be able to be involved in multiple shoots at once, participating in many more projects and still get paid for it.
For now, there’s still a lot of hype about AI and the changes it will have on our societies and the possibilities for automation. But ultimately, the hype will die down and the dust will settle as the novelty wears off, and that’s when people, including human actors, will start to work out what AI can do for them.
Featured image credit: Icons8 Team/Unsplash
