Amazon Prime Video: AI to reduce production costs for films and series
Amazon is experimenting with a new AI studio to produce films and series more efficiently. The company plans to present initial results in May.
(Image: Shutterstock.com; Diego Thomazini)
Amazon founded a department in August that develops specialized AI tools for film and series production. According to Reuters, selected industry partners will be able to test the software starting in March as part of a closed beta program. Initial results from this testing phase are expected to be released in May.
The “AI Studio,” located at Amazon MGM Studios, is headed by Albert Cheng, who was most recently responsible for Amazon's video and film division. According to Cheng, the team is manageably small and consists primarily of product developers and scientists.
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With its pre- and post-production tools currently under development, Amazon aims to offer filmmakers significantly more precise control than previous AI systems. Amazon is using AWS infrastructure for this and intends to collaborate with several large language model providers to offer a wider selection of tools for film creation.
AI should accelerate human creativity, not replace it
As an example of future AI applications, Amazon points to the biblical epic “House of David.” In the second season, director Jon Erwin combined real footage with AI-generated content. This hybrid approach enabled the studio to implement longer fight scenes while keeping the budget lower.
The studio is currently testing the AI tools with visual effects specialist Robert Stromberg (“Avatar,” “Alice in Wonderland”), actor Kunal Nayyar (“The Big Bang Theory”), and former Pixar animator Colin Brady. Well-known directors such as Darren Aronofsky and James Cameron are already experimenting with AI or are open to AI use.
According to Cheng, the AI tools are primarily intended to increase efficiency, not to replace human creativity. “Production costs are so high that it's really hard to produce more and take big risks,” Cheng told Reuters. “We fundamentally believe that AI can accelerate innovation and the unique aspects that people bring to work, but not replace them.”
The use of AI continues to fuel fears of job cuts in Hollywood and beyond. Amazon itself has cut 30,000 jobs since October, according to its statements, to streamline structures and work more extensively with artificial intelligence. Employees of Prime Video were also affected by the cuts.
(olb)
