Hey there, dreamers, doers + digital trendsetters!
We wanted to dive into something that's on everyone's mind – and mouths – as of late, the rise of AI in the creative realm.
Is it fab? Is it a fad?
We have thoughts, so read on if you want 'em!
The floodgates have opened.
AI Tools like Bard, Chat GPT, MidJourney, Runway, Wonder Studio (and tons of others) are flooding the creator-space, and some of the modern creative's favorite tools like After Effects, Figma, and others are starting to implement layers of AI from within (like PhotoShop's Generative Fill, seen here).
Reasonable minds can differ on how to approach/leverage these emerging AI Tools, and here at dPost, we want to embrace Generative AI through the lens of ethical responsibility.
Look, we're all about big ideas, bold moves, and breathtaking content. Stuff that gets audiences to lean forward in their seat, stuff that sticks in people's brains long after exposure.
Actually making that stuff can be a constant barrage of concepting, writing, designing, storyboarding, animating, and at times, throwing it all out to start over again. And guess what?
We use AI to help us with that.
It's becoming a trusty sidekick along the rocky road to BigIdeaLand.
It's like having a super-smart friend who's always there to bounce ideas off of, without any ego clashes. Someone who will try their absolute darndest to make sense of your idea, even if it kinda sucks.
To that end, let's address the elephant in the room – For us, using AI doesn't mean putting real, passionate people out of work.
Nope. It’s about elevating what we do and how we do it. Here’s the plot twist:
We use AI Tools to help with all of that stuff.
Concepting, storyboarding, visualization, proof-of-concept animation, or just adding that extra dash of magic to our work.
It doesn't mean we're stealing from other artists, in fact, we can use tools like Stable Diffusion to custom-train our own Generative AI. And we have.
By training your own models on precisely what you want, and more importantly, what you don't (other people's stuff), you can sleep better knowing that you're harnessing the best parts of this emerging tech while still leaving space for original artistry.
One of our leads here at dPost who knows a thing or two about blending tech + talent put it this way:
"It's tricky, there's a stigma around AI in the arts. But if used responsibly, it can be another tool in our utility belt - not to replace the artist, but enhance their palette. That way we stay ahead of the curve while keeping our human touch intact.”
-Evan Pease, Director of Post Production, dPost
Ultimately, we're in the business of storytelling, not story-stealing.
It does us zero good to rip-off someone else's work (or ideas), but it does us A LOT of good in finding efficiencies to speed up our workflow in the right places, giving us more breathing room in the really critical ones, like execution.
We're not using AI to do work for us; we're harnessing its potential to push boundaries and explore new creative horizons in less time than it used to take. We can now bring more ideas, more thinking, more tinkering, faster than what we needed to deliver on even half the amount of thinking previously.
So, there you have it, our initial gut-reaction.
AI = Good (for the most part), and it's not a fad, so we better get used to it.
Generative AI is our partner in crime (the good kind of crime, like putting quarters in expired parking meters), and so far, we're happy with the added firepower.
Sure, maybe we're a little guilty of romancing the AI revolution, but we have our reasons. TBH, it helps us propel our stuff to new, dizzying heights without losing our soul (or mind, or timelines) in the process.
Hand-in-digital-hand; we're stepping out with our trusty AI tools, creating content that’s not just seen or heard, but felt.
And while we may live in a world full of algorithms and automations, it's the human heart that still tells the best stories.
Those are the ones worth telling anyway.
Need help telling your story?
Click that little 'let's chat' button below, we'd love to hear what you had in mind.
(We promise only real humans respond to that!)
