'What's Next?' — a completely AI-generated film - video Dailymotion

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The film "What’s Next?" by director Yiwen Cao consists exclusively of AI-generated images. Her movies used to struggle with funding issues, but AI has made this film possible on a small budget.

Transcript

00:01This movie is the brainchild of Yuen Cao, a young film director from China.

00:06And it might look unlike anything you've seen before.

00:12The film is called What's Next?

00:16Film director Yuen Cao had previously worked on a different film for seven years.

00:22As she didn't get any funding, she started experimenting with AI.

00:28No cameras were used in What's Next?

00:31Instead, Yuen used an AI image-generating software called Runway to create the images by writing

00:36precise prompts.

00:38The magical thing is that I didn't have any outline and script before, but when I started

00:49to do it, the outline just dropped to my mind.

00:53And I just keep input orders into the AI generators.

00:58And then I got more than 20,000 of short videos.

01:03And I organized them at all.

01:06I hadn't slept for six nights.

01:09The first generated images led to ideas for scenes.

01:13And through writing and rewriting prompts, Yuen finally got what she wanted.

01:17The film has no protagonists and no script.

01:20It shows how human greed destroys our planet.

01:23Images of women in chains represent gender inequality.

01:26And demonic figures distorted images of money and meetings between wealthy men stand for

01:31capitalism.

01:32There are also apocalyptic scenes caused by climate change.

01:37So who's the creative force behind the film, Yuen or the AI?

01:41Yuen thinks storytelling is a human skill.

01:44Film making should always focus on story.

01:49Story is the most important and fundamental thing.

01:54AI is just a technology.

01:57And I just regard AI as one of film's types.

02:02It's like suspense, romance and others.

02:05While some films take millions to make, Yuen made What's Next alone on her computer in

02:10just one week.

02:13For a new director, it's very hard to find an investment.

02:20At least it will give me a chance to show my opinion to the world.

02:26And that chance may help others to notice me.

02:30Many screenings of What's Next at the Berlinale sold out.

02:33Viewers were intrigued, but the film received mixed reviews.

'What's Next?' — a completely AI-generated film

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