In the constant landscape of AI's infiltration into filmmaking, the most productive conversation that outside of the fear of its corporate potential to overtake our creative careers is in the space of "how can we use AI as a tool to make our jobs easier?" Trust me, I'm as fearful and hesitant to trust AI as the next filmmaker, but I do think there are some tools out there that are pretty neat and less intrusively intimidating as the next. One of which is the newly released, web-based AI tool called Playbook. Playbook was developed by Jean-Daniel LeRoy (CEO) and Skylar Thomas (CTO) as part of their capstone at USC and further developed it into a marketable web software. Playbook uses 3D rendering software with tools and keyframes similar to that of Blender and After Affects, adding the additional element of generative AI prompts to create digital sets and elements that animators and filmmakers can quickly design in order to play around with the built-in camera tools for film projects. As not the tech-iest movie editor, I was impressed with the intuitive user interface and saw it's usefulness as a method of quickly rendering screen tests that filmmakers can then apply IRL on set—almost like an advance storyboard for shots. Below, we chat with LeRoy and Thomas about Playbook—it's origins, its possible practical applications to filmmakers at large, as well as the recent Culver Cup short film contest where filmmakers were given the opportunity to make their own short films...
Published By: NoFilmSchool - Thursday, 31 October