Meta has put its generative AI video system in the hands of some Hollywood filmmakers — hoping to build goodwill with the industry and gather feedback on how to improve the tool.
The tech giant announced Thursday that it has been working with horror studio Blumhouse and select creators as part of a pilot program for Movie Gen, its generative-AI video models. The company said it will continue to expand the program in 2025.
Meta earlier this month unveiled Meta Movie Gen, a suite of AI models that can use text inputs to produce realistic-looking videos as well as edit existing videos. Movie Gen can generate video clips up to 16 seconds in 1080p HD format (at 16 frames per second) with corresponding audio tracks. Movie Gen will be “coming to Instagram” in 2025, according to Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg. Before its wide release, the company is working with filmmakers and creators to integrate their feedback as it continues working on the gen-AI models.
For the pilot, Blumhouse selected a group of filmmakers to test out the technology and use Movie Gen’s AI-generated video clips as part of larger pieces: actor and director Casey Affleck (“I’m Still Here,” “Light of My Life”); Aneesh Chaganty (“Searching,” “Run”); and the Spurlock Sisters (“The Breakline”), who are participants in Blumhouse’s first annual Screamwriting Fellowship.
“Artists are, and forever will be, the lifeblood of our industry,” Jason Blum, founder and CEO of Blumhouse, said in a statement. “Innovation and tools that can help those artists better tell their stories is something we are always keen to explore, and we welcomed the chance for some of them to test this cutting-edge technology and give their notes on its pros and cons while it’s still in development.”
Blum added, “These are going to be powerful tools for directors, and it’s important to engage the creative industry in their development to make sure they’re best suited for the job.”
Chaganty’s short film “i h8 ai” is available on Meta’s Movie Gen site (at this link) and on YouTube (watch below); the shorts from Affleck and the Spurlock Sisters will be shared at a later date. The site also hosts experimental videos created with the AI tool from creators such as artist Paige Piskin and travel photographer Eric Rubens.
In his 2-minute, 53-second short, Chaganty discusses his mixed feelings about AI, saying a voiceover, “From everything that I have been told, AI is going to hurt my industry. How could I possibly tell a story about why AI was good for us, when all I could see from where I’m standing is bad?” Chaganty then uses Meta Movie Gen to enhance short movies he made when he was a kid growing up in San Jose, Calif. — adding special effects like turning his little brother, wearing a Halloween mask, into an alien. “I hate AI,” he says in the video. “But with a tool like this? I dunno… maybe I’d have just dreamed a little bigger.”
According to Meta, using the Movie Gen models, creatives have been able to “more quickly express their creative ideas and explore visual direction, tone and mood.”
“We heard that filmmakers see potential for Movie Gen as a collaborator and thought partner, with its unexpected response to text prompts inspiring new ideas,” Meta says in a blog post about the project. Movie Gen’s audio features allowed the directors to “explore possibilities for background audio and generate sound effects.”
In addition to entertainment industry partners, Meta plans to also partner with digital-first content creators on Movie Gen.
“While we’re not planning to incorporate Movie Gen models into any public products until next year, Meta feels it’s important to have an open and early dialogue with the creative community about how it can be the most useful tool for creativity and ensure its responsible use,” Connor Hayes, VP of gen AI at Meta, said in a statement.
By Todd Spangler / Courtesy Variety
