This was our fully AI film submission to the AIFF Film Festival. We didn't place, but it was a great exercise in what Runway (Gen4) could pull off.
THE CONCEPT
We've been tinkering with an idea of building a web series called "NO ONE LIKES YOU." Based on a phrase we've seen thrown around in various debates online. Because... the internet is such a nice, friendly place to have discussions... XD
What we find interesting about LLMs is that they are just one big reflection of humanity. Trained on everything the human species has created and then asked to reflect information in a non-controversial manner.
The idea for this series was to take two opposing sides of a controversial topic and ask CHATGPT to evaluate what each side fears and desires most. Then reflect those fears in a mirroring conversation/monologue.
A lot of the time the fears of opposing sides mimic one another - and the deep desires often mimic each other as well. They just seek solutions in different ways.
We figured this approach could bridge the gap between various topics our world is facing today. But we started with the one we've been entrenched in since 2022.
THE DEBATE
To explore this idea, we decided to lean into the Pro-AI and Anti-AI Filmmaker debate.
We've been following the pros and cons of AI use in art, film, and publishing. While we're obviously pro-ai in workflows, we recognized that there are some very specific topics that pop up on the regular.
We prompted the script from ChatGPT and directed the edits to the script the same way a producer would a writer or director.
Eventually, the script sorted itself out, and we were able to dive into production.
THE CREATIVE INTERPRETATION
Originally, the ChatGPT script was written as if it were 1 PRO-AI individual and 1 ANTI-AI individual monologuing, and we were going to intercut the conversations together. But we thought it'd be fun to break it up as though two separate conversations were happening in one location.
The decision allowed us to get a bit more diversity in characters, genders, and ethnicities to showcase how broad the sphere of filmmaking can be and is.
THE LOCATION
The Coffee Shop location was a regular meeting spot for a lot of our clients and crew back in the day.
So we figured, why not engage the location as though it's a character in the story? A place where discussions of opposing views can be shared.
Like the walls were listening and compiling the differences and similarities in the story.
THE PERFORMANCES
We performed the piece using Runway's ACT 1. It was fun exploring characters that would say things we wouldn't actually say. But we tried our best to give life to the opposing side that felt genuine and real.
The fear of AI is a real one that we didn't want to diminish, and we worked hard to capture the passion on both sides for storytelling and their ultimate fears of being left behind, forgotten, or stuck in a purgatory of making things that don't actually matter to anyone.
OVERALL RESULT
While it's not in the vein of what we want to be making, this was a really fun exercise. And it allowed us to really put Runway to the test. We probably won't pursue "No One Likes You' as a series, but it was a fun development piece that we're pretty proud of.
Let us know what you think. Should we make more? What opposing topics would you be interested in seeing the AI reflect back at us?
