Joshua Liss’ Post

Brave call, and the right one. Change is hard. Exponential change is exponentially harder. For all those claiming that AI has no place in art or media creation, you need to meet my student who wanted to make graphic novels but due to disabilities couldn't draw all the images for his story. He asked if I could help him photoshop some illustrations for him. Instead I showed how he could generate and edit his own based on the character designs he'd painstakingly made himself. With a little help from comic life to layout the pages and add the text, he's now hard at work making the first issue. AI is a tool. A very powerful tool. We have to use it carefully and be aware of all the risks, but to not use it would be like farmers rejecting tractors just because it makes their hand plough skills redundant.

Dear Australian Screen Industry, We need to get on the front foot with AI ASAP across our productions or we will be left behind. This change is happening at lightening speed. This is not a call to embrace AI without thought or discussion but for us to actively collectively understand and learn all that we can. I am calling on Screen Australia, Screen Queensland, VicScreen, Screen NSW, SAFC, Screenwest, Screen NT, Screen Tas and associated bodies such as @ScreenProducersAustralia and the AWG to take urgent action to train our industry to not only incorporate this tool but to lead the world in using it to elevate our Australian Screen Stories. If you are part of the Australian Screen Industry and you agree please repost and tag our amazing leaders. Update: Loving this discussion and appreciate it is a hot (and difficult) topic. People have been reaching out to me privately today to say they do not want to engage in this publicly for fear of being ostracised. I get it. It is scary and it is complex. I love this industry and my personal objective is always that we are growing and getting stronger. Talking about hard things is an important part of that especially at the moment. All opinions are heard and respected in this post. We are all finding our way together. UPDATE 2: So much conversation around this topic I need to update the update! 😊 Loving hearing how individuals are training and learning and working out what integrity means to them in these murky waters. All opinions are valid and thank you for all your great thoughts. It is a complex time and I always believe in communication and conversation as a path to walk each other through such times. Let's keep talking!

I encourage everyone to take the initiative to self-train and self-learn on all this. You can do it yourself now without anybody else. Have a play. Load up YouTube and type in ‘Gen3’ and watch some videos. Sign up for Runway ML and start experimenting. Google other tools. You don’t need to be a ‘techie’ - this stuff isn’t hard. Learn the capabilities, think about the challenges, and consider what it all means for what you do. Lots of people complaining about AI and proclaiming it can never replace humans. Yeah, it will replace some, like all new tools. New roles will be created too. As many as those lost? Probably not. But within AI, there’s a lot more value and need for existing knowledge from many crafts of filmmaking then you may currently be able to foresee. A need for nuance that comes from experience. Think deeply about it. Next level content isn’t just hit a button. So be practical, think about your skills and how you can evolve. Block out the noise and just start experimenting. Scary can become empowering and beautiful.

#thewildrobot 🙏🔥 The Wild Robot is an exceptional film that can best be described as life-affirming. Its unique blend of artistry and passion distinguishes it in a landscape dominated by high-budget animated sequels. While I appreciate films like #kungfupanda4 or #DespicableMe4 or even #toystory #shrek , nothing compares to the enchanting experience of immersing oneself in an original narrative with new characters. It evokes the same nostalgia as watching the original #kungfupanda or #howtotrainyourdragon . The Wild Robot offers a refreshing perspective, presenting a new story with remarkable confidence. Viewers familiar with family-oriented animated films will easily recognize the themes in The Wild Robot, such as the selflessness of parenthood, the significance of community, and the strength found in collaboration. What sets this story apart is its outsider perspective specifically, that of a robot which encourages us to reflect on these themes in a novel way. For instance, every parent understands the demanding and often thankless nature of their role, and it resonated with me to see a robot reach the same realization. Hats of to the director #ChrisSanders and entire team of #dreamworksanimation and cheers for getting the oscar (yes I might be overhyped but mark by word 💯) #thewildrobotmovie #chrissanders #UniversalStudios #dreamworkfilms #oscar2025

Game changer for filmmaking!! 🤯 Runway’s new Act-One feature is seriously impressive. It generates expressive character performances from just a basic video input, making the process easier than ever. The level of detail is amazing—it captures everything from eye movements to subtle micro-expressions, keeping the rhythm and emotional depth of the original performance intact. Now, creating complex character animations is more accessible to everyone. You don’t need to be a pro—anyone can bring blockbuster-worthy characters to life! Act-One is set to be part of Gen-3 Alpha, and we can’t wait to see what people create! #ai #aitips #aitools #machinelearning #technology

🎥 The CMR-M1 is the 'world's first' AI-powered movie camera according to Digital Camera World 🎞 Developed by Miguel Espada and his team at SpecialGuestX | SGX and 1stAveMachine, this camera could open a few interesting creative implication: ✨ Instant Visual Effects: Capture live scenes and transform them into surreal visuals in real-time, merging reality with imaginations. 📹 Personalized Filmmaking: Develop unique AI styles tailored to your vision, allowing for instant integration of personal creativity. 🎛 Enhanced Production Tools: AI enhances traditional filmmaking tools, making video production more innovative and efficient. Filmmaking is liquid 💧

Fascinating use of AI - implementing creative vision in real-time. How is this so fast?

Emotion transfer (like style transfer) will revolutionize film and animation production pipelines and RunwayML's already signed an agreement with Lionsgate. 🎬 🎨 As an artist, I am excited. In this 30sec video, I painted the original art work, I acted and was the digital artistic director. This use of AI was useful and respected my artistic intention. In the next video I will share, I can use it to promote my art and engage the public in my artwork, acting almost like a cultural mediator. I can foresee job losses but also job creations (new kind of acting), changes in the creative process as well as in the interaction between actors and animators. ⚖️ 💰 As a lawyer and expert in AI, I'm scared of what they can do with the artwork and video of myself that I uploaded to their for-profit platform. Will it profit them or artists? RunwayML credits are increasingly expensive). Emotion recognition software 😨 is banned in the AI Act in certain circumstances (schools, workplace) due to the high risk they present. Runway is not collecting tons of video data where people purposefully put lots of emotion into them. 📺 🌳 Then...there's the environmental impact and the use of this to expedite fake news production. I made one of my husband saying I'm always right and one of my teen saying he would help with cleaning more often. Funny but.... p.s. our next panel will be December 13th.

This era of filmmaking is truly something special. I'm currently editing my latest 4K AI film inside a virtual movie theatre, powered by my Meta Quest 3. This blend of technology creates a highly immersive atmosphere that i am excited to start using more when creating more ai films. Haven't seen the latest trailer for "Pentecost" yet? Drop a "trailer" in the comments, and I'll send you an exclusive link. What are your thoughts on virtual movie premieres? Would you attend one? #futureoffilmmaking #aifilms2024 #aifilmmaking #virtualmovietheatre #metaquest3

ANNOUNCEMENT 🛎 🚀 Text to Video generation is available on ImagineArt 😎 Check out this new feature to experience shocking results with complete creative control 🚀 #imagineart #ai #imagegenerator #aiart #imagineai