We asked our creative community what they're doing with AI. We've gathered the results.

Aug 16, 2023

Those questions - usually about fears of robot lords and a complete absence of creativity and culture, or both - are legitimate. But despite those concerns, AI is already weaving itself into workflows around the globe and has shown no sign to slowing. So, what does that have to do with creative work as well as the individuals who produce it?

As anyone in the creative field will inform you, the human element such as the ability to express emotion, imagination, meaningful art - is, crucially, totally uncopyable by machines. Also, the technology can't think or come up with ideas without input from humans - positioning them, almost in the sense of a requirement, as instruments instead of complete replacements. "It's a lot of prompts, and trials and error," photographer Rachel Hulin.

The new era of AI generative will undoubtedly transform the way we work, but it is a smart approach to use and might not necessarily be in contradiction to artistic disciplines. To test this theory we asked creatives across the community who have started to explore AI in order to learn what they're doing with it today and how they envision it changing their work in the future. We've gathered the responses from them, and what they think of the future of AI within the world of creative work.

 AI powers independent creative work

As any filmmaker will inform you, making films (or really, any piece of content) is a collaborative art. All films require input from folks with specialized skills and are the result from an amalgamation of thoughts. However, for a lot of independent filmmakers, AI is opening a new world of possibilities for filmmakers to develop and create the projects of their own, completely independently.

By making his own script and after which he created short video clips with AI technology, which synchronized to his own vision, Paul could build out an original animated and visually stunning Staff Picked video through curating the content's visuals digitally.

 AI has changed the way we visual language

Due to the fact that AI imagery - at least for now - possesses an uncanny valley quality (a term meant to describe the unease you feel when you see a computer-generated image that's just not right) It's now very easy to spot. Throughout our conversations we discovered that film makers frequently gravitated toward images created by AI due to the fact due to this particular quality.

The case for Paul Trillo, being able to make his latest film on his own was an excellent way to execute a concept using a limited budget - however, it was also the artistic design of the piece which prompted him to employ the tech. "In the sense that the use of AI to provide you with options to choose from is very similar to the process of directing," he says. "It provides you with aberrations and happy accidents - things which aren't influenced as well as being interesting elements to lean into."

"I wanted to lean into the natural aesthetic that the AI videos were creating, rather than pushing against it. Right now, it's more interesting as its own aesthetic."   Paul Trillo, Filmmaker

Chris Carboni was the one who employed an earlier Version of MidJourney to animate the charming "HAIRY POUTER" was also impressed by AI's bizarre interpretations of his vision. "We really liked the art style that it came up with after only a couple of rounds of making new images" says Chris.

"We let the AI truly come up with intriguing interpretations. And when we found the one that we loved we urged it to go along with that particular thread to ensure that it would be consistently entertaining and just easy to understand."

"It's thrilling," says Laen Sanches. "It's an opportunity to discover new ways of telling my tales. This is a voyage of innovative methods, tools, and thrilling challenges."

 AI is clearing more room for creativity

In nearly every conversation, we found that the folks we spoke to loved using AI in order to get away from the more boring job that full-time creativity needs - and return to what it is that matter most.

Multimedia creator Romke Hoogwaerts relies on AI to work efficiently, no matter the scope of work. "I use AI to automate my busy work," says Romke. "I've used it in sending business emails, and even providing quotes to clients, and so on. AI will always perform best at the bulk lifting for simple jobs."

Chris Carboni, too, uses AI to keep his email inbox clean and projects in order. "I love making use of AI to boost my email as well as to act as a personal assistant that can answer questions, explaining complex ideas, and handling rote jobs."

 AI is an artificial intelligence program that is not an entirely new skill

Through all of our conversations in all of our conversations, we came to a common understanding with our creatives and filmmakers in the use of AI to enhance and extend - not replace - work. "I'm trying to look at the issue as more than "They're taking away my job and I'm losing my job,'" says Jordan. "It's more of a "Ok, so what am I going to do do with it right now?'"

Rachel Hulin, for example Rachel Hulin, for instance, utilized AI to replicate the look of a camera with technology that has been lost to the time: "One of my favorite cameras isn't available anymore, but I can use AI to match that same vintage look."

Jordan Clarke, who works primarily as a animator and director, utilized AI to get more comfortable in the art of writing. "I've always felt nervous when I compose," he says. "So it was like that when I write using the AI it could be useful to use it as a sketching device."

Many creators are eager to explore the new tools available to them, AI has become a means of creating work which would not have been possible - rather than simply replicating or replacing procedures.

"There are positive and bad ways of using this technique," Paul adds. "For many individuals, it's producing work that could never have been made in the past. It's opening a portal to this world of things that would never have been possible." Others, AI is simply offering a new stage for creatives to share the stories that they've wanted to tell all along.