The Art Directors Guild is not happy with Martin Scorsese’s promotion of an AI tool for storyboarding.
The Studio City-based crew union clapped back at the Killers of the Flower Moon director on Tuesday for a recent ad he filmed with startup Black Forest Labs. In the video spot, Scorsese — an advisor to the company — creates a storyboard featuring a medieval street with the use of the company’s FLUX technology and lauds the model’s display of “cinematic intelligence.”
The ADG called this an example of the director “turning his back on the human artists who throughout his career have helped him create his most memorable works.”
In its remarks, the labor group quoted a recent statement from Scorsese about his partnership with the AI company. “There’s always been this problem of how do you communicate what you see in your head to your cast and crew,” he said. “There are some things you have to see and feel. I’m interested in the intersection of technology and storytelling, and seeing how that can push the bounds of creativity to create deeper and richer experiences for audiences.”
From the ADG’s point of view, he was advocating for potential job displacement. ”He claims the solution is the use of this generative AI program to do the jobs that are rightfully the jurisdiction of Art Directors Guild Local 800 artists and designers — human artists and designers who have been successfully collaborating with directors to visualize their films for decades,” the labor group said in the statement. “Mr. Scorsese’s promotion of a generative AI product circumvents the input of Art Directors Guild Local 800 art directors, graphic artists, illustrators, production designers, scenic artists, set designers, and other talented Union professionals.”
