I was about 15 minutes into Google’s AI short-film screening when I realized I had nearly finished my popcorn.
Granted, the bag was small. But the rapid munching was a natural consequence of my piqued intrigue late last month as the tech giant showcased 11 AI-generated short films at Manhattan’s arthouse Metrograph theater. The directors — a mix of various ages, demographics and professional backgrounds — were the fourth cohort in Google’s “Flow Sessions” program, a six-week intensive that gives a group of up-and-coming filmmakers unlimited access to the company’s Flow short-form AI video generator and several mentorship sessions to bring a short story idea to life.
It’s no secret that short-form videos have been a layman’s doorway into moviemaking in the AI era, with companies luring users with the notion of bringing their imaginations to life in ways unfathomable before the advent of generators. Google knows this as well, and the short-film exhibition seems as designed to present the films and the technology as it does to showcase the company’s eagerness for the film industry to embrace AI’s potential, moves further reflected in its DeepMind research partnership with A24 and its work with filmmakers including Darren Aronofsky and Doug Liman.
