KRISHA SIKKA

A short film by Ahana Guin & Krisha Sikka. Shot with Runway.

Filming/Editing Process

Standard filmmaking usually follows a generic procedure: pre-production, production, and post-production. While the first step and the last step remained the same for our AI film, the production aspect did not. We turned to Runway, which utilizes AI research models and tools to create multimodal simulators of the world.

Although this may have seemed easier because we did not have to physically shoot, we had to learn how to make our vision come to light through crafted prompts in the software. While we may have understood our own ideas, there were times when we had to take a step back and learn how to make AI understand us, through using the research manuals and even asking other AI platforms for assistance.

Furthermore, while editing is collaborative, finding the perfect platform for that purpose was initially a challenge. After some research, we decided to use elevate.io, an online video editor that allows for joint editing in the same timeline. We could now see the changes each other were making in the same file and shared the same media library. This platform allowed us to give live feedback and build on each other’s work, resulting in the creation of Anima. 

Read more about our story and design, as well as editing limitations, on https://ahanaguin.com/7/.  

Ethics on using AI for Filmmaking

The usage of AI in filmmaking is definitely a recent advancement, so it is important to be completely transparent to ensure fairness. While it is crucial to acknowledge that there has been AI assistance, it does not erase the fact that there are humans behind every idea and creation. If it is being used to further relay messages and assist in creative design, audiences should be informed. This transparency builds a sense of trust between the creators and the viewers and also makes sure that other individuals’ work are not being infringed upon.