OpenAI recently unveiled Sora, its newest GPT model. At its core, Sora is a sophisticated data-driven physics engine marketed as a text-to-video creation tool, and its quality explains why it’s easy to see why creative professionals, particularly those who produce videos for a living, will be affected.
Video Expert Ruxpert Rixon from Perspective Pictures, who runs a 25-person video production company, shares an honest perspective on which jobs he believes will be directly affected and how companies like his will be affected after the technology is released if they do not adapt.
He explains the following companies, roles, and services are staring into the AI-shaped void:
Camera Operators: For productions where the camera work involves standard or replicable shots, Sora could completely replace the need for camera operators. This is particularly likely in scenarios where the desired output can be precisely described in the text and does not require a human operator’s nuanced judgment and adaptability.
VFX (Animation and Visual Effects) Designers – Maybe not Sora specifically, but AI will do a fantastic job of creating explosions on the big screen, painting out wires or generating giant monsters, and this role will be replaced entirely.
Social Media Video Production Companies – AI will take most ad creation work away from production companies like us, who produce digital ads for clients. For instance, take highly cinematic drink ads. More than likely, when Sora is released, making this imagery with AI will be easier than hiring us – 90% of this work will be replaced by Sora.
Video Stock footage – AI video generators like Sora will swallow this up pretty quickly. Generating videos from prompts is far more likely to develop the exact clip you need rather than trawling through a database with some basic tags attached. Surely significantly cheaper, too. Is this why Getty’s stock price has taken a hit?
Large-Scale Video Production Companies – We at Perspective Pictures often film big Red Bull stunts, which will always have a place as people want to witness incredible feats, not just consume them.
Set Designers: While the core creative input of set designers cannot be entirely replaced, Sora’s capabilities might reduce the demand for physical set construction for certain types of productions, especially those that can be simulated realistically in a virtual environment.
Costume Designers: Similar to set designers, the need for physical costume design and production might diminish for productions utilizing Sora, primarily if virtual characters and their attire can be generated to meet the production’s needs. However, unique, high-quality costume design that requires a human touch will likely still be in demand.
Archivists and Librarians: These roles might see a transformation rather than a reduction. As video production shifts towards more digital and automated processes, the focus for archivists and librarians could move towards managing and curating digital assets and archives, including content created by tools like Sora.
Colorists: Sora’s ability to generate video content might include automated color grading based on the textual descriptions provided. While this could affect the demand for colorists, especially for standard or lower-tier production work, high-end productions seeking a unique aesthetic or mood through color grading might still rely heavily on the expertise of professional colorists.
While all these changes are coming fast and heavy – There are still some things people will always want to see the actual video for. “A Founder speaking about their company in a crowdfunding video, a celebrity eating worms in the jungle, a big stunt, or even your favorite influencer apologizing for a product they promoted turning out to be a gambling game for kids. As such, there will always be a requirement to have SOME things filmed using a real camera…. the industry is about to experience a significant shakeup. “
Rupert concludes with, “I love my 25-person creative team, but as much as I hate to say it, we will see fewer job roles for ‘filmmakers’ and more for ‘AI Creative Prompt Engineers’ over the next few years and my outlook is the AI revolution is coming whether I like it or not. So we can work out how to adopt it at Perspective Pictures, or I can complain about how no one cares about ‘real filmmaking’ anymore when we lose clients to Sora over the next 18 months. – it’s bleak, but I’m also kind of excited.”
Published By: Aize Perez
