Update on “The Audience for AI Films” 2024 December 1

I have been working on “The Audience for AI Films” off and on since May 2023. I have now made it a higher priority and might even get it finished this time.

I created the video with NAWMAL. Although it does not claim to be an AI system, the voices are computer-generated. It did strike me as ironic that I was using it to comment on AI filmmaking.

I had a version that I shared with a couple of people early on. They were positive about it, but I had some doubts about it myself. First off, it felt too short, at less than two minutes. Then, I was having trouble choreographing the characters and camera. So I procrastinated about finishing it.

When I went back to it later I was not happy with the voices. I used computer-generated voices. NAWMAL allows you to record or import actor’s voices, but since the two main characters are robots, I went with the computer-generated voices. The problem was that the voices did not sound robotic enough for me. That stalled me again.

In this go-around, I first concentrated on adding and revising the dialogue. I felt much better with how that turned out. The run length is closer to four minutes now, which is about the length I wanted. I got the choreography of the characters done to my satisfaction.

The next step that I’m stalled on now is the camera placement and choreography. NAWMAL allows you to set up multiple cameras and switch between them in the program. It can be a little finicky at times, especially when the characters move around, which happens in this video. In my previous NAWMAL videos this was not a big problem. This video is a little more complicated and I felt it would take me a long time to get the nuances right. I was stalled again.

I have come up with a different approach. Although NAWMAL allows you to do an entire video with it, I have on occasion gone back and manipulated the video in a video editing program. Usually this is to combine short videos on different sets into a single video, or to speed up action.

What I am thinking is to “shoot” the video the same way I would do a one camera live shoot. This would allow me to set up shots more precisely. It would also allow me to cheat angles to get the images I want. Then I could pull it all together in the editing program.

I am still waffling on the voices though.

This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog

The Executioner and the Jovial Dictator Posted

Image from Microsoft Bing

I recorded my exercise “The Executioner and the Jovial Dictator.” After I recorded it, I changed my mind about the title of the dictator. I rerecord just the lines that included the dictator’s title and replaced it with “Baron.” Then I reedited the recording to put in the new lines. I missed one line with the old title, but I was able to use a “Baron” from another line.

I posted it on SoundCloud and my Website.

The Baron would stand no criticism. Cyril made the fatal mistake of being honest. The Baron had a solution.

·         https://soundcloud.com/dynamiclethargy/the-executioner-and-the-jovial-dictator

https://dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/audio/
This post is a mirror from my main blog http://www.dynamiclethargyfilms.ca/blog