At this stage of the production journey, processes are in place that finalise a project before it is released to the public. This includes raw video editing, the creation of visual effects, final sound track development, colour correction and sound mixing. Many of the key creative decisions are made in the final edits.

A number of tools are being utilised in the industry to help reduce costs and speed up processes. Although some are better than others, for example some of the music editing tools used to match the tone of an edit are yet to match human capabilities, but there is considerable capability in VFX compositor work.

Examples of tools being used include:

– Edit tools for VFX compositor work.

– Backgrounds for archive.

– Casting for credits (this uses assistive AI).

– Music postproduction/music solution that would recognise the beats of film/programme and match the tone.

– Audio clean up (this uses assistive AI).

– Automated voiceovers.

– Images/graphics.

Risks

– For some producers, the initial purchase of some of these tools may seem expensive, although initial cost may be counterbalanced by a reduction in the amount of time and effort utilised during post production. Initially, this could disadvantage some smaller producers, but as the technology improves and costs are reduced, all producers, regardless of size, would be able to take advantage.

–  Reputational/ethical risks in respect of factual accuracy and editorial breaches, especially when using sensitive data or synthetic media.

– Copyright infringement.

– Ethical considerations may arise through the use of AI tools with talent in post-production. This will need to be agreed upfront during contractual negotiations with talent to ensure that they are happy for the use of AI tools to be utilised during post production. Consultation with talent could have a caveat of ‘where it concerns them / their image / voice’.

– Ethical considerations may arise when deciding whether to utilise AI technology. There could be a potential impact on jobs across the VFX and audio sectors and other post-production related jobs, for example voice actors.

Opportunities

– Speed at which producers can complete productions.

– Creative can tell stories in different ways.

– Repurpose work for different platforms.

– Some of the software is relatively cost effective.

– May cut costs for factual production companies who often incur high post production-related costs.

Questions to Ask

– Different scenarios of ethics where the line is drawn.

– If sensitive data/material is to be input into AI tools, does the producer have the participants’ permission to do so and are the participants or talent happy with this? Will this sensitive material be treated as sensitive, and not shared elsewhere, by the AI technology?

– How are you preventing the misuse of data being inputted?

– Are people fairly compensated for their work and has this been agreed beforehand?

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