AI Offers Hope For Young Filmmakers Dreaming Of An Oscar
Chinese USC student SiJia Zheng speaks about how he used artificial intelligence to modify his face and make him into all the different characters of his short film 'Torment' (FREDERIC J. BROWN)
By Romain FONSEGRIVES, BARRON’S
Studying at the film school where Oscar-nominated "Sinners" director Ryan Coogler honed his craft, SiJia Zheng dreams of winning an Academy Award.
Now with the recent developments in artificial intelligence, he can see a shortcut to achieving his ambition.
"That's a chance for beginners like me who can use AI to just make a film and to announce to the world that I have the ability to be a director," he told AFP.
Zheng, 29, who hails from China, is one of a burgeoning class of students at USC's School of Cinematic Arts, studying animation in a place that has long been a training ground for future Pixar and DreamWorks talent.
He has used his time at the Los Angeles university to learn about the emerging field of AI animation.
That has included producing his seven-minute short film "Torment" about a masked killer terrorizing a high school.
The film, which was recognized at the LA Shorts festival, was generated entirely by AI -- in just one week.
