“If It’s AI-Detectable, You’ve Failed”: Meet the Filmmakers Putting Human Craft at the Heart of Artificial Intelligence

From left: Obsidian co-founders Louis Gheysens and Wes Walker. COURTESY OBSIDIAN STUDIO

By Mathew Scott, The Hollywood Reporter

As Hollywood wrestles with how to use AI, Obsidian Studio's Wes Walker and Louis Gheysens are making the case that the technology is only as good as the human hand guiding it.

Wes Walker has a golden rule about the use of artificial intelligence in his creative process — one that speaks volumes about how quickly the technology has morphed from curiosity to everyday tool.

“Already we are at the stage where the thinking is that if it’s AI-detectable, you’ve failed,” says Walker of a technology that has only been in serious use since around 2023.

As co-founder of Obsidian Studio alongside Louis Gheysens, Walker has been at the forefront of both exploring and integrating AI alongside live action and CGI in content creation. The studio has offices in five cities across the globe, including New York, Paris and Brussels. It has worked on campaigns for the likes of French luxury giants Longchamp and a campaign for the Beyond Noise multimedia brand with the agency Baron & Baron. And it has already expanded the notion of what’s possible with the technology — precisely, Walker argues, because AI is being used as a tool rather than a replacement.

It’s a philosophy captured in one of the studio’s own banners: “Humans over Hype.”

“It’s starting with the artists and doing what we already do at a world-class level before we come to AI, and then using AI as an extension of our abilities, not as any kind of shortcut, essentially,” he says. “We truly believe that AI won’t be a one-man show in the future. We still need those different talents that join forces because they have specific strengths, specific talents. Teams are very different from what they used to be, but by bringing their talent together on those tools, that’s how you create the best pieces out there.”