Amazon is developing artificial intelligence tools designed to speed up film and television production while reducing costs, even as concerns grow in Hollywood about job losses and industry transformation.
Greg Bensinger reports for Reuters that Albert Cheng, a veteran entertainment executive at Amazon MGM Studio, leads a small team building AI applications for the entertainment industry. The company plans to launch a closed beta program in March, with results expected by May.
Cheng describes the initiative as a startup within Amazon, following founder Jeff Bezos’s principle of keeping teams small enough to feed with two pizzas. The group consists mainly of product engineers and scientists, with fewer creative and business staff.
Rising production costs have made it difficult for studios to finance multiple projects and take creative risks, Cheng explains. “We fundamentally believe that AI can accelerate, but it won’t replace, the innovation and the unique aspects that (humans) bring to create the work,” he states in the interview.
The AI Studio is developing tools that improve character consistency across shots and integrate with industry standard creative software. Amazon’s cloud computing division provides technical support, while the company plans to work with multiple large language model providers.
Amazon is collaborating with producers including Robert Stromberg and actor Kunal Nayyar to test the technology. The second season of “House of David” demonstrates the approach, where director Jon Erwin combined AI with live action footage to create battle scenes at reduced cost.
Actors like Emily Blunt have expressed concerns that AI could make their jobs obsolete. Amazon emphasizes that writers, directors, actors, and character designers will remain involved at every production stage.
