[LLG] AI a tool, not a threat, says 31-year-old AI filmmaker

Kwon Han-sl's award-winning short horror film, made with six AI tools, opens up new narrative film genre

AI film director Kwon Han-sl poses for a photo at his office in Seoul, July 22. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)

How might AI alter filmmaking?

Young South Korean filmmaker Kwon Han-sl has shown the impact could be massive.

The 31-year-old spent five days last summer working with over six AI tools to create a three-minute horror film.

It was a personal experiment in which he handled every aspect himself, from writing the screenplay to using AI tools and producing the entire film. But the result ended up better than he thought.

“One More Pumpkin” garnered international acclaim, winning both the Grand Prize and the Audience Award at the inaugural Dubai International AI Film Festival in February.

So, how did he do it? Did it demonstrate AI’s potential to replace human creators in the future?

Poster for AI-generated short movie 'One More Pumpkin' (Studio Freewillusion)

Experiment ‘One More Pumpkin’

Given recent breakthroughs in generative AI -- like OpenAI's Sora -- which wowed the world by turning text into visually intricate video early in the year, one might think crafting a film with the help of AI could be as simple as using a search engine.

While using AI can certainly eliminate a lot of work -- such as casting, shooting on location or special effects -- Kwon said the complexities inherent in the process demand consistent work.

"I employed over six AI tools to manage elements such as voices, faces and backgrounds," he explained. "Subsequently, I meticulously curated and sequenced optimal scenes from the vast pool of generated options."

A discerning eye for scene selection is crucial, he added.

"One More Pumpkin" explores the theme of human greed through the mysterious lives of an elderly Korean couple, set against a backdrop of grotesque Halloween imagery.

The couple defies nature by living for over two centuries. When death’s messengers resembling the grim reaper arrive, the couple greet them with special soup made with ingredients from their expansive pumpkin farm.

The soup causes the reapers to pass out. The couple then bury the reapers' bodies to use them as fertilizer. However, as more reapers are buried, the pumpkins become cursed and haunted.

The storyline and entire script were solely Kwon’s work, but the rest was created with AI, constrained by the physical limitations of the tools available at the time. Kwon finished editing it months before OpenAI released Sora.

"I chose the horror genre because AI is not able to make a character appear consistently the same," Kwon said. "Pumpkins, on the other hand, benefit from such variations in their appearance, allowing for distorted and grotesque forms that enhance the horror atmosphere."

The decision to primarily utilize English was also driven by a practical limitation: AI-generated Korean sounded too “robotic” at the time, he said.

Reflecting on his experiment, Kwon noted that the core filmmaking workflow, which centers on realizing a director’s artistic vision, remains largely unchanged. He dismissed the notion of AI being a "threat" to human creators.

AI film director Kwon Han-sl holds the Grand Prize and Audience Award trophies he received at the Dubai International AI Film Festival in February, at his office in Seoul, July 22. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)

From new tool to new film genre

“My work showed that AI videos can do more than simply present visually striking imagery and that they can also tell a compelling story,” said Kwon, who is now CEO of Studio Freewillusion, a tech studio he founded last year specializing in AI-powered video content. This demonstration positions the film as one of the harbingers of a new cinematic genre, he added.

Recognized as one of the forerunners in AI filmmaking, he participated as a speaker at the Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival's AI international conference on July 5, addressing the adoption of AI within the Korean video industry.

The festival made history by hosting Korea’s first AI filmmaking competition in July and awarded the Best AI Film prize to French filmmaker Leo Cannone's "Where Do Grandmas Go When They Get Lost?" in its newly established AI Film category.

It’s more than a small, fledgling new genre, Kwon said, stressing that filmmakers across genres need to pay attention to technological advancements, which are evolving at a dizzying pace.

"When I started my film project last year, AI could barely create GIF-like images shorter than 10 seconds each. Six months later, OpenAI's Sora emerged.”

This year’s movie will be of markedly higher quality, he said, considering how dramatically AI technology has developed in just a few years.

Given this perspective, he outlined how AI can serve as a novel filmmaking tool, with the potential to create AI-driven genres and provide support across various filmmaking dimensions.

He cited computer graphics as an example of AI's collaborative potential, highlighting its ability to accelerate production and reduce costs.

"Those who shun AI in filmmaking will find it very difficult to survive," Kwon quipped. "It's essential to strategize on how to parlay AI technology into a catalyst for the film industry's progress."

Kwon, however, noted that regulatory frameworks fall short of AI's rapid advancement, thereby leaving the AI landscape largely unregulated and rife with legal uncertainties.

In one instance, copyright issues in AI-generated materials have been the main point of contention.

In this regard, Kwon made a distinction between copying and referencing, stating that humans employ art as a means of expression, while AI tools lack an inherent drive to create.

“AI learns and references in a manner similar to humans,” he explained. “Reproducing a singer’s voice verbatim is copyright infringement, but learning from their style to create new music is not.”

Furthermore, copyright disputes aside, Kwon stressed the need for safeguards to ensure the ethical use of AI-generated content such as having a supervisory entity to “rate the appropriateness of AI-produced content.”

In the longer term, Kwon believes AI only constitutes one phase in the film industry's evolution.

"Like the shift from silent to sound or black and white to color, AI integration is a natural progression," he said, dismissing the notion that AI poses an existential threat to humanity, at least within the film industry.

Meanwhile, at his startup, Kwon remains dedicated to unlocking the full potential of AI technology. His team is currently working on commercial AI video projects while simultaneously developing a music-themed film featuring AI-generated music.

AI film director Kwon Han-sl holds the Grand Prize and Audience Award trophies he received at the Dubai International AI Film Festival in February, at his office in Seoul, July 22. (Im Se-jun/The Korea Herald)

By No Kyung-min(minmin@heraldcorp.com)