AI and Audio-Visuals

By Trish McAuslan FPSNZ AV-AAPS EFIAP/b FAPS Coordinator of Audio-Visuals for PSNZ

AI technology is already here and many of us are using it. There is no point in closing our eyes and hoping it will go away because it is not going to do that. There can be little doubt that AI poses considerable challenges to photography and audio-visuals as we have known them. Consequently, we must all make an effort to understand what it is. We also need to consider what, if any, restrictions we want to place on its use.

In this discussion, I am leaving out much of the impact of Al on still photography and concentrating on the impact of this developing technology on audio-visuals. Generative Al includes tools such as ChatGPT and MidJourney (and many more). These are relatively new software tools that can generate some or all the key media assets that make up an AV, including still images, videos, scripts, voiceovers and music. It is now possible to create an excellent AV using only these tools.

As with all new technologies, there are those who are keen to use it and those who are against it. Do you remember the discussions that used to take place between film users and users of the new digital technology?

Anyone who has been using Photoshop, or any of the several other post-processing applications, have already been using AI technology. Frequently its use allows the photographer to very quickly make changes to an image adjustments that they have been able to make for many years but which have taken considerable time to achieve and may have required a high level of skill. The ability to make a selection of a subject with one click is an example which comes to mind.

STOP PRESS: Just as I was about to send these notes to CameraTalk, Adobe announced the release of its latest version of Photoshop, including its Generative Fill option which takes

AI to a new level.

Moving on from there is the option to incorporate some of the photographer’s own photographs in a composite image which has been created using AI technology.

Moving on still further are images created totally by the AI software, based on either a verbal or written description, e.g. shoppers in snow, walking past shop windows at night. Depending on the technology, the photographer may be given several options to select from. It could be argued that there is a creative aspect as the photographer has to create the text that will result in an appropriate image.

Generally AVs, at least in photographic circles (including PSNZ), are seen by many as primarily storytelling, using still images taken by the author. However, many stories cannot be told well without the use of third party images; these may be historical images, maps or other images that are not possible for the photographer to take. In a number of salons, including the JSMT, the inclusion of third party images is restricted to about 20% of the total length of the AV. If images created using AI technology are seen as third party images, they would become another tool available to the AV maker.