AI & The Artist: Moonshine Post's Latest Collaborator

Our newest team member is not human, and as a small business owner in the post-production industry, I'm horrified-excited-cautious about this paradox. Artificial Intelligence, frequently downplayed as just a 'tool,' isn't just an extension of our abilities; it's a swiss army knife that grows a new attachment every hour based on use, while having the ability to simultaneously automate much of civilization. This means the line between tool and collaborator at Moonshine has never been so blurred, and as AI settles into our post suites, it's becoming less of a tool and more of a creative co-pilot, promising to revolutionize our industry and our artists.

The Asimovian Debate: Job Security in the AI Era

Meanwhile, the writer guild settles its strike and the actors guild continues fighting a two front job security war. And with a Kurt Vonnegut sci-fi sense of irony, this is now a world where the AI has also passed the Bar Exam.

As of this moment the director's chair remains staunchly human territory, but are they really immune to this march of progress along with the film set workers? Or are they simply sheltered until the actors are digital phantoms, and films are interactive video games devoid of the 100 year filmmaker legacy.

That scenario is hard to grapple with. So as a diligent small business owner in this creative industry, I observe this spectacle with the rapt attention of a man about to be hit by a train - a bit horrified, and a bit surprised at how fast I’ve recounted my entire life before coming to, and then stepping out of the way of this force of progress at the very last second.?

John Wayne rides, again!

It seems the whole industry is holding their breath waiting for lawyers to establish a precedent and a code of conduct. And yet as the rules of this new AI-driven reality are still being drafted, the software giants are hustling crack-cocaine shareware editions of these “future tools”, giving us a taste and getting us hooked on its change in ways we can hardly understand.? How on earth will law keep up with the rapid march of AI?

Also, with all the buzz around actor's licensing their likeness as eternal CGI starlets, does this mean John Wayne will come back from the dead and ride again in new westerns???

Moonshine's Inception: A Testament to Tech Evolution

With all of this, I'm reminded of the lessons learned from Moonshine Post's inception, a child of disruption, like many new kids on the block. Our journey was a tenacious startup following a global economic crisis in 2008. Back then, Avid had long already reinvented storytelling with an eraser-free timeline and NLE, and Davinci Resolve was fitting the film lab into a USB dongle, while Final Cut 7 (RIP) had just smashed economic barriers for startups and individuals like myself. We were bidding goodbye to tape and welcoming Digital Cinema. And CGI and VFX were commodifying the impossible into the expected spectacle, and the invisible enhancement of every shot is every day. Meanwhile Adobe was about to usher an entire new creator class of internet artisans for the expanding social media landscape. Streaming platforms were set to escalate the demand for content, flipping media consumption on its head. All this, was mere preludes to the symphony of AI.

So like an entrepreneurial hermit crab, Moonshine moved into the empty shells of defunct post house real-estate left barren due to a lack of innovation with talent and tech. In hindsight, it was the rapid advancements in tech, and changes in buyer profiles with the constant lowering of costs and budgets, that dug the grave for the dinosaur post houses preceding us. Echos of the past.

And with each move of our headquarters into a slightly larger shell that was left behind by a fallen counterpart or competitor, we decoded their losses and using off the shelf equipment, along with the growing pool of ATL post talent with a chip on its shoulder (I will write a whole other article on the breed of Atlanta post filmworkers). Moonshine met the challenge and transitioned to longform, away from spots and promos and straight into film and TV - we capitalized on the new diversification of work offered by the Atlanta film tax credit and the studios who brought it here. It was a strategic maneuver that kept the company agile and relevant. It's been one helluva ride ever since.

Moonshine’s Next Full Circle

And now we’ve come full circle, having bought and built our new headquarters, having grown our very own metaphorical shell - is this the circle of life completing its cycle? (Nervous laugh) NO! But how do we redefine our business shell in the wake of unprecedented disruption while balancing the advancements of Ai with the unique creativity of human talent in an industry that is currently demanding both?

Well a year ago, the horizon was visible, and the map to success was neatly charted. Today, the fog of transformation has narrowed visibility to a mere ten feet. And as the captain of this ship, the question isn't just about finding the way, but also about the crew – our artists, our facility, and the very essence of what we do.? The seas of change demand we pivot (hopefully away from this sailing analogy), requiring every department to reassess. Who or what is automated with Ai? Who is upskilled? The binary choice between “restructuring” our workforce or increasing our capacity and throughput is a false dichotomy. Instead, we should anticipate a dynamic blend of both - an ebb and flow influenced by the demands of our clients, the abilities of our team, and the capabilities of the AI technology at our disposal. But how do we maintain the integrity of our craft while embracing the efficiencies??

The Time Compression Issue

If it's anything like before, new tech advancements solve problems and create new ones. The advent of digital cameras, with their voracious appetite for ones and zeros, presented a paradigm shift and a false promise regarding extra time for artists. The ever expanding shooting ratios and production practices, force multiplied with non-linear timelines, and ballooning data footprints has kept Post Production running in a creative hamster wheel faster than ever,? delivering cuts at the speed of light and at the beckon call. Where's all that extra time that the digital revolution was going to give me back to be as an artist. HA!

We’re inevitably facing another phase of time compression, where ‘faster’ inevitably equals ‘cheaper.’ We’re pixel priests building binge-worthy shows and tent-pole media for an industry that thrives on quick turnarounds and high-quality output.? I’m not sure if AI will unlock a new value proposition where efficiencies and the human touch command a premium?

I'm thinking optimistically it can help prioritize our artists' attention when collaborating. And I am certain that the challenge lies in leveraging AI to stay competitive, without losing our soul in the process, or being forced to upload it to the cloud as part of our cell phone plans.

Redefining Expertise with our Clients and Collaborators

While AI transforms our talented artists into superheroes with a utility belt and a side kick, I find myself asking how this enhanced capacity and efficiency will be harnessed. Yes, we can iterate faster, more comprehensively, but to what end? Will this ability simply trigger a perpetual motion machine of endless tweaks, sidetracking us from committing to a coherent, overarching vision? Also, our clients, armed with their own AI-powered oracles, are morphing into in-house innovators and supercharged creatives. So as AI further democratizes the tools of our trade, the traditional concept of expertise is being redefined, reframed by the perspective of the person at the helm of these intelligent systems. The path for customers to industry experts is about to undergo a wicked and complex transformation. We must strike a delicate balance between the lure of speed and the essence of our creative control, discerning which tasks can be delegated to AI and which demand the irreplaceable touch of human creativity. For now, AI’s remains incapable at emulating the nuanced, subjective judgment and inspiration that a seasoned artist brings to the table. But just wait 2 years, AI might win a grammy if no one is paying attention.

The Impact on Traditional Apprenticeship and Craftsmanship

In an era where the creation of art can seemingly be distilled down to the click of a button, how do we nurture the growth of original and innovative artists?

With AI’s formidable processing power, it's poised to revolutionize the tasks and erase the basic routines from the craft. For some of those tasks I say, “have at it!” I don't want to take out the trash or do the dishes anymore, take it! Except for the fact that traditionally, the apprenticeship of an artist was marked by the meticulous undertaking of routine tasks, building a story from the ground up, and in the process, cultivating an innate understanding of the finer aspects of their craft. With AI poised to shoulder a sizable chunk of this load, we are confronted with an unexpected conundrum. The shift to focusing solely on fine-tuning the details risks creating an impersonal void and an educational gap, potentially inhibiting the holistic growth of future artists.

So, if the advent of AI introduces a 'Rembrandt button' available at everyone's fingertips, it poses a vital question - how do we nurture the growth of more Rembrandts? How do we ensure the continuity of the journeyman's path, fostering an environment that cultivates a deep understanding of not just the 'how' but the 'why' of our craft? Hopefully the AI overlords allow a museum for all of our Command+Z “Undos” so that our proteges can TL;DR and study the frustration from our laughably terrible big-picture-tasks of the past. Sigh. The nurturing and recruitment of talent in an increasingly remote and Gig-work-ified landscape is tough enough, so how will the next generation of artists uphold the cherished rites of passage and the camaraderie intrinsic to team building and competition?

First Contact, and it's awesome

The First Wave is here, we’ve made contact with AI tools, and some are bolstering Moonshine’s artists with superhuman capabilities already, enhancing our creative scope and productivity, and reducing creative friction. So I say, surfs up!?

Perhaps, this Second Wave will give birth to a new genre of small business AI brands that champion their human collaborators. A novel order that lends equal importance to the human experience of the artists, their interactions with clients, and the collaborative creative process.? I can see a future where a hybrid of this is crucial for brand and culture preservation, and something I’m looking into.

The Pee is in the Pool

But I don't know, like I said, these are just thoughts. And I want to hear yours. So for now let's enjoy the vista that appears to be one of enhanced efficiencies, breathtaking creative miracles. Let's upskill, learn new tricks, and most of all, value our own humanity and time a little bit more as we use the new tools to win back more creativity. Because whether you like it or not, the pee is in the pool. And it's not going back in.

Written by Drew Sawyer / Founder of Moonshine Post

When not playing with his daughter Juniper, Drew's either spinning yarns with the MoonCrew on a streaming series, studio feature, or hiking the backcountry (with Juniper)! www.moonshinepost.com | www.instagram.com/moonshinepost