AI is turning film scripts into pitch trailers

AI Summary

India's film industry is increasingly adopting generative AI to create trailers and short films from scripts, improving pitch clarity amid rising costs and box-office uncertainties. However, concerns over intellectual property and copyright risks remain among producers.

Mumbai: Film narration in India’s entertainment industry has entered a new phase as producers in the Hindi film and some regional industries have begun using generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) while pitching their ideas to investors and distributors.Increasingly, producers are creating AI-assisted trailers and, in some cases, even AI-assisted short films based on scripts to give a glimpse of the final product, as filmmaking costs rise and uncertainty over box-office performance increases, industry sources told ET.Also Read: Hollywood, Bollywood and AI: Who controls storytelling now?“AI has completely changed how people present their ideas. Today, producers in the industry are creating AI-assisted trailers based on film scripts and explaining their films’ vision in a clearer manner,” said Akul Tripathi, filmmaker and former COO at IN10 Media Network. “These AI-generated trailers help financiers, actors, writers and other collaborators clearly understand a film’s idea and vision,” he added.The ability to provide greater clarity on the look, tone and feel of a film has accelerated the practice of generating AI-assisted trailers and films, producers said.“Earlier, there was no option but to sit through a film narration. Today, a studio like ours reads at least 300 screenplays in different languages. With the help of AI, one can turn a screenplay into storyboards and then storyboards into a fully visualised film. This makes it easier to judge a story, its look and even the budget before production,” explained Naveen Chandra, founder of 91 Film Studios that produces and distributes regional films.“In Kerala, there are companies providing AI tools for creating AI-assisted trailers and AI-assisted feature films. In fact, producers in Kerala have been using AI tools to create AI-assisted feature films to show funders their vision for the film,” said a film distributor, requesting anonymity.Even as a section of producers is using AI to make film pitches more effective, another section remains wary of using AI in film pitches. They are concerned that creating AI-assisted trailers and films could make their work vulnerable to intellectual property and copyright risks."There is a big challenge in making AI-assisted trailers or films from scripts. When one uploads a screenplay in an AI tool one is exposed to a risk of losing control of it. Scripts, storyboards, and AI-generated outputs can become available for others to copy or use to create their own works. Even if one pays to use an AI software, there is no guarantee one’s ideas are protected,’ said Shaaminder Malik, distributor and film trade analyst.However, high filmmaking costs and increasing uncertainty in predicting box-office performance have also contributed to accelerate this trend, producers said.Also Read: Indian film studios are using AI to cut costs, speed production, despite mixed audience reactions“Today, costs have risen across every stage of production. Theatrical performance has become increasingly unpredictable. Naturally, investors are asking more questions before financing projects. AI-generated pitch trailers and concept films have emerged as an effective solution because they help producers convert a written script into a visual experience,” explained Suniel Wadhwa, co-founder and director of Karmic Films.“For many projects, spending a few lakhs on an AI-assisted proof of concept can significantly improve the chances of raising funds for a film worth several crores,” Wadhwa added.Today, AI can create a two-hour visual version of a screenplay, producers said. Producers have been creating AI-assisted trailers (4–5 minutes long) based on film scripts. The cost of creating AI-assisted trailers and films primarily comprises AI software and manpower costs for generating prompts. The cost of creating an AI-assisted trailer based on a film script is less than Rs 5 lakh, producers said. The cost of generating an AI-assisted film, without original music and based on a film script, is Rs 70–80 lakh, they added.