AI
I’m still not sure where I stand on a lot of what’s happening in AI–which is very much like standing in the middle of an active train track. Something is coming, whether we like it or not. We can choose to get in the way, or out of the way. And it’s always easier to hop on while it’s moving slowly.
In 2024, C3ai, an enterprise AI company based in Redwood City, came to us for a film. We wrote one. We hired a director. We cast actors. We booked locations. Then it went away. Then a very large fire happened in Los Angeles. Cut 2025. They want the video again. We started over. We had no time. And not very much money. So we made it another way. In three weeks.
None of this is ideal. The process reminds you how amazing humans are. Actors conveying subtle meaning. Directors having vision and leadership. DPs making things look beautiful and consistent and deliberate. You sacrifice a lot of great things to do it this way. But it can work. And it will work better and better every day with every new iteration. But it won’t be the same. Maybe almost but not quite.
The actual dimensions of the screens where the video was to be shown required us to think beyond a 16x9 format, which created opportunities for a more creative approach.