Recently, Korea has witnessed the rise of AI in drama production. On December 4, a Korean film using AI - "Kiss Lighting - Ghost Cupid" will be released.
Previously, MBC's "Meet You 4" program or the movies "The Murderer's Paradox", "Welcome to Samdalri"... were also noticed for using deepfake (technology using AI, taking the image and voice of one person and putting it into another person's video).
Additionally, in April, MBC C&I launched a program to select 12 new creators and develop dramas using generative AI and extended reality (XR) technology.
Of these, 9/12 were produced as pilots and screened for guests at "Prompt: Next Drama Screening Day" in October. These pilots were then screened at the 2024 AI Content Festival.
One of the biggest advantages of using AI in film production is the significant reduction in time and cost, making it possible for anyone to become a film or TV series creator, the Korea Times said.
According to Jung In Su, a producer at Kings Creative, AI significantly simplifies processes that used to require a lot of time and effort.
Previously, changing someone's face on screen took nights of rendering and painstaking skin cleaning. However, with AI, you can easily experiment with different options to get the desired result.
Not to mention that mass-producing AI illustrations costs less than 100,000 won ($72) per month, compared to the 200,000-300,000 won typically charged for a single human-generated illustration.
Yang Eek Jun, producer at Mateo AI Studio, which won the grand prize at the first Korea International AI Film Festival this year with the film "Mateo," said: "We have entered an era where creators can break free from the constraints of capital and technology thanks to AI.
If you make a short film out of your own pocket and it doesn't get into festivals or doesn't get any attention, then no matter what your passion is, you have to take a year or two off, simply because it costs a lot of money.
But with AI coming in, we can make movies at home with just time and effort.
I believe we're in a wonderful era where we can make movies whenever we want and then compete. In fact, for content creators, I think this is more important than AI dominating humanity."
While AI helps humans create images and videos that were previously unimaginable, Yang Eek Jun emphasized that compelling storytelling has become more important than ever for films in general, and Korean films in particular.
The reason is that AI-generated content often fails to maintain audience engagement beyond the first minute.
"With attention spans decreasing so rapidly, we wondered whether we could sustain viewers' interest throughout an entire 80-minute film. This was the biggest challenge and a new frontier for us," Yang added.
On the other hand, AI filmmaking also faces copyright issues, when filmmakers unintentionally infringe on existing works.
To avoid risks, AI companies may require contracts that clearly state intellectual property rights before licensing their technology for film and drama production, according to lawyer Lee Seung Ki of Lee & Law Partners.
Furthermore, partnerships between AI companies and film producers could be established to share the profits generated by AI-optimized production tools.
