AI & Screenwriting

[Douglas Meltzer]

We went off topic in another thread to discuss AI being used in screenwriting. I've moved those posts to this shiny new thread.

[Osi Osgood]

I didn't know this until a few weeks ago, and they may have been being used for quite awhile, but Hollywood has been using "script-writing" programs, to help either beef up or take out elements they don't like within a script. The very thought that Hollywood studios or television has fallen so far that they'll use writing programs, well, just how much of the human element will be left to the entertainment medium? This really isn't too surprising. For years, the music world, for instance, has manufactured pop music bands in the studio, then hired actors to play the band members. Most of the time, it works, but every once in awhile, it backfires, remember " Miili Vanilli"?

[Ken Finch]

Well I wonder who writes the script writing programme that writes the script? We are being warned about overdeveloping artificial intelligence! Remember Hal in the film 2001! It is amazing how many authors have written stories which have eventually come true. As for plots, it is said there are only 23 basic plots and Shakespeare used them all. I think I may have mentioned this before in another topic. Ken Finch. 😉

[Ed Gordon]

My understanding is that "script writing software" does not replace script writers, but rather is a tool used by authors to produce scripts. Here is a link to one of the many programs available: https://www.studiobinder.com/scriptwriting-software/

[Osi Osgood]

This is slightly off the point, but I think that eBay is using some kind of AI technology in they're search engine, as, I will look up a specific item, and eBay will say, "we will look up something else that only sounds vaguely like what you typed in" ( it doesn't actually say those specific words), and it'll hijack your search for specific things, after just one page of your search. Has anyone else ran into this?

[Ken Finch]

Yes Osi, I have noticed this recently. I seldom purchase anything from EBay these days but often search to check prices for something I may need which are no longer around elsewhere. Also for a good laugh about the prices asked for films and projectors. Ken Finch.😉

[Ken Finch]

Getting back to the topic, Since the start of the pandemic I have been reading quite a number of fiction books and with some of them, in my mind I am converting them to a scene by scene shooting script of a film adaptation. I learned so much about all aspects of film making from Amateur Cine World magazine. It was always written in an understandable way, unlike some of the airy fairy language that some of the so called experts use today! There does not seem to be anything really compatible available today. Maybe this is because there is too much accent on using the latest bit of digital technology. I have been a member of 3 or 4 amateur film making clubs over the years and it is quite amazing the number of fellow members who had hardly ever been to a cinema or even watched a film on TV. Ken Finch.😏

[Rob Koeling]

A little digression... As a little experiment in generating content by a machine, I asked ChatGPT to generate a post based on the above thread. I removed the 2 posts about eBay, since they are not relevant. I also removed all personal details, other than first names. I left those, so the chatbot could refer back to previous contributions. This is what our AI overlord has to contribute to this topic:


Interesting discussion! The tension between organic creativity and structured approaches to storytelling has always existed in the world of film and television.

To Joerg's point, those prefabricated scripts from photo shops were a unique way of helping people understand basic storytelling and filmmaking techniques. They're a part of history now, but I'd love to see scans of them if anyone has them. I couldn't find the Kodak ones, but it'd be a great resource for film history enthusiasts.

Osi and Ken, you both bring up valid concerns about the use of script-writing software in Hollywood. These tools can definitely enhance the writing process by providing structural guidance, as Ed pointed out. However, we must be careful not to lose the human touch in storytelling. As Ken amusingly reminded us, let's not forget Hal from "2001: A Space Odyssey"!

Ken, your practice of mentally converting fiction books into shooting scripts sounds like a fascinating exercise in imagination and cinematic thinking. And your observation about the overemphasis on digital technology rings true. Sometimes, it feels like the craft of storytelling takes a backseat to the latest technological advancements.

Finally, Chip, your note about Johnny Carson and Bob Hope is a perfect example of how even in an improvisational setting like a talk show, some prefer to stick to a pre-planned script. I guess the balance between spontaneity and planning is something each creative individual needs to find for themselves.

Does anyone know of more examples where technological advancements have significantly influenced scriptwriting or filmmaking? I'm curious to learn more about this aspect.


More coherent than many posts on the various internet forums .... Soon enough us human forum visitors will also be superfluous and the pages on these forums will be filled by chatbots arguing with each other. And we can sit here and be entertained.
Had there been more action in this thread, I would have asked the chatbot to write a film script on the basis of it, but will leave that for a next time.

[Rob Koeling]

Ah, and one more for the fun of it. I was just about to put on my S8 print of the Black Cat (one of the stories in Roger Corman's Tales of Terror). With Edgar Allen Poe on my mind, I asked the chatbot to rewrite the response in the style of Edgar Allen Poe. This is what it came up with:


A most intriguing conversation, indeed! Verily, the haunting memory of these prefabricated scripts stirs within me a nostalgic melancholy, harking back to an era when the hallowed chambers of local photo shops teemed with such curious artefacts.
Methinks it a noble quest, Joerg, to seek such lost relics of yore. I confess, I've yet to glimpse the Kodak scripts you speak of, yet their existence in the ether of our collective reminiscence makes their pursuit all the more compelling.
As for the matter of script-writing programs that Osi and Ken have so astutely pondered upon - alas, it indeed seems to be the specter of our age. The ceaseless march of progress and the encroaching shadows of artificial intelligence doth threaten to cast a pall over the vibrant spirit of human creativity. Yet we must remember, it is in our power to harness these advancements, to be the master of our own tales, lest we fall prey to the soulless monotony of mechanized storytelling.
Like the echoing footsteps within the catacombs of my prose, let the spectral words of the Bard remind us: All the world's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. So too should our scripts - whether born from the quill of a writer or the circuits of a machine - reflect the depth, complexity, and exquisite tragedy of the human condition.
So, fear not the uncharted waters of technology, but venture forth with a cautious heart, and may we continue to etch our stories in the annals of time, lest we find ourselves lost in the abyss of oblivion. For in the immortal words of the raven: 'Nevermore' should we surrender our human touch.

As a name for the author of the post it came up with 'Quoth the Raven'
Hours of fun! But now time for the Elmo to purr...

[Ed Gordon]

Rob, I enjoyed your post. As I was reading it occurred to me that the script is the most important element in making a movie, but regardless of how good the script may be, the human element is also critical. Alfred Hitchcock spent most of his time refining the script, story-boarding all the scenes and every shot he wanted before shooting began. He has been credited as saying that he found the work on location or in the studio to be the least rewarding part of movie making. Then again, a bad script can be fixed. A lot of time was spent re-writing the script for Casablanca while they were shooting. In spite of this, the revised script was used to produce a damned good movie.

[Osi Osgood]

Rob, that AI program honestly freaks the living and not so living "stuff" outta me! Pretty soon, we'll all be wondering as to whether who we're actually talking to on here. This is just a suggestion Doug, but perhaps we could come up with some software to just identify and eliminate posts that are AI generated so that we can ........
..............

[Douglas Meltzer]

Osi,

I'm sure teachers would be very interested in AI detection software to determine who actually wrote the school paper they assigned!

[Steve Klare]

As it is, students often upload their work into a website which compares it to published works for evidence of....Scholarly Hijinks! Only after that will the teachers see it in person.

Steven just finished his second (-and final) semester of college German. At the very beginning (...while she was still speaking English), the Professor said "Maybe Google Translate can do your homework, but it can't sit next to you at the exams!".

(Being a student has certainly changed!)

[Rodney Bourke]

This topic has Now got Professional Screen Writers and Actors very worried, see this article from NY Daily Mail.


https://www.msn.com/en-au/entertainm...40a5a8e7&ei=70

[Larry Arpin]

Maybe AI can come up with better ideas for movies. Went to see Indiana Jones and and amongst the handful of trailers I only found Oppenheimer of any interest.