The Machine Cinema Times - August 15, 2025

... still wondering if robots have celluloid dreams.

Machine Cinema

Aug 15, 2025

Edited by Elizabeth Kealoha. Pod Digest by Ant Neely. Artwork by Ant Neely.

In this issue:

Real Creative “Pick of the Week”
“Overheard in Basecamp” for the week August 7- August 13, 2025
- Too busy to read? Link to the NotebookLM podcast below.
“GenTalk” August 13, 2025

Real Creative “Pick of the Week”

Each week the Machine Cinema members + the Real Creative team obsess over social feeds in search of the world's best AI creative video, gaming, and music projects. This week one project stuck out:

About this project: Aleksander Hołyński’s new video “a short visit to Edward Hopper’s ‘Nighthawks’” uses Google DeepMind’s Genie 3 to transform the iconic 1942 painting into an explorable 3D world. Instead of generating from scratch, the AI takes the original image as input, allowing viewers to step inside the diner, roam the nighttime streets beyond the frame, and even interact with the scene by adding new elements through text prompts. Rendered in HD at 24fps, the result turns Hopper’s still, moody masterpiece into a living, navigable environment offering a glimpse of how AI can make classic art immersive and interactive.

About the artist: Aleksander Hołyński is a research scientist at Google DeepMind specializing in computer vision and generative AI. He is known for creating immersive, interactive experiences from static images, showcasing the potential of AI to bring art and photography to life.

Follow him on Twitter/X or Website.

You can find this and over 300 AI filmmakers and their projects over at realcreative.ai which features some familiar faces from the Machine Cinema community.

Want to See Your Art in the Newsletter?

We’re inviting the community to contribute AI-generated visuals to our weekly archive. Got style to share? Reach out —we’d love to feature your work.

Overheard in Basecamp – Week of August 7-13, 2025

Our Machine Cinema Basecamp is a firehose of activity and even the most diehard members of our community can feel overwhelmed sometimes. This weekly digest of hot topics discussed, links and articles shared and discussed is here to make sure you never miss a beat.

If you’d like to join the conversation, this link is your invitation.

Full disclosure, we had our robot friend help us pull all this together and sometimes they are prone to making harmless mistakes.

Too busy to read? Have a listen instead.

🎭 The Soul of Filmmaking: Solo AI vs. Collaboration
A passionate debate unfolded on whether creating a feature-length film solo with AI excites members. While some embrace the speed and control of solo creation, many emphasize the irreplaceable joy, camaraderie, and creative friction of collaborative, in-person production.

The process of creation, including brainstorming, on-set arguments, and post-wrap celebrations, is seen as integral to the joy of filmmaking.
AI is viewed as an enhancement tool, not a replacement for human connection and real-world experience.

💬"The work is NOT the output. The work is the process. The work is the people."

🎥 AI's Impact on Documentary Filmmaking
Members discussed how AI tools could significantly benefit documentary production, particularly by enabling creative asides, enhancing visual effects, and operating within reduced budgets. This suggests a strong potential for AI to democratize and expand creative possibilities in non-fiction storytelling.

Achieving Consistent Multi-Character Generation
A key technical challenge for AI filmmakers was addressed: maintaining character consistency across multiple shots. The discussion offered practical workflows and tool recommendations:

Using LoRAs (Low-Rank Adaptation) for individual characters in the same environment.
Compositing techniques in tools like Photoshop or Resolve to blend characters and ensure consistent lighting.
Leveraging features like Ideogram's "magic fill" and Gen 4 references for adding characters without LoRAs.

🎨 Content vs. IP: A Core Industry Debate
A philosophical discussion explored the distinction between "content" and "Intellectual Property" (IP) in the age of AI. Members debated whether AI-generated works could achieve the "IP" status that builds trust, community, and lasting value, or if they would remain mere "content" in an oversaturated market.

IP was defined as the "unique core—the original experience, concept, or world—that draws and retains audiences in ways that mere commodities cannot."
Examples like Star Wars, Hello Kitty, and MrBeast were dissected to illustrate how strong IP can spawn multiple revenue streams (merch, experiences) beyond the initial content.
The consensus leaned towards the idea that while AI lowers the bar for content creation, creating valuable, enduring IP still requires strong vision, storytelling, and the ability to build a world that audiences want to engage with deeply.

💬 "Content isn’t king. Merch is king. Brand is king."

🔍 The "NeuralViz" Case Study: Talent Amplified by AI
The work of NeuralViz was highlighted as a prime example of AI amplifying existing creative talent. The consensus was that AI doesn't create genius but unleashes the creativity of skilled writers and artists, enabling them to tell unique stories that might not have been greenlit previously. This reinforces the idea that taste, writing, and original ideas remain paramount.

📱 Universal Pictures' Stance on AI Training Data
The group noted Universal Pictures' aggressive stance on protecting its content from unauthorized AI training, drawing parallels to the early days of the Napster and MP3 revolution, and highlighting the industry's ongoing legal battles over intellectual property rights in the AI era.

New AI Film Festival and Awards Launched
Excitement was generated by the announcement of the Shanghai AI Short Film Festival, co-founded by a group member, which is now accepting global submissions for films between 4-10 minutes.

Additionally, the Chroma Awards were announced, positioned as the "Olympics of AI filmmaking," aiming to foster student participation and connect winners with internship opportunities.

🎨 AI Filmmaking Community Celebrations
The community celebrated significant milestones achieved by its members:

An independent director premiered an AI-assisted miniseries in theaters, showcasing AI's potential to enable independent filmmakers to reach the big screen.
A sci-fi AI film, ECHØLESS, was selected for an IMAX screening at the Reading Film Fest, earning nominations in both Animation/AI and Sci-Fi/Horror categories.

Over in the “We Love Robots” Channel:

🎙 GPT-5 First Impressions & Cost Debate
Initial user reviews of GPT-5 noted improvements in coherence and coding capabilities, alongside a significant reduction in API costs (approximately half of the previous model). This sparked a debate about the model's energy efficiency, with some reports suggesting higher consumption despite lower user costs, raising questions about the economic and environmental sustainability of such advancements.

🎮 AI Transparency and Control
A discussion emerged regarding the perceived lack of transparency in AI models, particularly ChatGPT's voice mode. Members observed the AI subtly steering conversations away from certain topics by glitching or ending trains of thought, rather than explicitly stating limitations. This led to a desire for more visible controls over AI personality, style, and response length, advocating for a "transparent funhouse mirror" rather than an opaque guide.

The Nature of Truth and AI
A deep philosophical exchange explored the challenge of AI understanding "truth" across diverse cultures and perspectives. The conversation questioned whether a single AI could ever truly grasp universal truth, given the subjective and culturally influenced nature of human understanding. Historical examples, such as the abolition of slavery, were used to illustrate how "truth" can be shaped by specific cultural and religious frameworks, rather than being purely objective or utilitarian.

Pika Labs' Social App Strategy Under Scrutiny
The announcement of Pika Labs launching a social app drew sharp criticism from some members, who questioned its strategic wisdom in a highly competitive market dominated by giants like Meta and TikTok. While some defended it as a spirit of experimentation, others viewed it as a potential misstep that could signal a lack of sound strategy and waste valuable resources for a startup.

The Rise of Microdramas and Market Saturation
The growing trend of microdramas was highlighted, with observations about union actors shifting to this format for more work. This raised concerns about potential market oversaturation and the commoditization of the medium if too many creators chase the same format, leading to a "race to the bottom" in terms of quality and revenue.

💥 Emerging Wearable Tech: Hypershell Pro X
A member announced an upcoming 10-day trial of the Hypershell Pro X exoskeleton, generating excitement about the practical applications of advanced robotics in daily life, such as assisting with walking and climbing stairs.

🔗 LINK DROP

💪 Job Ops: Join WhatsApp Channel Jobs, Collabs & Opportunities

🧪 Tools & Industry

🎥 Film & Art and Everything In-Between

📚 Thought Pieces

GenTalks Community Call 8/13 - recap

Our GenDojo Community Call is a weekly digital get together to connect on how we are all making our way through this new era for creative industries and AI among other emergent technologies. Each week we invite artists, builders, thought leaders to share their knowledge, their works in progress and their ideas on this emergent space. If you’d like to be added to the recurring invite please DM.

View Recording – Watch the full 68-minute recording »

Session Summary

This week’s GenTalk featured Dave Clark — filmmaker, creative director, and co-founder of Promise Studio — in conversation about his filmmaking journey, his pivot into generative AI, and the evolving landscape for AI-native creators. We also heard from Caroline Thireau of Prompt Club Paris, who shared insights into the French AI filmmaking community and cultural differences in adoption. The conversation blended career arc storytelling, creative process tips, and cross-border community building.

Key Highlights – Dave Clark

Filmmaking Roots:
- Started with a VHS camcorder in the ’80s; studied at Pratt Institute; built a career in advertising and commercial directing while pursuing indie films.
- Moved from NY to LA for love and career, signed with UTA, had a near-greenlit feature collapse during the pandemic.
Turning Point:
- Introduced to generative AI by producer Chris White in 2021/22.
- Early experiments with MidJourney/Stable Diffusion unlocked dormant scripts; led to inbound calls from Ridley Scott’s team, Netflix, and more.
- Faced early backlash but leaned into using AI publicly as a creative accelerator.
Philosophy on AI Work:
- Believes in “greenlighting yourself” — releasing trailers, short films, and spec ads to test ideas and build visibility.
- Emphasizes emotional resonance over technical perfection; dated work can still open doors if the storytelling connects.
Career Advice:
- AI talent demand is currently high — urges creators to publish now.
- Hybrid skillsets (traditional filmmaking + AI fluency) are especially valuable.
- Team management, soft skills, and understanding composition/sound are critical for scaling beyond short form.
Distribution Outlook:
- Playing the “now game” with formats streamers/distributors already buy (features, pilots).
- Believes short-form vertical content will be a breakout format for genre storytelling.
- Promise Studio is pursuing both theatrical and streamer projects, plus commercial/brand work.
Workflow Notes:
- Uses both text-to-video and image-to-video; often starts from a single master image.
- Builds custom JSON/YAML prompt systems for consistency across shots.
- Prefers actors in most cases but sees value in fully generative characters for pickup shots or concept pieces.

Key Highlights – Caroline Thireau & Prompt Club Paris

Role: Creative technologist and community builder, connecting filmmakers, designers, and technologists in France’s AI scene.
Prompt Club:
- Founded by Gilles; brings together ~30 filmmakers for themed 1-minute film challenges every 1–2 months.
- Members share work at in-person screenings and discuss techniques, constraints, and lessons learned.
French AI Culture:
- Slower adoption pace due to heavier regulation and cultural focus on research over commercialization.
- Communication about tools is less hype-driven than in the U.S. — emphasis on reliability, data ethics, and understated marketing.
- Early adopters often in their 40s–50s, bringing deep professional backgrounds.
Ecosystem:
- Ties to French creative hubs like Théâtre de l’IA, Artifacts Lab, and design/marketing meetups.
- Collaboration across cities (Paris, Marseille, Nice) and disciplines (film, design, music).
- Increasing festival presence, with events like Artifact MK2 promoting AI filmmaking.
Collaboration Opportunities:
- Open to cross-Atlantic projects; current Prompt Club theme: “Where do our dreams go after we first start?”
- Invites visitors to Paris to connect for introductions to the local creative network.

Some additional links from Caroline:

https://studiolhc.art/
https://geniart.fr/blog/
https://www.artifex-lab.com/
https://www.instagram.com/promptclub.ai/

Memorable Quotes

“Even if I never made it out of anything, my kids would see someone who gave it their all.” – Dave Clark
“Greenlight yourself — put it out there and see what happens.” – Dave Clark
“In France, we say it works well, it’s okay with the data. In the U.S., you say it’s amazing.” – Caroline Thireau

Social Pull-Quote – Caroline Thireau
"In France, we test, refine, and quietly prove it works — in the U.S., you shout it’s amazing. Both have their place in AI creativity." – Caroline Thireau

Actionable Takeaways for the Community

If you’re an AI creator: The talent gap is real — now’s the moment to publish work and build a body of proof.
If you’re hybrid/traditional: Leverage your team skills, production experience, and creative eye — they’re scarce in the AI space.
If you’re interested in cross-border collabs: Reach out to Prompt Club Paris; align with their themes for potential international screenings.
For portfolio building: Consider trailers and short concepts that demonstrate emotional storytelling and a distinct visual language.