The Machine Cinema Times - August 8th, 2025
... still wondering if robots have celluloid dreams.
Edited by Elizabeth Kealoha. Pod Digest by Ant Neely
In this issue:
Real Creative “Pick of the Week”
“Overheard in Basecamp” for the week July 31 - August 6, 2025
Too busy to read? Link to the NotebookLM podcast below.
CTA: Contribute to the Newsletter Artwork
Link Drop
“GenTalk” August 6, 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:
This trailer from Issa Sissoko asks "What if there was a TV show about the richest man who ever lived, Mansa Musa?" Working with tools like Veo 3, Issa is using his own platforms to build a community around the project and to try and bring the full full story to life.
Created by Issa Sissoko.
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.
Overheard in Basecamp – Week of July 31- August 6, 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? Click to have a listen.
🎭 The Great AI Hollywood Debate: Resistance vs. Opportunity
A passionate debate emerged regarding Hollywood's stance on AI, fueled by Daniel Kwan's call for industry unity against its "takeover" and strong anti-AI sentiments voiced at a recent GenJam event. The discussion highlighted a fundamental tension between anxieties over job displacement and creative integrity, and the recognition of AI's democratizing potential.
Hollywood figures like Daniel Kwan advocate for "unprecedented" industry-wide action to control AI's adoption. (Read the Hollywood Reporter article)
Anti-AI arguments frequently center on concerns about "stealing" artistic work, lowering creative standards, and job replacement.
Pro-AI perspectives emphasize the technology's democratizing power, its inevitability, and the necessity for adaptation within the industry.
The internal divisions within the film industry regarding AI were humorously likened to the contentious debate over pineapple on pizza.
💬 “Make movies for people who hate AI.”
📱 The Elusive AI UX/UI Leap
The community observed a surprising absence of truly innovative user experience and interface (UX/UI) in current AI tools, which often feel derivative rather than revolutionary. This sparked a desire for a future where AI interaction is more intuitive and ergonomic, potentially via multi-modal audio interfaces.
Current AI UX/UI is perceived as "skeuomorphic," mimicking old interaction paradigms instead of creating new ones.
There's a strong desire for a transformative UX/UI leap, comparable to the original iPhone's impact.
A key vision for the future involves multi-modal, AI-enabled audio interfaces that could replace traditional screen and keyboard work for improved ergonomics and efficiency.
💬 “It still feels like trying to fit a square peg into a round hole.”
🎙 Navigating the AI Legal Landscape
The group highlighted the growing importance of legal expertise in AI, particularly welcoming a media & entertainment lawyer specializing in the field. Discussions focused on the significant challenges AI poses to established industry standards and protocols.
The integration of AI necessitates specialized legal guidance within media and entertainment.
Existing industry standards, such as SMPTE protocols for film acquisition, management, and transfer, are being fundamentally challenged by new AI workflows.
Major studios and VFX houses face the complex task of rewriting or heavily modifying their long-established systems to accommodate AI. (Learn more about the ScreenSkills AI Briefing with Kelsey Farish)
🎨 Groundbreaking AI Models & Capabilities
The community expressed excitement over new AI models that are significantly advancing generative capabilities, with notable developments from Google and Krea. These tools promise to revolutionize storytelling and creative workflows.
Google's Genie 3 was highlighted as a groundbreaking "image to film set" tool, capable of creating interactive, controllable worlds from static images.
This development is seen as a major leap for AI's potential in storytelling and gaming.
You can now access RunwayML’s Aleph model on Krea.
💬 "Imagine Runway getting acquired by Google."
🔍 The Future of Collaborative Video Editing
A deep dive into Figma-style collaborative editing tools revealed a major need in video workflows. While tools like Sequence.film and Fuser are emerging, cost, complexity, and timeline conflicts remain unsolved.
Cloud-based editing is growing but lacks consensus on permissions and timeline concurrency
LucidLink and Avid were praised for stability; Adobe Productions criticized for falling short
Open Timeline IO integration and SMPTE standards are key to unlocking broader adoption
💬 “Multiple timelines per project is just a cleaner workflow.”
📣 Distribution Models Need a Rethink
Several threads explored how creators might rethink distribution entirely—not just making work, but getting it seen.
Web3 promises haven’t materialized, but new consumer engagement models are still needed
The real race? Not for attention, but for trust and engagement
💬 “Distribution models that don’t feel like distribution models… might have a place in the future.”
💥 Community Learning & Collaboration
The "Basecamp" continued to thrive as a hub for learning and collaboration, with members actively participating in "GenJams" and "GenTalks" to share knowledge and experiments. Several educational resources and communities were highlighted, underscoring the commitment to accessible and continuous learning in the AI creative space.
"GenJams" and "GenTalks" serve as key platforms for knowledge sharing and collaborative experimentation within the community.
Educational resources like Curious Refuge and Black Mixture were recommended for those seeking to deepen their AI creative skills.
Atlanta International AI Film Festival is offering scholarships to Black Mixture for its advanced Generative AI Course, promoting accessibility to AI education.
🎥 A Flourishing AI Film Scene: New Premieres & Projects
The community celebrated a vibrant week of new AI-driven film and video projects, showcasing the diverse applications and growing sophistication of the technology. Highlights included:
"Him": A new film by JimHuiHui, described as a love story at its core, building on his previous work. (Watch "Him")
Polish Hybrid Project: A 6-month hybrid film project combining AI with live actors, which was previewed at Cannes and is now heading into feature films with investor support. (Watch the project)
Jidenna's AI Film Project: A cool new AI film project from the artist Jidenna, featuring new tools. (See Jidenna's project)
First Music Video: A member shared their first AI-generated music video. (Watch the music video)
First AI Short Film: An editor shared their first short film made using AI tools. (Watch the short film)
AI Short Horror Film: An animated AI short horror film about curious teens and an abandoned cottage was shared. (Watch the horror film)
AI Microdrama Success: An AI microdrama garnered an impressive 170 million views, signaling the massive reach potential of AI-generated content. (See the microdrama)
New Video by Ari: A new video using Sora for images and Kling for video was shared. (Watch the video)
First AI Short Film by Pedro: A curious mystery short film was shared. (Watch the short film)
🎨 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.
Join: Jobs, Collabs & Opportunities WhatsApp channel to stay in-the-know.
Link Drops
🛠 Tools & Industry
📚Thought Pieces
Ted Talk: Jason Zada - How to Turn AI Prompts into Movie Magic
Tey Bannerman: Cultural Nuances in AI Translation (LinkedIn)
GenTalks Community Call 8/6 - 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.
Featured Guests
Alexia Adana – Creative Innovator, AI Filmmaker, Creator of Bloom Child, Head of Creative Innovation (US) at Edelman
Stuart Acher – Director, Writer, AI Filmmaker, Creator of Next Stop Paris, Member of DGA AI Committee
Summary
This week’s GenTalk was a deep dive into what it takes to build immersive AI-driven stories with emotional resonance—and what it means to be a professional creative in a time of collapsing pipelines and expanding access. Alexia Adana shared her origin story as an artist and creative technologist, culminating in the launch of her AI short Bloom Child with Sora 1 and her ongoing work turning it into an immersive narrative universe. Stuart Acher gave a behind-the-scenes breakdown of Next Stop Paris, a romantic AI short created under traditional filmmaking discipline—with 80 collaborators—before tools like Sora or Runway existed.
Together, the conversation explored the future of creator-owned worlds, new storytelling formats, remix culture, unionization, and setting industry standards.
Key Highlights
Alexia Adana
Described her journey from traditional photography and agency work to AI video via OpenAI's Sora 1
Introduced Bloom Child—a story about belonging and self-acceptance—as a transmedia narrative expanding into interactive and in-person experiences (think Mercer Labs + Genie3)
Advocated for community-centered worldbuilding and artist remixability as the future of IP
Teased future collaborations with Google DeepMind’s Matthew Lorain and her Liquid Logic community
Dropped a link to Yancey Strickler’s A-Corp TED Talk as a way to rethink creator ownership structures
Stuart Acher
Explained the grueling hybrid production pipeline behind Next Stop Paris, emphasizing real performance, storyboarded beats, and handcrafted visual fidelity
Called for a creator-led movement to set minimum AI day rates and warned against the illusion of push-button “cheap” AI production
Advocated for a new DGA tier or creative artist union model to bring AI creators under existing protections or organize their own
Argued that the biggest threat is not AI, but a race to the bottom driven by undercutting and hype-driven marketing from tool makers
Broader Conversation
Continued debate about whether to work within existing guilds or build something entirely new
Frustration with Hollywood’s “wait and see” approach to adopting tools like ElevenLabs or Respeecher, despite clear utility
Call to arms for standardized AI artist rates, licensing frameworks, and union representation
Fred referenced the unscripted TV industry's fight for recognition as a model for AI creators
Hot Quotes
“Taste is going to be more important in the age of AI slop.” – Alexia Adana
“We’re not against this technology. We are of it. Now is the time to set the standard.” – Stuart Acher
“The film is about the fear of accepting AI. And maybe that fear leads you to something you love.” – Stuart Acher, on Next Stop Paris
“How does Bloom Child live inside your world? And what are the rules of your world?” – Alexia Adana