For the first time, A hit Netflix show used something unusual to craft a final scene: AI.
On its quarterly earnings call, the company’s co-CEO Ted Sarandos highlighted the use of generative AI in the sci-fi series El Eternauta (The Eternaut), which debuted on April 30. The post-apocalyptic series adapts an Argentinian comic of the same name, following survivors of a toxic snowfall that blankets Buenos Aires. The scene in question shows a building collapsing dramatically, a feat that Sarandos argues wouldn’t have been in budget without leaning on AI.
Sarandos says that Netflix’s Eyeline Studios partnered with the show’s creative team to incorporate “virtual production and AI-powered VFX” into a final scene. “Using AI powered tools, they were able to achieve an amazing result with remarkable speed and in fact, that VFX sequence was completed 10x faster than it could have been completed with… traditional VFX tools and workflows,” Sarandos said.
While El Eternauta might be Netflix’s first foray into using AI to generate final footage, the tech-forward company likely already incorporates AI into other workflows.
Netflix doesn’t share Hollywood’s AI worries
Even as companies like Netflix embrace AI, many workers in Hollywood have major qualms with the technology. Concerns about AI in film and TV surfaced during the monthslong Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike in 2023, which sought to block AI from impacting writers’ pay and training on their work. The actors’ union SAG-AFTRA, which joined the WGA, also sought to protect actors from having their likenesses used without compensation.
In spite of those misgivings, AI is already popping up in film and television – including at this year’s Oscars. Both Emilia Perez and The Brutalist used AI to finesse actors’ voices – a boon that boosted Adrian Brody’s Hungarian accent and may have contributed to his best actor win.
AI’s detractors in Hollywood are as concerned as ever, but given its tech industry mindset and Silicon Valley DNA, Netflix isn’t squeamish.
“We remain convinced that AI represents an incredible opportunity to help creators make films and series better, not just cheaper,” Sarandos said. “They’re AI-powered creator tools. So this is real people doing real work with better tools.”
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